Bishop of Liverpool seeks to expunge male and female from marriage
"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…
Theology
‘Key limiting factors’: the end of stipendiary parish ministry
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 the next 10 years, to make one million new disciples…
Bishop of Reading: ‘Evolution is God incarnate; the whole earth is God’s body’
The Rt Rev'd Olivia Graham, Bishop of Reading, has been reading a book. Perhaps she has been reading two or three. Her subject is Creation and Incarnation; her passion is…
Canon Simon Butler responds to Archbishop Cranmer & Fr Marcus Walker
This is a guest post from Canon Simon Butler, vicar of St Mary's, Battersea. ____________ I’m grateful for being given a right of reply to the article about an exchange…
Rev’d Marcus Walker returns to his pulpit: “Here I stand!”
"We are back!" exclaims the Facebook page of Saint Bartholomew the Great, London's oldest extant church, founded in 1123 as an Augustinian Priory and which, they say, "has been in…
Patriarchal pronouns: if we should stop calling God ‘he’, may we call Satan ‘she’?
The Rev'd Canon Rosie Harper wants to vomit. That's what she wrote in her article 'Toxic masculinity: Why we should stop calling God "he"'. What makes her want to vomit…
No, Ruth Davidson: the burqa is a world away from a crucifix
Scottish Tory Leader Ruth Davidson is of the view that a Muslim wearing a burqa is no different from a Christian who wears a crucifix. She said: "If you use…
How Bishop George Bell became a victim of Church of England ‘spin’ and a narrative of ‘decisive leadership’
This is a guest post by The Very Rev’d Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. _______ Some may begin to wonder how exactly the Church of England’s National…
Wrestling with Scripture? Is it time to transgender our macho theology?
The Rt Rev'd Paul Bayes, Bishop of Liverpool, posed the question of whether the phrases we use to describe biblical exposition are "too macho". The Rt Rev'd Pete Wilcox, Bishop…
Welby says Islamism is everything to do with Islam, and Muslim leaders must take responsibility
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
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…
Bishop of Sheffield: Martyn Percy asked for bread; Sentamu and Welby give a stone
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 of Burnley: CofE’s agenda is set by academia, moneyed elites, and sections of the secular media
The Rt Rev'd Philip North, Bishop of Burnley, decided to celebrate his 50th birthday with a splash in the Church Times, which has become a veritable flash in the Daily…
Martyn Percy: Justin Welby “is preparing the ground for a complete volte-face on human sexuality”
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…
Would the appointment of Bishop Martyn Percy offer remedy against Justin Welby’s asserted theological ignorance?
Here follows Adrian Hilton's response to Martyn Percy's second letter on 'Renewal & Reform' (R&R) and the ministry and leadership of Justin Welby: Dear Martyn, Thank you for your letter.…
Martyn Percy: the Church of England is being “reformed by bankers.. theology is ruthlessly excluded.. populism and narcissism are in the ascendancy”
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?”
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…
Church of England funerals plummet 30% in a decade
Are people living longer? Are fewer dying? In the decade 2005-2015, the general population increased from 60,210,000 to 64,716,000, so why has the number of Church of England funerals plummeted…
Welby ponders the problem of suffering: “I’m not a good enough theologian”
"How can there be a God when there is so much suffering in the world?" probed broadcaster and journalist Jeremy Vine in discussion with Justin Welby in the Diocese of…
Same-sex marriage/blessing confronts Church of England with "a structural flaw of fatal proportions"
We have reached Chapter 5 in the great Anglican sexuality saga: 'Church of England parishes consider first step to break away over sexuality'. It isn't clear what the dénouement…