Psephizo - scholarship. serving. ministry.
Psephizo is the blog of Revd. Dr Ian Paul, the Dean of Studies at St John's College, Nottingham.| Psephizo
Psephizo is the blog of Revd. Dr Ian Paul, the Dean of Studies at St John's College, Nottingham.| Psephizo
Martin Davie writes: The announcement of the choice of the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mallally, to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury has been accompanied by frequent references to the Archbishop of Canterbury as the ‘head of the Church of England’ or the ‘head of the Anglican Communion.’ In this post I shall explain why both of these statements are misleading, what roles the Archbishop of Canterbury actually has in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion, and the...| Psephizo
The Sunday lectionary gospel reading for Trinity 18 in Year C is the Parable of the Unjust Judge and the Persistent Widow from Luke 18.1–8. A surface reading, confirmed by most online comments on it, is that basically we need to be nagging God before he will answer our prayer! But a more careful reading, locating the episode within the context of Luke's wider narrative, points to some important new perspectives. The New Testament epistle is Paul's striking description of Scripture as 'God-b...| Psephizo
The lectionary epistle for Trinity 18 is 2 Timothy 3.14—4.5, perhaps the most theological dense passage of all Paul's writings. He makes one of his clearest theological claims about the nature of Scripture, characteristically coining his own word to express this, and connects the truth of Scripture with salvation in Christ and spiritual maturity. And, strikingly, what Scripture does for its readers, its readers are then called to do for one another—teach truth which will lead to salvation...| Psephizo
Martyn Whittock writes: Where should we stand on the subject of ‘Christian nationalism’? As a Christian historian (with a very eclectic set of interests, and having written about early-medieval national origins, attempts at theocracy in the 17th century, and modern European dictatorships) I am very conflicted about the combination of faith and nation. And I| Psephizo
Lord Nigel Biggar is Regius Professor Emeritus of Moral Theology at the University of Oxford, and a well-known author on moral and ethical issues. He has just published Reparations: Slavery and the Tyranny of Imaginary Guilt (Swift, 2025), challenging the current narrative within and beyond the Church of England about the need for reparations for slavery. I had the chance to ask him about it. IP: Why do you think the issues of reparations has become so important in recent years? What has spar...| Psephizo
The lectionary epistle for Trinity 17 in Year C is 2 Timothy 2.8–15. Paul continues with the theme of 'remembering', characteristically interweaving God's powerful initiative and the need for our response. The passages has connections with Jesus' teaching in the gospels and (of course) with the Book of Revelation. Sadly, James does not sing for us this week...! The gospel reading is Luke 17.11–19, Jesus' healing of the ten lepers. You can see the video discussion of that here. The post Re...| Psephizo
Yesterday morning, at 10 am, the historic announcement was made as to who will be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury: Dame Sarah Mullally, the current bishop of London, and former Chief Nurse—appointed to that role when she was 37, the youngest ever appointment. As I have set out previously, the Church of England faces a ... Continue Reading The post What challenges face Sarah Mullally as the new archbishop? first appeared on Psephizo.| Psephizo
The Sunday lectionary reading for Trinity 16 in Year C is Luke 17.5–10, and it offers some serious challenges to our understanding and practice. (The epistle is 2 Tim 1.1–14, a passage full of fascinating ideas and startling metaphors; you can find the video discussion of that passage here, and video discussion of Luke 17| Psephizo
The use of individual cups at Holy Communion is again being hotly debated in Church of England parishes and PCCs. I asked Prof Andrew Atherstone about the fruits of his latest historical research into the topic. IP: Why are individual cups still causing controversy? AA: Five years ago, at the height of the early Covid lockdowns, the House of Bishops caused consternation by declaring that individual cups were illegal. They were relying on a former opinion from the Church of England’s Legal A...| Psephizo
The epistle for Trinity 16 in Year C is 2 Tim 1.1–14. Paul uses striking fatherly language in addressing Timothy, but also notes the way that faith has been passed to him through his biological family line—thus illustrating the two ways in which we can be fruitful in creation and kingdom. We explore Paul's vivid| Psephizo
Last weekend, in an online conversation, someone highlighted to me the most recent ministry statistics, which were released in June, but seem to have gone under the radar. I certainly did not spot them, and I don't recall anyone commenting on them. They show that 47.5% of current C of E stipendiary clergy are aged 55 or over, which of course means that they will all have retired in 12 years' time. 12 years might sound like quite a long planning horizon—but at the sessions of General Synod t...| Psephizo
Tim Wyatt is an interesting and at times astute commentator on things Church of England. Ten days ago he expanded an article he had written in the New Statesman, setting out the challenges whoever will be appointed next Archbishop of Canterbury, in a much longer piece on his substack. Tim has interviewed a number of people, and thus in principle drawn on a range of opinion. He makes some important points—but my sense is that there is more to be said, and what has been said needs to be put i...| Psephizo
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Some years ago, Martin Saunders (of Youthscape) wrote an excellent article highlighting four issues which often prevent evangelicals from understanding what has been happening in the Israel/Gaza conflict—and these problems come up each time the conflict hits the news. It seems particularly pertinent at the moment. First, he comments ‘It’s not as simple as good| Psephizo
Last month, Mark Woods of the Bible Society wrote an article in the Baptist Times challenging the narrative that the Church in England and Wales is in decline, based on the Bible Society's own research. I was intrigued by this, so I asked Dr Rhiannon McAleer, Head of Research and Impact, about what they had found. IP:| Psephizo
Andrew Goddard writes: This article looks at who will be choosing the next Archbishop and how they get a seat on the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC). Although only one of the 17 names has been officially announced, another 5 can be identified. There are five different categories with different processes of selection in each and| Psephizo
The NT epistle for the Second Sunday before Lent is Rev 4, the first half (with Rev 5) of John's vision and audition (seeing and hearing) of worship 'in heaven' as he is 'in the Spirit'. This is a fascinating passage, in part because it is so dense with theological ideas, but also because this| Psephizo
Andrew Goddard writes: After summarising the tumultuous events of last week in relation to the Bishop of Liverpool, in this article I set out what is currently known in relation to the CNC process that led to his nomination. Two further sections outline the allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment made by two women| Psephizo
John Root writes: The diocese of London is advertising for the post of the newly-created ‘Head of Racial Justice Priority’. Other dioceses (such as Leeds) are considering or have made similar appointments. Why? In this blog, with London as the example, I want to spotlight the potential of such appointments, but especially explore the ways| Psephizo
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
John Root offers this review of Eric Kaufmann's Taboo: How making Race sacred produced a Cultural Revolution. The week-end before last the Wireless Festival was held in Finsbury Park just down the road from my home. Amongst the items that attendees were prohibited from bringing were ‘Clothing, garments, items which promote cultural appropriation’. What’s going| Psephizo
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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
