User Guide for General Synod (CoE) Documents

The General Synod of the Church of England makes available many of the documents issued during its sessions, which occur three times each year (February, July, November).  This guide provides information on searching these documents, both those in DuPont’s collection and in the Church of England’s online database.

What does DuPont have in its collection?

DuPont has most of the documents issued by the General Synod from 2000 through 2014, in addition to a smaller collection of documents issued prior to 2000.

How are these documents organized?

Each document of General Synod is given a number, prefixed with “GS” or “GS Misc.”  Documents are grouped by “GS” and “GS Misc,” and then arranged numerically.  Each file box is labeled with the range of GS numbers it contains.

What about unnumbered documents?

Documents that are ordered by letter (A, C, E, or HB) or that are unnumbered may be found in the last file box in the cabinet.  A table of contents is printed on the front of the box.

How do I search for specific documents or find GS numbers?

The Church of England has indexes for GS documents available on its website (current only to 2010).  They enable you to search by topic, find specific titles, or locate a document’s GS number.  Click here for a link to the indexes.

I can’t find a document/a document is missing from the collection.

Most GS documents are available on the Church of England’s website.  Once you know a document’s GS number, you can access it there.  Click here for GS documents, and click here for GS Misc documents.  

This guide was created by Sarah Miller in the summer of 2014