The general synod of the Church of England, meeting in York, has considered the UK’s readiness for war, the assisted dying bill, future funding, church growth, the continuing dispute over same sex blessings – and speculation over who will be the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
Church urged to support the military in ‘uncertain times’
Brigadier Jaish Mahan, Deputy Commander of the 1st UK Division, warned the general synod of the risk of conflict and urged the church to support the military, saying it has always stood firm as part of the fabric of the nation, and its leadership has been pivotal. The Brigadier, a guest speaker on synod’s opening day, said the world is in a complex place: “We find ourselves with a land war in Europe, a situation many believed would never happen again”. There was a risk of further conflict in Europe, with Russia generating more munitions in the last twelve months than the rest of Nato put together. The Brigadier reminded members that the recent Strategic Defence Review spoke of a “whole society approach” to the threat of further conflict. The Church would be a vital part of that approach, he said. He welcomed the Synod proposal to simplify the licensing arrangements for Armed Forces chaplains, enabling them to serve in different parts of the country with more flexibility. He also called on the Church to consider how best to support service personnel and the families they leave behind.
Assisted dying bill ‘assumes authority over death that belongs to God’
The Archbishop of York has praised the Lords spiritual for their “principled and persistent opposition to the Assisted Dying Bill”. He told the general synod that the Christian belief that people are made in the image of God, “will enable us to withstand and even turn back those utilitarian tides of opinion that risk making, for instance, assisted dying a reality in our national life, changing forever the contract between doctor and patient, pressurising the vulnerable, and assuming an authority over death that belongs to God alone”. Warning of a slippery slope, he said: “When we lose something as foundational as decisions over life and death, we are in danger of losing other safeguards and provisions as well.” Later, the Bishop of London Sarah Mullaly, also addressed the issue, telling synod that because the bill is not a government bill, the Lords “could in fact bring it down”. Synod will debate a motion on Assisted Dying on Tuesday morning,
CofE deal for £1.6 billion over three years
General synod was warned of multiple financial crises in the Church of England, with dioceses facing £54 million in debt, between 250 and 400 churches at risk of closure in the nextten years,the number of clergy falling from 7,600 to about 5,400 by 2033, clergy vacancies reportedly running by as much as 18 per cent in some dioceses and low morale over pay and conditions for the clergy that remain. One delegate from Carlisle said the bedrock of parish life had been underfunded to a dangerous point. A move backed by the bishops of Bath and Wells, Hereford and Chelmsford, to give one per cent of Church Commissioners’ funds, around £110 million, to dioceses for clergy stipends, was rejected. Instead, the synod voted in favour of move to give the synod a specific role in framing funding decisions. They approved a £1.6 billion package over three years from 2026-2028, including 10.7 per cent rise in clergy pay to maximum £34,950 a year, pensions restored to two thirds of the annual stipend, and some pensions including a backdated uplift, rising by 63 per cent in some analyses. The settlement includes ring fenced £133 million for low-income communities.
Living in Love and Faith vote expected in February 2026
The Archbishop of York made clear that Living in Love and Faith workshops and theological reflection is continuing, with a view to the House of Bishops making recommendations at its meetings in October and December. The synod will vote on this again in February 2026. The lead bishop Martyn Snow, has resigned from the role, another bishop, Sam Corley, left in April and the programme director, Nick Shepherd, is moving to another job in the church in August. Only 17 of the 42 dioceses have held consultations. One synod member described the process as a car crash. The Archbishop said he was confident that they would find a settlement and the issue would not go away, whatever the outcome of the talks. He said: “The LLF team and Programme Board will also continue to work on a range of scenarios and associated risks that might arise if no agreement can be reached on the current draft proposals”.
Money and prayer the recipe for church growth
Gen Z and millennials were invited to speak to the general synod as it considered how work with young people was vital for church growth. The total CofE weekly attendance is 701,000 and the whole worshipping community is 1.02 million. This is not back to pre-Covid levels, but the church believes there is a growing upward trend seen over the past four years, which has been achieved through parish revitalisation, new worshipping communities, church planting, community outreach and lay and ordained leadership development. Synod was told that in churches where they prayed for half an hour a week for growth, there was a 6 per cent annual rise in attendance. In places supported by national funding, there was 25 per cent higher attendance, 40 per cent more giving and 14 per cent more money going back into central funds. The church says a consistent “indicator of vitality” is increasing work amongst children and young people, with a social media programme aimed at 13-17 year olds, reaching 5 per cent of the population.
The next Archbishop of Canterbury
The race to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury appears to be wide open around the tables of the general synod as members ponder the choice. Among the names most mentioned are the Bishop of Chelmsford, Guli Francis-Dehqani; the Bishop of Bath and Wells, Michael Beasley; the Bishop of Salisbury, Stephen Lake; the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullaly; and the Bishop of Chester, Mark Tanner. Anglican Futures is conducting a “very informal consultation” at the synod – names here
Other news:
Four bishops call for action against violence threatening Christians in West Bank
Four senior Church of England bishops, from Chelmsford, Gloucester, Norwich and Southwark, have called on the UK government to address settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied territory, “which threatens not just the peace of the region but the continued presence of Christians in this Holy Land”. In a letter to The Guardian, they say the UK government has a legal and moral duty to ensure Britain is taking all necessary steps to address settler violence, and must intensify sanctions against individuals and signal its willingness to suspend the UK-Israel trade agreement. The letter points to concerns raised by Christian leaders there: “Last week, the heads of churches in Taybeh, the last remaining Christian-majority town in the West Bank, spoke out against the series of systematic attacks by settlers on the town’s land and holy sites, including St George’s, its fifth-century church. As well as threatening the town’s security and livelihood, these attacks undermine the dignity of its Christian residents and threaten their historical and religious heritage”.
Gaza parish priest says people exhausted and hungry
Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of Gaza’s small Christian community says they are exhausted by war and a severe lack of food. In an interview with Vatican Radio, he said wartime gardens provided some food for the community which has halved in number to around 500, due to death in war or illness, or people moving out across the Rafah crossing. After Israel halted humanitarian aid on 3 March, no food supplies have arrived and they are rationing what was stored. He said it was nearly impossible to buy food supplies, which are extortionate – he says flour is around 18 euros per kilo, tomatoes about 23, a single onion between 12 and 15 euros and a kilo of sugar costs at least 100 euros. Deep fatigue and anxiety had settled over the community: “We feel almost entirely alone in this area”, but they appreciated receiving phone calls and knowing news of their situation is published abroad. “The only thing that keeps us together and gives us hope is prayer. Food, medicine, and fuel are as essential to us as prayer itself. Without prayer, ours and yours, we would not have made it this far. We are counting on you.”
Excavation to find remains of 796 children at Tuam mother and baby home
Work begins today on the excavation of land at St. Mary’s mother and baby home in Tuam, County Galway, where 796 children were buried in a mass grave. It was one of many homes where pregnant girls and unmarried women were sent to give birth in secret. Hundreds died and their remains were discarded. Children who survived were separated from their mothers and sent away for adoption across the world. The whereabouts of the children who died was investigated by local historian, Catherine Corless, who found the burial records of 796 children born at the home and that some bodies had been discarded in a disused sewage tank in the grounds. In 2015, the Irish government set up an investigation into 14 mother and baby homes and four county homes, which found “significant quantities” of human remains on the Tuam site. In 2021 there was a formal government apology, the setting up of a redress scheme and an apology from the Sisters of Bon Secours. The excavation is set to last two years.
Alarm that antisemitism is normalised in British society
Lord Mann and Dame Penny Mordaunt, chairs of the Board of Deputies Commission on Antisemitism, say they are alarmed at the way antisemitism has been normalised in British society. In an article in The Telegraph, they said they have been stunned into silence by the evidence, especially from young people in the Jewish community. Lord Mann, the Government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, and Dame Penny Mordaunt, the former defence secretary, say they were “really scared at the increasing normalisation of far more extreme, personalised and sometimes life changing impact directed at individuals purely and simply because they are Jewish”. They conclude: “All our institutions, public sector and private sector have a responsibility to their Jewish employees, customers, neighbours and partners, to ensure that they are treated with equal respect and are able to get on with their lives with no negatives”.
Echoes of Srebrenica genocide 30 years on
Peace marches and commemorative events have been held around the world to mark the 30th anniversary of the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, acknowledged as genocide. On 11 July 1995, Bosnian Serb fighters overran Srebrenica in the final months of the inter-ethnic war, separating Bosnian Muslim men and boys from their families and brutally executing them within days. The bodies were dumped in mass graves and scattered around Srebrenica. Remains are still being discovered and re-buried, and on Friday, world leaders and officials attended a collective funeral there to bury the remains of seven more victims. The Associated Press reports that Munira Subasic, leader of the Mothers of Srebrenica Association, who lost her husband and youngest son and 20 relatives in Srebrenica, told Europe to “wake up.” She said: “As I stand here many mothers in Ukraine and Palestine are going through what we went through in 1995. It’s the 21st century but instead of justice, fascism has woken up.” AP article here
Church applies for permission to exhume the head of Sir Thomas More
St Dunstan’s church in Canterbury has applied for permission to exhume the head of Sir Thomas More, executed in 1535 because he refused to acknowledge King Henry VIII as the supreme head of the Church of England. His head was placed on a pike at London Bridge, but rescued and preserved by his daughter, who was later buried in the family grave at St Dunstan’s with her father’s head buried in a lead casing. The Times reports that the PCC wants to potentially place his remains in a shrine, in time for the 500th anniversary of his death, but has to apply to a church court for permission to exhume. Thomas More was created a saint in 1935, so his remains are considered holy relics. Story here
