<P> Another assembly is the Convocation of the English Clergy, which is older than the General Synod and its predecessor the Church Assembly . By the 1969 Synodical Government Measure almost all of the Convocations' functions were transferred to the General Synod . Additionally, there are Diocesan Synods and deanery synods, which are the governing bodies of the divisions of the Church . </P> <P> Of the 42 diocesan archbishops and bishops in the Church of England, 26 are permitted to sit in the House of Lords . The Archbishops of Canterbury and York automatically have seats, as do the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester . The remaining 21 seats are filled in order of seniority by consecration . It may take a diocesan bishop a number of years to reach the House of Lords, at which point he becomes a Lord Spiritual . The Bishop of Sodor and Man and the Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe are not eligible to sit in the House of Lords as their dioceses lie outside the United Kingdom . </P> <P> Although they are not part of England or the United Kingdom, the Church of England is also the Established Church in the Crown dependencies of the Isle of Man, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey . The Isle of Man has its own diocese of Sodor and Man, and the Bishop of Sodor and Man is an ex officio member of the Legislative Council of the Tynwald on the island . The Channel Islands are part of the Diocese of Winchester, and in Jersey the Dean of Jersey is a non-voting member of the States of Jersey . In Guernsey the Church of England is the Established Church, although the Dean of Guernsey is not a member of the States of Guernsey . </P> <P> The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has taken strong action in an effort to prevent complaints of sex abuse cases being covered up . Independent investigators are examining files as far back as the 1950s and Welby hopes this independence will prevent any possibility of a cover - up . </P>

Where does the queen of england attend church