Church of England

General Synod elections: the ‘liberal drift’ is not a foregone conclusion

October 20, 2021
Archbishop Cranmer
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The Rev'd Peter Ould has been psephological over at Psephizo, and his analysis of the recent Synod elections merits some consideration in respect of the 'liberal drift' of the Church of England, which some adduce (quite frequently) for their leitmotifs…

Archbishops’ Racial Justice Commission has just one Conservative member

October 11, 2021
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The Archbishops' Racial Justice Commission was announced last week. It is a 12-member board, chaired by former Labour MP Paul Boateng, now Lord Boateng, and its members include just one…

Welby: there is no need to ‘save the parish’; there is no threat to it

September 28, 2021
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The Archbishop of Canterbury recently made a very subtle intervention in the process of elections to the General Synod. Indeed, so subtle was it that absolutely nobody noticed. Just as…

Lord Lexden: “My faith in the Church’s institutional integrity has been completely broken”

September 18, 2021
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Lord Lexden has resigned as a member of the Ecclesiastical Committee (the Church of England in Parliament), over the Clergy Discipline Measure and "the harm it is capable of inflicting…

Church of England conclave nominations committee

Anglican Conclave to ‘sift’ all candidates for vacancies to see if they are ‘appropriate’

September 15, 2021
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There is no doubt that the governance structure of the Church of England is labyrinthine, convoluted, inefficient and opaque. It's what comes of half a millennium of Catholic and Reformed…

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Former archbishops split on assisted suicide, and there’s no Anglican via media

September 13, 2021
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In the red corner is George, Lord Carey of Clifton, Archbishop of Canterbury 1991-2002. He favours the legalisation of assisted suicide (or assisted dying, if you prefer) because "there is…

Sarah Mullally Bishop of London the buck stops here

Fr Alan Griffin (RIP): the buck stops with Bishop Sarah Mullally

August 27, 2021
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Upon taking office as 33rd President of the United States, Harry S. Truman famously placed a sign on his desk to remind himself of the awesome responsibility which the Office…

Fr Alan Griffin diocese of london safeguarding suicide

Safeguarding suicide: ‘there is a crisis of trust within the Diocese of London’

August 26, 2021
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Following the comments and demands made by the Coroner in the wake of the suicide of Fr Alan Griffin, the Diocese of London and Lambeth Palace have accepted responsibility for…

A ‘Church for England’, but whose understanding of Englishness?

August 12, 2021
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Much has been written about the Archbishop of York's article in the Telegraph, in which he set out his vision for England woven with his preferred themes of Englishness, calling…

The Church of Englishness

August 9, 2021
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Upon reading Archbishop Stephen Cotterell’s remarks on English identity in the Telegraph, I was reminded of the time I was reading the Law Society Gazette whilst waiting for a court…

Does it matter if Church of England parishes wither on the vine?

August 6, 2021
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At the inaugural meeting of 'Save the Parish' this week at Great St Bartholomew's in Smithfield, London, the Rev'd Marcus Walker was animated and agitated. Time is short, he told…

Radical progressive activism and the Church of England

July 26, 2021
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Civitas have published a new report: Rotting from the Head: Radical progressive activism and the Church of England. 'Radical progressive activism' is a slippery concept, not least because not all…

bullying church of england priest suicide

The immoral, scandalous and disgraceful nature of CofE bullying

July 22, 2021
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'Immoral, scandalous or disgraceful' is a phrase from the Statutes of Christ Church, Oxford: it describes behaviour warranting disciplinary action being undertaken within that institution, but it is also an…

Fr Alan Griffin suicide safeguarding CDM

Church of England safeguarding drove Fr Alan Griffin to suicide

July 19, 2021
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A priest is dead. That's okay: all priests die; ashes to ashes, and all that. But this priest killed himself because he was subject to a CDM. That's a Clergy…

hedgerley church save the parish general synod elections

General Synod elections: can ‘Save the Parish’ save the Church of England?

July 13, 2021
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"There are about to be General Synod elections. So, stand. Stand and write in your manifesto that you are standing to ‘Save the parish’," writes the Rev'd Marcus Walker, Rector…

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Institutional bullying in the Church of England: it’s time to face the liturgical music

July 7, 2021
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On 1st July 2021 a research paper by Clive Billenness was published to assist the Diocese in Europe in addressing the problem of institutional bullying within the Church of England.…

‘Key limiting factors’: the end of stipendiary parish ministry

July 3, 2021
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Priests are expensive. Church buildings are expensive. Theological formation is expensive. So the Church of England has set out its 'Vision and Strategy' for cost-cutting: 10,000 new lay-led churches over…

Bishop Liverpool Paul Bayes Gender Neutral

Bishop of Liverpool seeks to expunge male and female from marriage

June 30, 2021
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"I want to see a gender-neutral marriage canon, such as they have in the Episcopal Church or in the Scottish Episcopal Church," said the Rt Rev'd Paul Bayes, Bishop of…

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Bishop dismisses Matt Hancock’s adultery as “a bit of a fling”

June 28, 2021
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Two marriages have broken down, with all the heartache, tears and loneliness of the innocent parties. One wedding ring has been thrown to the floor in the passion of betrayal;…

Boris Johnson is not a professing Roman Catholic: he will still advise the Queen on the selection of Bishops

June 21, 2021
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Is Boris Johnson a Roman Catholic? Yes and no. During an ITV interview with Robert Peston, the Prime Minister was asked if he is now "a practising Roman Catholic", following…