Archbishop of Canterbury

If the Pope can honour a pro-abortion activist, why not bless Durex?

January 15, 2018
Archbishop Cranmer
670 Comments

It is being widely reported that Pope Francis has bestowed the title of Commander in the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great upon pro-abortion activist Lilianne Ploumen, sometime Trade and Development Minister in the Netherlands. The reporting of…

Welby: Brexit offers ‘a wide and liberal future’; Remainers are ‘depressed’ and ‘paranoid’

November 3, 2017
56 Comments

When it transpired that the reason Chris Heaton-Harris MP had written to all university vice-chancellors asking for the names of academics lecturing on Brexit was simply because he was writing…

Child abuse in the Church of England: Justin Welby must either accelerate the change or carry the can

October 8, 2017
373 Comments

This is a guest post by Martin Sewell, a retired Child Protection Lawyer who takes a special interest in Safeguarding as a member of General Synod. _____ When I was…

alastair campbell justin welby gq magazine

Welby: Alastair Campbell is probably not going to heaven

October 3, 2017
223 Comments

"Media seem to be going for gay sex and Queen funeral angles in my @BritishGQ interview with @JustinWelby," tweet-gripes Tony Blair's former spinmeister Alastair Campbell, " - loads more in…

Welby is right: the UK economy is “broken”, but England’s church is limping

September 6, 2017
142 Comments

It was an unfortunate coincidence that on the day the British Social Attitudes survey was released which announced that more than half (53%) of the British public now describe themselves…

Archbishop’s political adviser role advertised exclusively in Guardian and Economist

July 28, 2017
47 Comments

In the continuous stream of church life, things occasionally niggle. Some are easily shaken off with the passing of time, but others recur like an irritating charismatic leitmotif, keeping alive…

Child abuse in the Church of England: hypocrisy, inconsistency and ongoing cover-up

July 3, 2017
331 Comments

Child abuse is a seriously distressing matter. The violation, confusion, fear, self-loathing, guilt, depression... suicidal thoughts. It can take years and decades to come to terms with the misery and…

Welby says Islamism is everything to do with Islam, and Muslim leaders must take responsibility

June 6, 2017
272 Comments

The Archbishop of Canterbury has boldly gone where other other religious leaders fear to tread, and politicians daren't hardly ever go. Cutting straight across the liturgical denials of those who…

Justin Welby is not a heretic, he’s a very faithful Anglican

May 15, 2017
310 Comments

In the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Westminster there is a list of Archbishops of Canterbury which chronicles the centuries of communion between the popes of Rome and the chief pastors…

Buried Archbishops “found by accident”? The CofE’s forgetfulness is galling

April 17, 2017
214 Comments

"It beggars belief that no-one thought what a terrible, terrible image of decline it is to deconsecrate the ABC's home church," tweeted the Rev'd Marcus Walker, slightly irritated by the…

Bishop of Sheffield: Martyn Percy asked for bread; Sentamu and Welby give a stone

March 27, 2017
625 Comments

No doubt there has been a lot of frantic to-ing and fro-ing between the palaces of Bishopthorpe and Lambeth since Philip North felt unable to take up the nomination as…

Bishop berates poor, deluded Brexiteers who voted “quixotically” to leave the EU

February 21, 2017
630 Comments

Initial coverage looked very encouraging. The BBC reported that the Rt Rev'd Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark, had exhorted the House of Lords to pass the European Union (Notice of…

Simony, syncretism or sacred service? Canterbury Cathedral to host Freemasons’ celebration

February 12, 2017
509 Comments

Canterbury Cathedral is to host a service on Saturday 18th February exclusively (if not quite secretively) for Freemasons. The Dean, the Very Rev'd Dr Robert Willis, who may or may…

House of Bishops upholds canon law: marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman

January 30, 2017
874 Comments

After a seemingly interminable period of 'shared conversations' on the nature of marriage and the relational experiences of some LGBT Christians, the House of Bishops of the Church of England…

Cartoons of Cantuar: how cartoonists have portrayed the Archbishop of Canterbury over the centuries

January 14, 2017
127 Comments

This is a guest post by Fergus Butler-Gallie, an Anglican ordinand at Westcott House, Cambridge. __________________________ It was noted in the 1930s that the only three people whose opinion actually…

Lord Carey removed from King’s College London wall of distinguished alumni

December 21, 2016
174 Comments

The motto of King's College London is Sancte et sapienter ('With holiness and wisdom'). Sadly, it appears to have abandoned both. Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey of Clifton has…

Martyn Percy: Justin Welby “is preparing the ground for a complete volte-face on human sexuality”

November 15, 2016
141 Comments

Here follows Martyn Percy's response to Adrian Hilton's second letter on 'Renewal & Reform' and the ministry and leadership of Justin Welby. It was a simultaneous exchange with Hilton's third…

Martyn Percy: the Church of England is being “reformed by bankers.. theology is ruthlessly excluded.. populism and narcissism are in the ascendancy”

November 11, 2016
207 Comments

Following Martyn Percy's first letter and Adrian Hilton's response, here is Martyn Percy's response to Adrian Hilton's first letter: Dear Adrian, Thanks for your letter, which gave me plenty to…

“Is Justin Welby not showing the world Jesus?”

November 10, 2016
116 Comments

Here follows Adrian Hilton's response to Martyn Percy's first letter: Dear Martyn, Thank you for your letter. I appreciated the account of your conversation with the “senior commentator on religious…

Adrian Hilton on Justin Welby: “he is challenging the ‘principalities and powers’ of institutional existence”

November 8, 2016
141 Comments

Here follows Adrian Hilton's (yes, Ed.) first letter to Martyn Percy, reflecting on the mission of the Church of England and the character and leadership of Justin Welby, Archbishop of…