The process to identify the next Archbishop of Canterbury is underway and the Diocese of Canterbury’s Vacancy in see Committee – the group that manages and oversees the Diocese’s role in the process – has published its Statement of Needs.
The document incorporates views which were gathered as part of a public consultation as well as explaining what life in our diocese is like for those who live, work and worship here.
The online consultation had responses from people across Kent, including the views of children and young people in the Diocese who took part in consultation activities in schools and youth groups.
The Statement of Needs will be read by candidates as well as the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), the body that is meeting to pray, reflect and ultimately nominate someone to be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury. The CNC will make its nomination to the Prime Minister who, if he accepts will advise His Majesty the King, who will formally appoint the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
The document states: ‘The Archbishop is ‘our’ Archbishop alongside their responsibilities in the Church of England, the nation, the Anglican Communion and on the world stage. We offer in the Diocese of Canterbury and in the Cathedral Precincts a home, where the Archbishop will feel they belong.’
The Chair of the Vacancy in See Committee, the Venerable Dr Will Adam, said: “I would like to thank everyone who took part in our diocesan consultation to help the process of discernment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury. The responses gathered have helped us put together a Statement of Needs that captures the opportunities and challenges in our diverse corner of the country, reflecting the coastal, urban and rural communities and the church in all its variety in this diocese. The document will be enormously helpful to the Crown Nominations Commission and to candidates as we continue to discern who God is calling to be our next Archbishop.”
The process of identifying the next Archbishop of Canterbury began after Archbishop Justin Welby announced his intention to resign in November 2024.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the Bishop in the Diocese of Canterbury alongside their national and global roles. The candidates and CNC will be informed by the themes from a wider consultation that took in the views of 11,000 people. It will sit alongside the Statement of Needs as well as other information provided by the National Church and Anglican Communion.
First published on: 5th June 2025
Page last updated: Friday 6th June 2025 10:31 AM
House of Survivors statement re Kennedys Law
House of Survivors has issued this statement on 3 September:
House of Survivors Statement
The recent Kennedys data breach has thrown many questions into the air for survivors, not least how will the law firm lead the Redress Scheme whilst at the same time fend off dozens of civil claims from the same group of people. This incident affects women and men who have already endured profound injustice and lifelong impact at the hands of the Church, and is a painful violation of trust and safety we had a right to expect. It also puts trust in the Redress Scheme into question for all Church of England context survivors.
House of Survivors’ view is that Kennedys will need to grasp the nettle and take the initiative – and offer the data breach survivors a fair compensation veering on the side of quantum generosity. It will save much time and anxiety, save Kennedys much in legal fees, avoid additional stress for the men and women affected when trust is low and tension is high. It will also enable Kennedys to claw back vital reputational ground. They will need to work imaginatively, probably outside of their usual playbook, and ahead of the Redress Scheme starting. We hope Kennedys might be keen to seize the moment as the loss to their business is likely to grow the longer they leave it. There will be some survivors who will wish to make civil claims through various law firms and clearly everyone needs to have the freedom to do this if they wish. That is everyone’s right. But in our view a proactive move by Kennedys will be the smart thing for the law firm to do.
Our biggest fear is that this mess left unaddressed will cause the Redress Scheme to be delayed – especially if the Church has to reconvene the Redress Scheme board to negotiate with new law firms. This could see the Scheme delayed by another one to two years. We suspect some in the hierarchy, particularly those who control Archbishops Council, may be privately hoping the whole thing will collapse and they can blame Kennedys. House of Survivors reminds those people that the reputational fallout will impact the Church just as greatly. We urge the Church to work with Kennedys to reassure all survivors that the Scheme is going ahead, will be closely monitored by an oversight committee with survivor input, and that both Kennedys and the Church will seek quickly and proactively to put things back on track.
House of Survivors
3 Sept 2025
Bishop of Warrington resigns
In a short item on the Liverpool diocesan website it has been announced that the Rt Revd Beverley Mason is to resign as suffragan Bishop of Warrington.
The Rt Revd Beverley A Mason has resigned as suffragan Bishop of Warrington in the Diocese of Liverpool. This will take effect from 1st October 2025.
The Rt Revd Ruth Worsley, Interim Bishop of Liverpool says:
‘It is with heavy hearts we receive this news today. We are thankful for all that Bishop Bev has given in her ministry among us here in the Liverpool diocese. She goes with our love and prayers for the future.’Bishop Bev has written a letter to the people of the Diocese which can be read here
The letter is copied below.
We have covered earlier aspects of this story here and here.
10 CommentsSuffragan Bishop of Basingstoke
The Prime Minister’s Office has annnounced that the next Bishop of Basingstoke in the diocese of Winchester will be the Ven Kelly Anne Betteridge, currently Archdeacon of Bodmin. The Winchester website carries a press release New Bishop of Basingstoke Announced by Downing Street while Truro has Archdeacon Kelly named as new Bishop.
30 CommentsSuffragan Bishop of Basingstoke: 28 August 2025
The King has approved the nomination of the Venerable Kelly Anne Betteridge BA, MA, to the Suffragan See of Basingstoke, in the Diocese of Winchester.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 28 August 2025The King has approved the nomination of the Venerable Kelly Anne Betteridge BA, MA, Archdeacon of Bodmin in the Diocese of Truro, to the Suffragan See of Basingstoke in the Diocese of Winchester, in succession to the Right Reverend David Williams BSc, following his translation to the See of Truro.
Kelly was educated at Roehampton Institute, gaining a degree in Education and Theology in 1992. She served as a youth and children’s worker in parishes in the Dioceses of Guildford and of Oxford and then as a ministry specialist working with the Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS), involved in training and consultancy work with leaders, writing resources and shaping policy relating to children’s ministry.
Kelly trained for ministry at Queen’s College, Birmingham, gaining an MA in Applied Theological Studies. She served her title across the three parishes of St. Nicolas, Nuneaton with St. James, Weddington, and St. Theobold and St. Chad, Caldecote, in the Diocese of Coventry. She was ordained Priest in 2011 and was subsequently appointed Vicar of St. Nicolas and Priest in Charge of St. James and St. Theobold and St. Chad in 2014.
In 2021 Kelly took up her current role as Archdeacon of Bodmin and a Director of Intergenerational Church, in the Diocese of Truro, supporting deaneries to implement plans for sustainability and flourishing, working with leaders (lay and ordained) to embed new patterns of ministry and, promoting intergenerational approaches to church life.
Redress Scheme suffers major data breach
Updated 29 August
As mentioned in today’s Opinion article, the Redress Scheme that was recently approved by General Synod has suffered from a major data breach. The Church of England has issued this statement:
Redress Scheme data breach by Kennedy’s Law LLP which is copied in full below.
We have been made aware of a deeply regrettable data incident involving the independent Redress Scheme administered by Kennedys Law LLP.
- Please see a statement from Kennedys Law. (also copied below)
This incident resulted in the unintended disclosure by Kennedys Law of email addresses belonging to individuals who had registered for updates on the Redress Scheme.
First and foremost, our focus is on those affected. We recognise the distress this has caused, particularly for survivors who trusted the scheme to handle their information with care and confidentiality.
While the Church of England is not the data controller for the Redress Scheme and does not hold or manage the data in question, we are nonetheless profoundly concerned. We are in discussions with Kennedys to understand how this breach occurred and to ensure robust steps are taken to prevent anything similar from happening again.
Kennedys has taken full responsibility for the incident and is contacting all those affected directly to apologise and offer support. They have reported the breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office and are investigating the circumstances thoroughly.
This should not have happened. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and support efforts to restore trust and confidence.
Questions or concerns in relation to this data breach can be directed to KennedysDataProtectionOfficer@kennedyslaw.com
Finding support
If you have been impacted by this there are a number of organisations who can offer support:
Safe Spaces is a free and independent support service for anyone who has experienced abuse in relation to the Church of England, the Church in Wales, or the Catholic Church of England and Wales.
There are Safeguarding Advisers in every Church of England diocese across the country. Details can be found using our Diocesan Safeguarding Teams map which links to relevant contact information in each area.
Additional support services are listed here.
If you would like to talk to someone within the Church of England please email redress@churchofengland.org
Statement from Kennedys Law: Published 27 August 2025
Regrettably on Tuesday evening, a message was sent from law firm, Kennedys, to 194 individuals and law firms who had registered to receive updates in relation to the Church of England Redress scheme. Due to human error, the email displayed the email addresses making them visible to all recipients. No further personal details of individuals were shared. Attempts to recall the message were only partially successful.
Kennedys has been working with the Church of England since March 2024 as its independent Scheme Administrator to help it develop further and manage its National Redress Scheme for victims and survivors of Church-related abuse. This was approved by the General Synod of the Church of England in July paving the way for the scheme to open for redress applications.
Kennedys is deeply sorry for the hurt and concern caused to everyone affected by this significant error and accepts full responsibility. We have contacted everyone who received the message and have reported the incident to the Charity Commission, the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Solicitor’s Regulatory Authority. We will fully comply with any investigations.
Additionally, we have launched a full internal investigation to understand how this could have occurred and will incorporate any lessons learnt into our procedures immediately.
We understand the significant impact this will have on those affected for which we apologise unreservedly. We remain committed to supporting victims and survivors of Church of England-related abuse to secure the financial redress, therapeutic, spiritual and emotional support, acknowledgement of wrongdoing on the part of the Church, apology and other forms of bespoke redress under this scheme. Questions or concerns in relation to this data breach can be directed to KennedysDataProtectionOfficer@kennedyslaw.com
Updates
This letter was issued on Thursday: An open letter from the Bishop of Winchester
And this was issued by Kennedys, on the front page of the Redress Scheme website, and is copied below.
Redress Church of England
Kennedys data breach
Published 28 August 2025
I am a Partner at the law firm Kennedys, and I have been working with the Church of
England to develop the Redress Scheme.
I know you will already be aware of the unfortunate incident earlier this week in which an email was sent to people who had registered to receive updates in relation to the Redress Scheme. Due to human error and in breach of firm standards, the email displayed the email addresses of all recipients. I want to reassure you that no further personal details of individuals, or information relating to those individuals, was shared.
I want to take this opportunity to personally apologise that this error occurred. It does not reflect the standards that we expect of ourselves and as a firm but more importantly we know that it has caused trauma and concern, and seriously impacted on the trust that survivors and others have in the Redress Scheme. We recognise the seriousness of this incident, and we have launched an internal investigation to understand exactly how this incident occurred and to ensure it does not happen again.
We are also working with the Church of England and those leading the Scheme to determine how best to rebuild trust in the Redress Scheme, and ensure those affected by this incident are adequately supported and any harm suffered appropriately redressed.
We have received a number of complaints from those affected by this incident and are responding to those individually. If you have been impacted and want to lodge a complaint, or have any related questions or concerns, you can contact me at Helen_snowball@kennedyslaw.com or the Kennedys Data Protection Officer at KennedysDataProtectionOfficer@kennedyslaw.com. We have a dedicated team in place who are entirely focused on this matter.
We understand it can be distressing for some to receive further messages from the original thread. We have provided some guidance here that might help reduce or stop further messages coming to your inbox.
We know this will be a difficult time for many of you and additional support is available from Safe Spaces. They can be contacted on safespaces@firstlight.org.uk or 0300 303 1056.
I would like to reiterate again how sorry I am that this happened and our unwavering dedication to making it right.
With regards,
Helen Snowball
35 Comments
Chris Brain trial: found guilty on 17 out of 37 charges
Updated
The trial of Chris Brain on multiple charges arising from the Nine O’Clock Service has led to the following outcomes:
- Found guilty on 17 charges of indecent assault
- Found not guilty on a further 15 charges of indecent assault
- Jury failed to reach a verdict on 5 further charges, 1 of rape, 4 of indecent assault.
A further hearing is scheduled for 4 September, to determine if there are grounds for a retrial on any of the latter charges.
The Church of England has issued these statements: Statements following the trial of Chris Brain, the founder of the Nine O’Clock Service in Sheffield.
The Diocese of Sheffield has this: Statement from the Bishop of Sheffield following the trial of Chris Brain
South Yorkshire Police has: Former priest guilty of multiple sexual offences following SYP investigation
Update
Crown Prosecution Service has: Former vicar convicted for rape and sexual assaults connected to his nightclub ‘Nine O Clock service’
Note: this headline has now been amended.
93 CommentsCherry Vann elected Archbishop of Wales
It has been announced that the Electoral College of the Church in Wales has elected the Rt Revd Cherry Vann, Bishop of Monmouth, as the fifteenth Archbishop of Wales, and her election has been confirmed by the Bench of Bishops. The announcement is copied below.
More pictures can be seen on Facebook here. There is a BBC News report here.
166 CommentsNew Archbishop of Wales elected
A new Archbishop of Wales has been elected today, 30 July 2025.
Cherry Vann who has served as the Bishop of Monmouth for the past five years, has been chosen as the 15th Archbishop of Wales.
She succeeds Bishop Andrew John who retired in July after three and a half years as the leader of the Church in Wales.
Archbishop Cherry was elected having secured a two-thirds majority vote from members of the Electoral College on the second day of its meeting at the St Pierre Church and Hotel in Chepstow. The election was confirmed by the other diocesan bishops and announced by the Provincial Secretary of the Church in Wales, Simon Lloyd. Archbishop Cherry will be enthroned at Newport Cathedral in due course. As Archbishop she will continue to serve as Bishop of Monmouth.
Originally from Leicestershire, Archbishop Cherry Vann was consecrated as Bishop of Monmouth in 2020. Cherry was ordained as a deacon in 1989. She was then among the first women to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1994. She then served as Archdeacon of Rochdale, in the Diocese of Manchester, for 11 years.
She said, “”The first thing I shall need to do is to ensure that the issues which have been raised in the last six months are properly addressed and that I work to bring healing and reconciliation, and to build a really good level of trust across the Church and the communities the Church serves.”
The Very Revd Ian Black, Dean of Newport welcomed the news on behalf of the Diocese of Monmouth.
He said, “Cherry is the right person for this moment in the Church in Wales’ life. She has the skills and vision that we need to restore trust following some very public failings. She has brought stability to the Diocese of Monmouth, managing the change to ministry areas with clarity and purpose, showing deep care for the clergy and people. This foundation will be a good base as she leads the Province over the next few years.
“She has a deep faith, which is also open to those who take a different view to her, and this has impressed those people enormously.
“I look forward to supporting her as Dean of her Cathedral. One of our duties and pleasures here is to pray for the bishop every day and we will continue to do so gladly.”
Bishop of Worcester
The Prime Minister’s Office has announced that the next Bishop of Worcester is to be the Right Reverend Hugh Edmund Nelson, currently Suffragan Bishop of St Germans. The Worcester diocesan website has more information here, and the diocese of Truro has this.
3 CommentsAppointment of Bishop of Worcester: 29 July 2025
The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Hugh Edmund Nelson, for election as Bishop of Worcester
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 29 July 2025The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Hugh Nelson, Suffragan Bishop of St Germans in the Diocese of Truro, for election as Bishop of Worcester, in succession to The Right Reverend John Geoffrey Inge, following his retirement.
Background
After a theology degree at Worcester College, Oxford, Hugh spent 13 years living and working with adults with learning disabilities in one of the L’Arche communities. He trained for ministry at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, was ordained Deacon in 2009 and Priest in 2010, serving his title at The Six group of Churches in the rural area around Sittingbourne in the Diocese of Canterbury. He was appointed Vicar of Goudhurst and Kilndown, also in the diocese of Canterbury, in 2012.
In 2020 Hugh took up his current role as Suffragan Bishop of St Germans in the Diocese of Truro and was in addition appointed Bishop to the Armed Forces in 2021. Since 2023 he also served as Acting Bishop of Truro until the installation of the Right Reverend David Williams on 17th May.
Election of the Archbishop of Wales
The Church in Wales has announced the timetable for the election of its next Archbishop. The press release is copied below.
Election of the Archbishop of Wales
Provincial news Posted: 22 July 2025
The Electoral College will meet at St Pierre Church and Hotel in Chepstow on the 29th of July to choose the 15th Archbishop of Wales. The College can take up to three days to elect an Archbishop.
This election follows the retirement of the Bishop of Bangor, Andrew John, who held the office of Archbishop of Wales for three and a half years. His successor will be chosen from among the serving Welsh diocesan bishops – the Bishop of St Asaph, Gregory Cameron, the Bishop of Monmouth, Cherry Vann, Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, John Lomas, the Bishop of Llandaff, Mary Stallard, and the Bishop of St Davids, Dorrien Davies.
Those making the decision represent churches across Wales. Each of the six dioceses elects three clerics and three lay people onto the College and the bishops are also members. The College President is the Senior Bishop, Bishop Gregory Cameron.
The meeting will begin with Holy Communion at St Peter’s Church, which is on the St Pierre estate. Following that, college members will meet for confidential discussions.
After a discussion on the needs of the Province and a period of prayer and reflection, the President will call for nominations. The bishops nominated then withdraw from the discussion, only returning to vote. A nominee must achieve two-thirds of the votes of the college in order to be elected Archbishop. If after a vote is taken no candidate receives the necessary votes, the process begins again with fresh nominations, which may or may not include those who had been nominated in the previous round.
Once the Archbishop is elected, an announcement is made. The normal practice is for the bishop to confirm his or her election immediately. The new Archbishop will be enthroned in his or her home cathedral at a later date.
If The College fails to elect an Archbishop within three days, the decision passes to the Bench of Bishops.
34 CommentsDean of Bangor
A new dean has been appointed to Bangor Cathedral, with Canon Dr Manon Ceridwen James taking up the role from September. Details are in the diocesan press release.
4 CommentsDean of Carlisle
The Dean of Carlisle, the Very Revd Jonathan Brewster, has announced that he is to step down from his role.
5 CommentsStatement from the Representative Body of the Church in Wales on Bangor Cathedral
The Representative Body of the Church in Wales issued a statement on Bangor Cathedral, and other related matters within the Church, yesterday. It is copied below.
These are these two press reports.
- Martin Shipton Nation Cymru Church releases details of motion that led to Archbishop’s resignation
- Gwyn Loader BBC News Church in Wales calls for investigation of diocese
Statement from the Representative Body of the Church in Wales on Bangor Cathedral
Posted: 1 July 2025
The Representative Body of the Church in Wales met on Tuesday June 24 to consider, among other matters, the situation at Bangor Cathedral.
A brief public statement was issued later that day:
“The Representative Body of the Church in Wales met today to consider matters relating to Bangor Cathedral. After extensive and detailed discussions, the meeting has been adjourned, and a statement will be issued in due course.”
That full statement is now being issued, comprising the full text of the motion approved by the Representative Body. (more…)
7 CommentsRetirement of the Archbishop of Wales
The Archbishop of Wales has announced this evening that he has retired with immediate effect as Archbishop. He will also retire as Bishop of Bangor on 31 August. There are statements from the Archbishop, the Bench of Bishops and the Chair of the Representative Body in this press release, copied below.
Retirement of the Archbishop of Wales
Posted: 27 June 2025
Statement from the Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd. Andrew John
Dear Friends,
I am writing to you to announce my immediate retirement today as Archbishop of Wales. I also intend to retire as Bishop of Bangor on August 31st.
It has been an enormous joy to serve in the Church in Wales for over 35 years. I cannot thank you enough for the privilege of working at your side for the sake of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
I would very much like to thank the clergy and congregations of this wonderful diocese before I retire and I will be in touch again about the way in which this might happen.
Thank you, and Christ give you joy and peace in believing.
+Andy
Statement on behalf of the Bench of Bishops of the Church in Wales
The Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt Rev’d Gregory Cameron, Senior Bishop of the Church in Wales, spoke on behalf of the Bench of Bishops:
“As Archbishop Andrew announces his retirement today as Archbishop of Wales and his forthcoming retirement as Bishop of Bangor, the Bench of Bishops of the Church in Wales wish to express our heartfelt thanks for his service to the Church during his ministry.
“Andy has dedicated thirty-six years of his life to ordained ministry in the Church in Wales, and has served with commitment and energy to proclaim the Christian Gospel and draw people to deeper faith in Jesus Christ. He has given so much for the good of the Church in Wales. He now lays down his considerable responsibilities in the same spirit in which he has served for these decades.
“We offer most sincere thanks, and our commitment to hold him and his family in prayer at this time and in the days ahead.”
Statement by Professor Medwin Hughes, Chair of the Representative Body of the Church in Wales
As Archbishop Andrew retires from his duties, I wish to thank him on behalf of The Representative Body of the Church in Wales for his hard work, commitment and vision during his time as Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Bangor.
The Archbishop has led the Church through a time of immense change and challenge. Throughout his time in post, has shown his deeply felt concern for the welfare, not just of the Church itself, but of our society and the world as a whole.
I know that everyone who has worked with The Archbishop during his ministry will have been touched by his pastoral care and his profound dedication to improving the life of the Church in Wales and of the wider community.
As he now passes that work to other hands, I want to place on record my sincere gratitude for all he has achieved, together with my admiration for the integrity of his ministry to the people of Wales. All members of the Representative Body will continue to hold The Archbishop and his family in our prayers.
40 CommentsBishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
The Prime Minister’s Office has announced that the next Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich will be the Rt Revd Joanne Grenfell, currently Area Bishop of Stepney in the diocese of London. Details are in the press release copied below. The diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich has more here, and the diocese of London has this.
30 CommentsAppointment of Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich: 27 June 2025
The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Dr Joanne Woolway Grenfell, Area Bishop of Stepney, in the Diocese of London, for election as Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP
Published 27 June 2025The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Dr Joanne Woolway Grenfell, Area Bishop of Stepney, in the Diocese of London, for election as Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, in succession to The Right Reverend Martin Alan Seeley, following his retirement.
Background
Joanne Grenfell was educated at Oriel College, Oxford and the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. She trained for ministry at Westcott House, Cambridge. She has a DPhil from Oxford and was Lecturer in English at Oriel College before ordination.
She served her title in the Kirkby Team Ministry in the Diocese of Liverpool and was ordained Priest in 2001. In 2003, Joanne was appointed joint Priest-in-Charge of Manor Parish in the Diocese of Sheffield with responsibility for Ripon College Cuddesdon’s urban theology placement programme. In 2006, Joanne became Diocesan Director of Ordinands and Residentiary Canon of Sheffield Cathedral, and in 2008 she took on the additional role of Dean of Women’s Ministry.
From 2013, Dr Grenfell served as Archdeacon of Portsdown in the Diocese of Portsmouth. In 2019, she took up her current role as Area Bishop of Stepney, in the Diocese of London. She has been the lead Bishop for safeguarding since May 2023.
Alternative Ordinations in England
Law & Religion UK has this exclusive report:
Alternative Anglican Ordinations: seven South African deacons
46 CommentsSeven lay ministers from dioceses across the Church of England were ordained in May 2025 by a visiting Anglican bishop from South Africa. In this guest post, Andrew Atherstone provides the first report of this event, based on interviews with several of the leading participants.
On Wednesday 21 May 2025, the Archbishop of York received notification from the Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa (REACH SA) of their plans to ordain “missionary clergy” for ministry in England…
House of Bishops – minutes for March 2025
These are now available online. Earlier minutes are here; scroll down to “Documents”.
4 CommentsStill no answers to safeguarding questions
TA readers may recall that in 2023 and 2024, letters were sent to both the archbishops by Richard Scorer, on behalf of his Client ‘Gilo’, asking questions about the involvement of William Nye, members of the National Safeguarding Team, and others in a meeting with Ecclesiastical Insurance held in 2016. To date, no substantive reply has been received.
Yesterday, a third letter was sent. This time it has been sent to the Church Commissioners, since the Archbishops’ Council has now failed repeatedly to answer. No doubt the topic will yet again by raised at the General Synod next month.
- A PDF of the most recent letter is here.
- For reference the two earlier letters were also included:
2023 letter
2024 letter
All of this has been rehearsed on Thinking Anglicans before. Here are some of the earlier articles:
Elliot Review Redux
Safeguarding Bishop admits that survivor was misled
Getting answers to safeguarding questions is slow
1700 years since the Council of Nicaea
The Council of Nicaea met in the summer of the year 325, so that this year marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council, the first such gathering.
To mark the anniversary, the Church of England has published a small book, We Believe: Exploring the Nicene Creed which “explores the theological depth and contemporary relevance of the Nicene Creed — one of the most enduring and universal expressions of Christian faith”. It contains 24 reflections and prayers, one on each statement of the Nicene Creed, and can be used daily, 6 days a week across 4 weeks, though the reflections are not dated and can easily be used at other times. It is all also being included over the next few weeks in the Everyday Faith app. There’s a press release here, and for further information scroll down this page at the Church of England website.
The booklet of reflections was produced by a small subgroup of the Liturgical Commission, and the accompanying page (linked above) has extra resources that can be used to shape a study course or a sermon or sermon series or other activity. There’s also an article on the use of the Nicene Creed in the liturgy.
The Council of Nicaea met to resolve two major controversies, creating the statement about how it understood the relationship between God the Father and God the Son (a statement extended and revised at the Council of Constantinople in 381 to form what we call the Nicene Creed, give or take a word or two). And it agreed that Easter should always be kept on a Sunday rather than on the spring full moon itself.
In addition to this Church of England material, Transforming Worship (formerly called Praxis) in its June newsletter, available to subscribers, also included a couple of articles by two of the booklet writers: Jo Kershaw on the Nicene Creed and me on the Date of Easter, which is a canter through the history and significance of the date, from the first century to the twenty-first.
45 CommentsChurch of England responds to House of Commons votes
There have been two instances this week of votes in the House of Commons on issues where members have been free to vote in line with their personal opinions. The Church of England has issued press releases in each case.
First, a change to the law on abortion was approved, by way of an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill. As Law and Religion UK explains:
“For the purposes of the law related to abortion, including sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, no offence is committed by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy.”–(Tonia Antoniazzi.)
This new clause would disapply existing criminal law related to abortion from women acting in relation to her own pregnancy at any gestation, removing the threat of investigation, arrest, prosecution, or imprisonment. It would not change any law regarding the provision of abortion services within a healthcare setting, including but not limited to the time limit, telemedicine, the grounds for abortion, or the requirement for two doctors’ approval.”
The Bishop of London made this comment:
“Women facing unwanted pregnancies are confronted with the hardest of choices. Ultimately, they require compassion and care in order to support them fully in the heart-wrenching decision they must take. They should not be prosecuted.
“However, decriminalising abortion can at the same time inadvertently undermine the value of unborn life. The amendment passed to the Crime and Policing Bill[*] may not change the 24-week abortion limit, but it undoubtedly risks eroding the safeguards and enforcement of those legal limits. Women suffering from coercion, or those who are victims of sexual or domestic abuse, would be the most vulnerable to the proposed change, which does not consider improvements to abortion care, nor address the inadequacies of the ‘pills by post’ assessments. These concerns are well set out in the letter signed by over 200 clergy published in the Telegraph this morning.
“Considering any fundamental reform to this country’s abortion laws should not be done via an amendment to another Bill. There should be public consultation and robust Parliamentary process to ensure that every legal and moral aspect of this debate is carefully considered and scrutinised. We need a path that supports women, not one that puts them and their unborn children in the way of greater harm.”
The actual text of the letter mentioned above can be found by scrolling on this page.
Second, MPs in the House of Commons voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, with 314 votes in favour and 291 against, a majority of 23. The Bishop of London’s full comments were contained in this statement:
49 CommentsChurch of England national spending plans
The Church of England has announced its national spending plans for 2026-2028, in particular how it will use the funds made available by the Church Commissioners. The text of this morning’s press release is copied below; there is also a helpful video.
Major investment in local churches and parish clergy as £1.6bn three-year national spending plans unveiled
09/06/2025
- Church Commissioners’ funding towards work of the church set to leap by 36 per cent in the three-year period 2026-28, amounting to the biggest distribution in Church’s history.
- Indicative distributions of £4.6 billion over nine years from 2026 to 2034.
- Typical stipend set to rise 10.7 per cent next year under new proposals as clergy well-being put at centre of spending plans. Boost in support for churches in lowest income communities.
The Church of England today unveils plans to invest more than £1.6 billion towards sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and serving local communities over the next three years – a 36 per cent rise on the national funding made available in 2022 for the current three-year period. (more…)
23 CommentsCanterbury Statement of Needs published.
The Diocese of Canterbury’s Vacancy in See Committee has published its Statement of Needs. There is also an article with background information on the diocesan website; it is copied below.
Diocese of Canterbury publishes document to help discern next Archbishop