A ‘Church for England’, but whose understanding of Englishness?
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…
Stephen Cottrell
What’s wrong with appointing a Bishop for Brexit?
There's a move afoot to create a Cabinet of Bishops to shadow government departments, with the Archbishop of Canterbury presiding like a Prime Minister Spiritual, and those around him holding various political briefs, such as the Bishop for Brexit, the…
The Church of Englishness
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…
BBC Panorama smears the Church of England as ‘racist’
'Is the Church racist?', asked the BBC's Panorama yesterday evening, as reporter Clive Myrie interviewed a few minority-ethnic clergy who have experienced some awful abuse at the hands (or from…
Archbishops call the nation to prayer as Covid deaths reach 100,000
As the number of deaths caused by Covid-19 passes 100,000, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have written an Epistle to the Nation calling everyone to prayer. And if you…
UK Internal Market Bill: the Archbishops are confused, poorly advised, and wrong
The Archbishops of the United Kingdom have written a joint letter fairly and equally to all tabloids and broadsheets decrying the moral state of the nation and calling for repentance…
Black Bishops Matter: Sentamu’s peerage has been paused for a reason
There's been a lot of noise about John Sentamu's peerage – he hasn't got one, and the Telegraph, Sunday Times and Guardian aren't happy about it. It is customary for…
Calls for Charity Commission to intervene in CofE safeguarding saga
"After many attempts to secure reform of the National Safeguarding Team and the secretive Core Groups of the Church of England, we reluctantly reach the conclusion that there is no…
Archbishops go on consecration strike – they will make no more bishops
Something peculiar happened in the Church of England last week. We are, of course, very used to peculiar things happening in the Church of England, but this was so peculiar…
Christ Church vs Martyn Percy: a conspiracy of lawyers, divine PR, and the purgatory of CofE Safeguarding
The story of injustice being inflicted by the Church of England upon Prof Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, has been grinding on now for over three months, and…
Cottrell and Carey: why is some safeguarding secret, while others are thrown to the media?
It was announced yesterday that the Rt Rev'd Stephen Cottrell, who next week is to be formally installed as the 98th Archbishop of York, had been investigated over a past…
What bishop would tell a vicar: ‘You’re no longer welcome in the Church of England’?
It made the pages of the Daily Mail, so it's serious: 'Vicar resigns after being 'silenced' over a Church of England school's plan to keep an eight-year-old pupil's sex change…
Bishop of Chelmsford repudiates episcopal "talent pool"
It was a glorious sermon, with an audacious, if not subversive (which some may call prophetic) intervention on the Church of England's emerging "talent pool" approach to recognising bishops.…