Here is the official report of Sunday’s business at General Synod.
General Synod – Summary of Business Conducted on Monday 7th July 2008
It is being updated during the day and will include links to audio of each session.
0 CommentsGeneral Synod will be debating Women Bishops later today. The debate was orginally scheduled for this afternoon, but because of the large number of proposed amendments it will now continue into the evening.
The order paper for this debate is online here and copied below the fold.
0 Commentsupdated at lunchtime
A mixture of articles looking forward to the debate on women bishops later today and back to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s sermon yesterday.
Riazat Butt in The Guardian Church of England to consider introducing ‘super-bishops’ to avert crisis over women
Martin Beckford in the Telegraph Anglican Church may create ‘super bishops’ to avoid splitting and
Church of England to debate women bishops
Ruth Gledhill in the Times Day of reckoning for Anglicans amid split over women bishops
Steve Doughty at the Mail Church of England plans male ‘superbishops’ for rebel clergy who refuse to be led by women
Alastair Beach in The Independent Anglican rebels ‘in Vatican meeting’
BBC Jesus ‘would feel Anglican pain’
BBC Synod set for women bishops vote
Jonathan Wynne-Jones in the Telegraph Dr Rowan Williams stands tall in the Church
0 CommentsHere is the official report of Sunday’s business at General Synod.
General Synod – Summary of Business Conducted on Sunday 6th July 2008
It is being updated during the day and will include links to audio of each session.
1 CommentThe Church Times is publishing its usual daily reports from General Synod.
Alastair Cutting and Justin Brett, both synod members, are blogging from the floor of the synod.
0 CommentsRiazat Butt in The Observer Archbishop hits back at the evangelical rebels
The Archbishop of York condemned leaders of a breakaway global church yesterday for their ‘ungenerous and unwarranted’ scapegoating of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Jonathan Wynne-Jones at the Telegraph Anglican bishops in secret Vatican summit
Senior Church of England bishops have held secret talks with Vatican officials to discuss the crisis in the Anglican communion over gays and women bishops.
Mail on Sunday Church of England must go ahead with plans to create women bishops, says senior clergyman
A senior bishop urged the Church of England yesterday to ignore warnings that allowing women to become bishops would ‘shatter the unity of the Church’ – and to plough ahead with the historic reform.
Emily Dugan in The Independent on Sunday Church schism widens over women bishops
6 CommentsDivisions appeared to widen yesterday between senior Church of England clergy on opposite sides of the debate over the consecration of women bishops, as the issue dominated the agenda at the General Synod.
Here is the official report of Saturday’s business at General Synod.
General Synod – Summary of Business Conducted on Saturday 5th July 2008
It is being updated during the day and will include links to audio of each session.
0 CommentsSynod debated the report of the Women Bishops Legislative Drafting Group this morning. The debate was on a “take-note” motion (which was passed). There will be debate on what to do next on Monday afternoon.
Here are the early press reports.
Ruth Gledhill in the Times Church of England faces ruin over women bishops
Tom Chivers and agencies in the Telegraph Introduce women bishops, Synod told
4 CommentsThe Archbishop of York gave his presidential address to synod this afternoon. He spoke about the building blocks of the mission and ministry of Jesus. The press release from the Archbishop’s office concentrated on two points mad during the address: knife crime and support for the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Archbishop Calls For Church To Reach Out on Knife Crime
The text of the press release is copied below the fold.
When the Archbishop said “It has grieved me deeply to hear reports of the ungracious personalisation of the issues through the criticism and scapegoating of Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury.” synod members burst out in spontaneous applause.
0 CommentsHere is the official report of Friday’s business at General Synod.
General Synod – Summary of Business Conducted on Friday 4th July 2008 PM
It includes links to audio of each session.
0 CommentsReaders will recall the Archbishop of Canterbury’s February lecture on sharia law. Now the Lord Chief Justice of England has given a lecture on the same topic.
Update
On the Archbishop of Canterbury’s website Welcome for Lord Chief Justice Remarks on Sharia Law
The Lord Chief Justice’s speech is online Equality before the Law
Patrick Wintour and Riazat Butt in The Guardian Sharia law could have UK role, says lord chief justice
Britain’s most senior judge reopened one of the most highly charged debates in Britain last night when he said he was willing to see sharia law operate in the country, so long as it did not conflict with the laws of England and Wales, or lead to the imposition of severe physical punishments.
Frances Gibb, Legal Editor of The Times Case dismissed: Lord Chief Justice lays down law on Sharia
Britain’s most senior judge declared last night that there was no place for Sharia courts in this country and insisted that all residents were governed by the laws of England and Wales.
Christopher Hope and James Kirkup in the Telegraph Muslims in Britain should be able to live under sharia, says top judge
Christopher Hope in the Telegraph Sharia will ‘inevitably’ become part of British law, says barrister
Comments on the Lord Chief Justice’s speech
Madeleine Bunting in The Guardian Lord Phillips: talking sense on sharia
Alexandra Fawcett in The Guardian We must have equality before the law
Inayat Bunglawala in The Guardian There’s a place for sharia
Matthew Parris in the Times The Sharia debate: we can’t all be equal under different laws
Charles Moore in the Telegraph Is cosying up to Muslim extremists the best way to defeat terrorism?
1 CommentThe Church of England General Synod has the first of two debates on women bishops later this morning.
Ruth Gledhill in the Times Church faithful may block the move for women bishops to stop the risk of defection by clergy. She writes:
Proposals to consecrate women bishops in the Church of England could fall at the last hurdle as church members take fright at the prospect of mass defections among the clergy, The Times has learnt.
Tom Peterkin in the Telegraph Church of England urged to ‘disagree in love’ over women bishops
The Church of England has been urged to be an example of how Christians can “disagree in love” as it debates plans for women bishops that threaten to tear it apart.
Paul Vallely in the Independent Church in the lurch
Big words are being thrown around in the Church of England these days; words such as schism, with echoes from 1,000 years ago when the world divided between Rome and the Orthodox; words such as Reformation, with echoes of the split between Catholic and Protestant, which spilt a deal of English blood in the 16th century.
Paul Handley in the Yorkshire Post Where democracy works in mysterious ways
“OH, goody – it’s the General Synod this weekend.” I’m sorry to report that this is not a phrase I hear very often.
Judith Maltby in The Guardian’s page writes on the Face to faith page It is odd that the opponents of women bishops should now adopt the language of ‘pain’. The same article is on the Comment is free page How to solve the question of female bishops where it is subtitled “When ‘pain’ enters into arguments about the future of Anglicanism, we’re faced with an impossible conundrum”.
3 CommentsThe Church of England’s General Synod will meet in York from this afternoon until Tuesday lunchtime.
Bill Bowder in the Church Times Tension mounts as women-bishop vote approaches
George Pitcher and Rev Dr Peter Mullen in the Telegraph Should women become Church of England bishops?
Robert Pigott at the BBC Church’s division lines drawn up
George Pitcher in the Telegraph Church of England campaign to target young priests at General Synod
15 CommentsA meeting was held at All Souls Church, Langham Place, in London yesterday evening on Global Anglicanism & English Orthodoxy?. Speakers included three of the (arch)bishops who had attended GAFCON last week: Henry Orombi (Archbishop of Uganda), Greg Venables (Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone) and Peter Jensen (Archbishop of Sydney).
Riazat Butt at The Guradian Church of England crisis: Mass defections loom as rebel faction appeals to English clergy
Hundreds of English clergy appear poised to defect from the Church of England to join a new conservative movement after a conference led by rebel archbishops was swamped with delegates in London yesterday.
George Pitcher at the Telegraph Anglican Church crisis: Phoney war becomes an invasion
The phoney war declared on the The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, in the Holy Lands last week has turned into an invasion.
Ruth Gledhill at the Times Evangelical Christians sign up to a ‘Church within a Church’
Nearly 800 clergy and lay leaders from the Church of England took the first steps yesterday towards forming a “Church within a Church” to be an evangelical stronghold against the ordination of gay people.
Andy McSmith at The Independent Anglican rebels ‘punched gay rights activists’
30 CommentsThree gay rights protesters say they were punched while being forcibly removed yesterday from a conference at which rebel bishops were trying to attract recruits to a network for Anglicans who believe all same-sex relationships should be condemned.
Some press articles are now referring to both women bishops and the fall-out from GAFCON so we list them together.
Theo Hobson in a Comment is free article for The Guardian The Evangelicals are moving in for the kill subtitled “Foca doesn’t want to form a breakaway church; it wants to take over the Anglican Communion, and depose Rowan Williams”.
George Pitcher in the Telegraph Archbishop of Canterbury braves the crossfire
Riazat Butt and Peter Walker in The Guardian Archbishop of Canterbury hits out at breakaway Anglicans
WATCH issued a press release “Women Bishops: the Church should move ahead in faith, not fear” yesterday; it is reproduced below the fold.
Tom Butler, the bishop of Southwark, writes in The Guardian Anglicanism’s militant tendency must be resisted with the subtitle “The Gafcon rebels are unrepresentative ultras – and I, for one, am glad Rowan Williams has lost patience with them”.
11 CommentsUpdated to include Ruth Gledhill’s blog entry
Reports today of both those in favour and those against.
George Pitcher in The Telegraph Church of England faces split over women bishops
This is actually a report of a news conference held by supporters of the ordination of women as bishops as this pargraph shows.
Leading figures supporting the women’s campaign from politics and the Church gathered at Westminster Abbey to warn legislators that the time has come to consecrate women as bishops, with no formal provision in law for traditionalists who object to the move on grounds of conscience.
Ruth Gledhill in The Times Church of England clergy plan mass exit over women bishops
She writes about those who against.
More than 1,300 clergy, including 11 serving bishops, have written to the archbishops of Canterbury and York to say that they will defect from the Church of England if women are consecrated bishops.
Ruth Gledhill in her blog at The Times Trads threaten walk-out over women
This includes this link to the open letter to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York threatening to leave the Church if women are consecrated bishops with no legal provisions for opponents. The letter contains the names of all 1300 signatories.
And a brief report from the BBC
Quit threats over women bishops
Ruth Gledhill in her Times blog reports that the Bishop of Guildford has said Give trads their own diocese. This refers to an open letter from the bishop which is online here and is copied here below the fold.
35 CommentsReligious Intelligence has Bishop of Liverpool in call to resign after tribunal ruling by Toby Cohen
Church Times has Press officer who accused bishop of lying wins case by Pat Ashworth
Earlier reports here and also here.
0 CommentsRiazat Butt wrote a profile of Martin Dudley for the Guardian.
Barbara Bradley Hagerty did a piece for National Public Radio Angst Bubbles in the Anglican Communion.
Barbara McMahon reported for the Guardian that Gay priests back in New Zealand after wedding row.
GayNZ.com reported that Priest’s Anglican gay marriage “not the first”.
The Times carried an article by Richard Haggis The Church of England starts at home. He argues that “The faithful in London should not allow foreign Anglican bishops to dictate how they should treat gay clergy and their civil partnerships”.
5 CommentsPat Ashworth writes in today’s Church Times Synod urged in two different directions on women bishops. Two quotes from this article:
The chairman of the Catholic Group on the General Synod, the Revd Canon Simon Killwick, has described as “insulting” and “offensive” the motion on women bishops which the House of Bishops will put forward at the July sessions.
Christina Rees, who chairs Women and the Church (WATCH), described “dire predictions” of an exodus of 500 clergy if the Measure were passed unamended as “unfounded and untrue” on Tuesday.
Also in the Church Times (as already noted here) Glyn Paflin writes Women bishops issue may dominate Synod.
2 Comments