Women priests

Catholic and Reformed: continuity and development

January 13, 2020
Archbishop Cranmer
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Toward the end of his ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury (though it may have been just after the end), Rowan Williams was interviewed about his beliefs, and in particular his understanding of the nature and purpose of the Church of…

Patriarchal pronouns: if we should stop calling God ‘he’, may we call Satan ‘she’?

October 10, 2018
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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…

Archbishop York Sentamu - retirement woman

Why a woman may be the next Archbishop of York, but not of Canterbury

October 2, 2018
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His Grace The Most Rev'd and Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu, Lord Archbishop of York, has announced that he will retire from his post on 7th June 2020, three days…

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When did Transgenderism supplant Anglican orthodoxy as a qualification for Holy Orders?

June 4, 2018
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If you believe that women may not be priests; that Holy Orders are a male preserve; that a woman may not represent Christ at the altar; that 'woman priest' is…

“Late ordinand” Sarah Mullally to be next Bishop of London

December 18, 2017
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The long wait is over: the person selected by the Crown Nominations Commission under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to be the next Bishop of London is the Rt…

Wrestling with Scripture? Is it time to transgender our macho theology?

October 2, 2017
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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…

Mawer, Percy, and the See of Sheffield: what if Conservative politicians had supported Philip North?

September 25, 2017
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Sir Philip Mawer's report on the circumstances surrounding the nomination of Bishop Philip North to the See of Sheffield makes interesting reading, in particular what it means for the 'mutual…

‘Dear Patrick…’ Words of comfort for clergy who feel forsaken by mutual flourishing

May 5, 2017
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Returning to the Church of England's gender wars and sexuality skirmishes (which never really went away), the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, who advocates righteous discrimination against traditionalists who discriminate…

Gender justice and LGBT equality: Martyn Percy demands female cardinals and gay imams

April 5, 2017
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In another 5,000-word essay, the Very Rev'd Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, demands "a thorough and wholesale review" of discrimination in the Church of England. And by…

Women bishops: the desperate and disingenuous distinction in the Five Guiding Principles

March 30, 2017
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Of all the responses to the post on the 'review' instigated by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York into the operation of the Five Guiding Principles in the nomination of…

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

March 27, 2017
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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…

Philip North crisis: ‘Good Disagreement’ has become ‘bad bullying’

March 11, 2017
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This is a guest post by the Rev’d Dr Gavin Ashenden, former Chaplain to the Queen. ___________________________ When the house that has been painstakingly constructed on the sand falls flat,…

Abstaining: Martyn Percy’s excellent (but flawed) Lenten reflection (on Sheffield)

March 8, 2017
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Martyn Percy has written an excellent Lenten reflection on abstaining, in the context of the appointment of the next Bishop of Sheffield. We wait with bated breath to see if…

Safespacing the Church: revising doctrine to suit mental health

March 7, 2017
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Mental health matters, right? Yes, of course it does. And the Church of England is right to focus on this often-neglected area of human flourishing and wellbeing, with speeches in…

If Philip North can’t be Bishop of Sheffield, the Church of England ceases to be catholic

February 25, 2017
620 Comments

The Dean of Christ Church, Professor Martyn Percy, has issued an ultimatum circumspectly entitled 'Questions of Ambiguity and Integrity'. It's quite long, but essentially it boils down to a choice:…

Synod vote on same-sex relations: it was female clergy wot won it (or lost it)

February 23, 2017
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The electronic voting results for the Synod motion on 'Marriage and Same-Sex Relations after the Shared Conversations' have been released. As we know, in an exercise of pure democracy, Synod…

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

November 15, 2016
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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…

With the gift of a crozier, Pope Francis recognises and affirms the episcopal jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury

October 9, 2016
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You can read too much into a symbol, especially if it signifies a deep spiritual longing or portends some prophetic fulfilment. What to one person is just the rain, to…

Chartres' Lambeth Lecture: the Church must be "vision-led and not problem-led"

October 5, 2015
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While the Archbishop of Canterbury pored over the Blogosphere on his iPad (to which he is apparently rather attached), the Bishop of London psyched himself up for the latest…

Planned Parenthood brands its critics "extremists"

August 6, 2015
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"Just depending on the patient's anatomy, how many weeks, where it's placed in the uterus.. we're going to potentially be able to have some that will be more or less…