Clarifying the rules on church weddings for the divorced is one of the items on the agenda of the five-day General Synod of the Church of England, which convened on Friday.

The Synod meets several times a year to discuss Church business and strategy; this session is being held at the University of York.

Other major items on the agenda include the Arab-Israeli conflict, urban strategy and debate of a motion to remove the monarch and prime minister from the process of appointing diocesan bishops.

There are circumstances in which a divorced person may be married in church

Church report

The Synod will also be asked to consent to a campaign by clergy to allow them to hold services wearing ordinary clothes.

Delegates will say farewell to Dr George Carey, who delayed his resignation from the post of Archbishop of Canterbury so he could oversee the spiritual aspect of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations.

The Synod is also seeking to endorse William Fittall as its next secretary general.

Flock first

Efforts to make treatment of divorced people seeking to marry again consistent are hoped to enable the Church to respond to the general relaxation of conventions surrounding divorce.

George Carey's final Synod as Archbishop of Canterbury

Church reports have accepted that "there are circumstances in which a divorced person may be married in church during the lifetime of a former partner".

Some within the Church would like to see a more pastoral approach to the issue, attuned to the needs of the congregation.

Nationally applicable guidelines have been drawn up under which remarriages could take place, in the hope of dispelling confusion about the issue.