Write to letters@newstatesman.co.uk to have your thoughts voiced in the New Statesman magazine.| New Statesman
The Bishop of Oxford has sent a sanctimonious letter to Nigel Farage, snootily upbraiding him for "politicising" immigration. It only shows how out of touch the C of E is, says Julian Mann. The post The Bishop of Oxford’s Sanctimonious Letter to Nigel Farage Shows How Out of Touch the C of E is appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.| The Daily Sceptic
The recently reported case Re Bingham Cemetery (No. 2) [2025] ECC S&N 3 concerns an application by Mrs Rita Elizabeth Harbury-Carlisle, otherwise Lady Rita Harbury-Carlisle, (‘Rita’) seeking the exhumation of the remains of her sister Valerie Allsop (‘Valerie’) and her father … Continue reading →| Law & Religion UK
Christopher Brain, a former priest of the Church of England and founder of the Nine O’Clock Service (NOS) in Sheffield, has been found guilty of 17 counts of indecent assault on nine women at the Inner London Crown Court. The 20 August 2025 verdict comes after a protracted high-profile trial revealing years of abuse masked […] The post Christopher Brain Convicted of 17 Indecent Assaults appeared first on Anglican Ink © 2025.| Anglican Ink © 2025
A mood shift seems to be suggesting brighter days ahead I feel hope. For the first time in a long time I think I can honestly say that I feel hopeful about the Church of England and its future. I’m currently writing from the front line, from General Synod, and I can’t begin to tell […] The post First signs of an Anglican spring appeared first on Anglican Ink © 2025.| Anglican Ink © 2025
Is it time to exorcise the false religion of wokeness and return to our Biblical foundations? About a month ago, the Christian Conservative MP Danny Kruger rose to his feet in a virtually empty House of Commons on a sleepy Thursday afternoon to make a speech. It was an adjournment debate, when any MP can request […] The post A Christian nation? appeared first on Anglican Ink © 2025.| Anglican Ink © 2025
Following an investigation by Thames Valley Police, a man has been jailed for defrauding a parish church and an educational trust out of more than £285,000. Terence Capstick, aged 75, of Park Road, Winslow, was sentenced to four years for two counts of fraud by abuse of position at Aylesbury Crown Court on Wednesday (6/8). […]| Anglican Ink © 2025
On 24 July, the Secretary to the Truro Diocesan Mission and Pastoral Committee, issued the snappily-titled “Proposals affecting the benefices of the Kerrier deanery – Constantine; Helston and Wendron; Meneage; Mullion and Cury with Gunwalloe; St Keverne, St Ruan with … Continue reading →| Law & Religion UK
The Governors of Ripon College Cuddesdon are delighted to announce that the Revd Dr Harriet Harris MBE will be the next Principal of the college. She will take up the post on 1st January 2026, following Bishop Humphrey’s retirement at the end of 2025. Dr Harris is currently the University Chaplain and Head of Chaplaincy […]| Anglican Ink © 2025
The Church of England’s treatment of former school chaplain, Rev Dr Bernard Randall, deserves to be described as evil. The Christian Legal Centre is rightly calling for Dr Randall to be restored to ministry after statutory authorities found that he did not pose a safeguarding risk. But the Church of England should have backed him in 2019 over the sermon that […]| Anglican Ink © 2025
Introduction On Tuesday 15 July this year the following motion was passed by General Synod after a show of hands: That this Synod request that the House of Bishops remove any requirements relating …| Reflections of an Anglican Theologian
LGB Christians welcomed the Church of England's General Synod's decision on 15 July 2025 to do away with Issues in Human Sexuality, writes Rev Lorenzo Fernandez-Smal.| LGB Christians
The House of Bishops has agreed to replace the outdated document Issues in Human Sexuality in the process of discerning new candidates for ordination with a requirement for candidates to live in line with the Guidelines for the Professional Conduct of the Clergy. The change does not alter the Church’s doctrine or canonical requirements, which remain in place, but is intended to ensure the discernment process is both theologically robust and pastorally sensitive.| Law & Religion UK
Peace has broken out at the Church of England’s General Synod – and on an issue of human sexuality. It felt like a miracle. In a rare outbreak of near unanimity on such matters, the synod overwhelmingly approved a call for candidates for ordination to no longer be required to agree to the church’s 34-year-old […]| Anglican Ink © 2025
A recent story from the North Norfolk News reports that hundreds of human remains in the grounds of St Mary the Virgin church in Happisburgh [pronounced “Hazebrur”], north Norfolk, are at risk as the churchyard is now ~80 metres from the sea, and could be lost completely within 20 years.| Law & Religion UK
In his address to the York Diocesan Synod on 5 July the Archbishop of York addressed the issue of the eventual outcome of the Prayers of Love and Faith process. He declared: ‘No one in the Y…| Reflections of an Anglican Theologian
On 14 July 2025, The Times reported that Matthew Drapper, a gay man now aged 37, had won a five-figure settlement from St Thomas Philadelphia, a joint Anglican-Baptist congregation in Sheffield, after being subjected to what he considered to be an “exorcism” that sought to “rid him of his homosexual inclinations”. The case is believed to be the first time compensation has been paid to someone who experienced the practice of conversion therapy, which the government intends to outlaw[*].| Law & Religion UK
On 15 July 2025, General Synod considered the Private Members Motion from the Revd Mae Christie (Southwark) Vocations process and issues in human sexuality, GS 2413A and GS 2413B; Synod overwhelmingly approved a call for candidates for ordination no longer to be required to agree to this 34-year-old document on sexuality. Extracts from the Press Release are reproduced below.| Law & Religion UK
HomeMessagesStatement from Kat and Ben Gibson on their experiences with the Diocese...| Anglican Ink © 2025
Mouse recently confessed to someone that he was sceptical that a quiet revival was underway in the UK, and the response he got was a frustrated, “Don’t you believe in Jesus?” So here I am making my confession. I’m The Church Mouse and I’m a ‘quiet revival sceptic’. But I still have hope. In case you […]| Anglican Ink © 2025
On Saturday, 7th June, Diocesan Synod met at St John’s House to discuss the diocese’s strategy, vocations, safeguarding, and to adopt the annual report and accounts for 2024. The opening worship was led by the Revd Janie Cronin from Nelson Street, one of our new resource churches in Rochdale. Opening Address In his opening address, […]| Anglican Ink © 2025
Archbishop Stephen and Bishop Sarah respond to Bishop Martyn’s decision to stand down as lead bishop for the Living in Love and Faith process. This follows in full: “Bishop Martyn Snow has made an invaluable contribution to the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process. His insightful and considered stewardship over the past 18 months […]| Anglican Ink © 2025
With a very heavy heart, I have decided to step down from my role as Lead Bishop for Living in Love and Faith. I am hugely grateful to the staff team that I have worked with over the last 18 months and similarly the Working Group members who have given hours of their time to […]| Anglican Ink © 2025
Following the conclusion of the work to review all clergy under the authority or oversight of the Church of England who are criticised in the Makin review, it was announced in February that the National Safeguarding Team (NST) would seek to bring disciplinary proceedings under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM) against 10 clergy including two bishops. In all […]| Anglican Ink © 2025
The Archbishop has issued a statement following further attack on the Anglican-run Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza. Standing with Archbishop Hosam and our Palestinian Anglican sisters and brothers, I condemn yet another callous, reckless attack on the Anglican-run Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza. Despite our repeated requests, the Israeli Government has been unable to prove its claims […]| Anglican Ink © 2025
The silence from conservative evangelicals in Sheffield Diocese over the appointment of the radically revisionist Rev Leah Vasey-Saunders as suffragan Bishop of Doncaster is mysterious. Following the announcement of her appointment last week, Anglican Ink reported that she presided at a Holy Communion service under a revolving ‘Gaia’ installation when she was vicar of Lancaster Priory in Blackburn […]| Anglican Ink © 2025
Fresh off of suggesting that abortion may be a tragic yet best allowable option in cases of rape, incest, or for the mental health of the mother who can’t deal with a child with physical and mental deformities, famed New Testament scholar N.T. Wright has waded back into a previous controversy, claiming that belief in the bodily […]| Anglican Ink © 2025
In an open letter to the Church of England published in the Church Times on 9 May under the headline ‘Separate structures put the Church of England in danger,’ two senior London incumbents, the Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin in the Fields, and the Revd Lucy Winkett, Rector of St James’ Picadilly, […]| Reflections of an Anglican Theologian
In February this year the Episcopal Reference Group of the Church of England’s Faith and Order Commission produced a part report on ‘Living in Love and Faith and the Doctrine of Marriage’ (GS Misc …| Reflections of an Anglican Theologian
Should the organ scholarship be abolished? At the time of writing, 23 of the 43 colleges in Oxford offer organ awards. These consist in a mixture of funding, housing privileges, and symbolic perks such as the right to don a scholar’s gown. It is no secret that those who secure the scholarship are likely to […]| Cherwell
Charlie Bell’s book Unity – Anglicanism’s Impossible Dream [1] is a book that it is difficult to review because it is a book that does not contain a single unified argument. Instead, the three part…| Reflections of an Anglican Theologian
News items from Severn Wye| Severn Wye
Andrew Goddard writes: What follows demonstrates a recent statement about PLF by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is significantly misleading in relation to what the bishops have decided, what the church teaches on sexual ethics, who PLF is for, and what PLF offers. This development, contradicting and undermining past theological and legal advice as| Psephizo
John Root writes: Eric Kaufmann's Taboo (reviewed last week here) is centrally about the damaging slippage in Anglophone culture from ‘cultural liberalism’ (such as equality of opportunity) to ‘cultural socialism’ (such as equality of outcome); a process that requires cancelling the expression of resistant ideas, inflated concern about the dangers of ‘harm’, and an increased| Psephizo
Closing churches leads to loss of up to a third of the congregation; GCSE Religious Education still popular despite teacher shortages; Millions of Shia pilgrims flock to Karbala in Iraq; Chaos at Barnabas Aid| Religion Media Centre
Christopher Landau writes: In some of the cases of marriage breakdown I have known, a crucial moment came when one party no longer believed the marriage could be saved, and so the only option was to proceed to divorce. I fear the Church of England stands on the precipice of such a moment. I hope| Psephizo
Where we have go to so far. Where we have got to in Parts I and II of this series of posts can be summarised by the following bullet points. The bishops have insisted that ‘Unity matters – it reall…| Reflections of an Anglican Theologian
Bishop Steven speaks during the House of Lords debate on support for persecuted Christians around the world. My Lords, may I too add my congratulations and appreciation to Baroness Foster for securing this important debate and for her comprehensive and moving survey and speech. It is also a pleasure to follow the noble Lord Lord […] The post Debate on support for persecuted Christians around the world appeared first on Bishop Steven's Blog.| Bishop Steven's Blog
Not everything was bad at the session of General Synod last weekend. When someone asked me how I was, I replied 'I feel like the violinist in the orchestra on the Titanic. The music is going very well!' There was an important discussion about 'rest periods for office holders' (C of E language for vicars| Psephizo
What is the connection between Marxist thinking, Critical Race Theory, and actions by churches (including the Church of England) to address the perceived experience of racial injustice? The question is contested, but it is not straightforward, since Critical Race Theory has a complex intellectual history, and the underlying assumptions in the debates about race and| Psephizo
