Expert: Rev Steve Parish - 12/19/2011

Question
I understand that the Roman Catholic Church allows a cleric to be reduced to a lay state (laicized) even if they have moved to another Church, and prior to the date of "transfer?"

Does the Anglican Church have the same ability to depose and remove their clerical status, even before an authorized transfer?

Thank you for your help

Answer
It is desirable that Anglican priests should resign their orders if they are ceasing to minister as a priest in the Anglican Communion. Certainly in the Church of England this can be expensive, and there is generally no compulsion; their right to minister as an Anglican minister is controlled by the withdrawal of the Bishop's licence.

http://www.churchofengland.org/media/1173305/gs%20misc%20979.pdf

As I understand it, the Roman Catholic Church may laicize a priest, but if they were to join the Church of England they would still be regarded as validly ordained and would not need to be (re)ordained to minister as a priest in the Church of England. This I believe to be the case with those priests who left the Church of England over the issue of women priests and were ordained by the Roman Catholic Church and have since returned to the Church of England. Even had they resigned their Anglican orders when they left, their Roman ordination would be regarded as valid.