The Prime Minister partied while clergy lamented
"Could the Minister advise those of us on these benches," ventured Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, "how we should respond to clergy who took an enormous personal toll in having…
Posts written by HisGrace
This author has written 1155 articles
Guildford Cathedral ‘reviews’ statues by sinner sculptor Eric Gill
You have to pity poor Hiram of Tyre, an artistic metalsmith whom King Solomon chose to work on his Temple, because 'he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass' (1Kgs 7:14). We read…
Oxford Dons plan litigation against Archbishop Cranmer
In all the recent reporting in the Times and Private Eye about the continuing saga at Christ Church, Oxford, there has been a slight omission. Perhaps it's so slight that…
The Church cannot indefinitely sidestep its self-inflicted Covid damage
There was an excellent letter to the Church Times just before Christmas from the Archdeacon of Hastings, the Rev'd Dr Edward Dowler. It was subtitled 'Deeper questions that Covid measures…
Tutufication is not the solution to division and oppression
Canon Mark Oakley wrote to the Times over the weekend with a plea for the Church of England to adopt Tutufication: It is an interesting thesis, not least because quite…
Rev’d Will Pearson-Gee: “I am not going to close our services”
As 2021 draws to a close, with Covid mutations multiplying, millions isolating, thousands dying, gas prices soaring, inflation pressing, poverty increasing, Putin and Xi agitating, and the Church of England…
BBC ranked third in global antisemitism list for 2021
BBC News hasn't (yet) reported the fact that the Corporation has been ranked third in the world for antisemitism, coming in just after Iran and Hamas, who were ranked first…
RIP Desmond Tutu – prophet, priest and archbishop to the world
Desmond Tutu was known throughout the world as a man of peace and passion; of faith and politics; of moral conscience and fiery wit. He was honoured and lauded on…
Silent Night, Holy Land
As our minds turn once again to the baby that was born in Bethlehem two millennia ago, amidst social unrest, foreign occupation, political turmoil and religious zealotry, we might reflect…
Bramble Welby introduces her human on a BBC Newscast
Bramble Welby upstaged her human on a BBC Newcast this week. "Lie down. Can you lie down. That's a good girl," said the Archbishop of Canterbury. "Nope," thought Bramble. "Not…
Martyn Percy is ‘mad and unfit to govern’ Christ Church, Oxford
Let us consider a scenario in which the governing body of an academic institution takes an intense dislike to their teetotal principal and head, and their only mechanism for getting…
You can’t be compelled to love your neighbour
The Archbishop of Canterbury was interviewed on Times Radio by John Pienaar, who asked: "Is it the moral thing to do, Archbishop, getting your vaccination?" "Yes," the Archbishop replied, succinctly.…
Welby defends freedom of speech – ‘living out the Reformation truth’
The Archbishop of Canterbury hosted a debate on freedom of speech in the House of Lords today, in the context of so many contemporary challenges (and robust assaults) against it.…
The Downing Street party and the spirit of the law
Perhaps a gathering of a dozen or so people with cheese and wine doesn't constitute a party. Perhaps a gathering of a couple of dozen people at a place of…
When does talking or praying about sexuality become conversion therapy?
As the Government's consultation on their Conversion Therapy (Prohibition) Bill nears its end, there is a sense of confusion and exasperation, if not of fear and despair. Not among those…
Church of England releases its first ever Christmas single
The Church of England is making a foray into the pop charts, releasing its first ever Christmas single, a new version of that glorious carol 'In the Bleak Midwinter'. It…
Why are schoolchildren selecting Church of England bishops?
Caroline Boddington is barely out the door, and bishops are now being appointed by... schoolchildren called Temisan, Keziah, Honey and Sophia. With the retirement of the Rt Rev'd Pete Broadbent…
Matthew Parris just wants to be loved, accepted, and buried in the CofE
Matthew Parris has written a strange a piece in the Times about the Church of England: 'Anglicanism was never really about God', he decrees, with a kind of semi-detached secular-papal…
Durham Cathedral demands Covid passports for Christmas worship
Durham Cathedral is dividing its flock into sheep and goats for Christmas. The Dean is setting the Covid-vaccinated sheep on his right hand, but the goats who lack an NHS…
Queen reminds General Synod of its essential mission
The 11th General Synod of the Church of England was opened yesterday, and the Supreme Governor was absent for the first time since Synod was created more than 50 years…