Life & Ministry

Is the Church of England growing—again?

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Marginally later than in some previous years, the full details of the annual returns on attendance for the Church of England has been published (‘Statistics for Mission’). This is in two parts, both linked here: a report, giving the main statistics and trends, helpfully illustrated with graphs; and the detailed breakdown by diocese in a … Continue Reading

Can pastoral ministry be re-united with theological thinking?

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One of the perennial features of theological study and preparation for Christian ministry has been the yawning chasm between scholarship and church leadership over the last century or two. The evidence for this varies from the comment to young Christians: ‘Don’t study theology at university; you will lose your faith’, to a sense that theological … Continue Reading

Is the Archbishop of Canterbury head of the Church and the Communion?

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Martin Davie writes: The announcement of the choice of the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, 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 … Continue Reading

Is ‘Christian nationalism’ a contradiction in terms?

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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 … Continue Reading

Is there a case for slavery reparations?

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  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 … Continue Reading

Money, sex, and power: Will the next archbishop save the Church of England?

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Tim Wyatt is an interesting and often 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 facing whoever will be appointed next Archbishop of Canterbury, in a much longer piece on his substack. Tim has interviewed a number of … Continue Reading

Is the Archbishop of York right about migration?

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When bishops and archbishops speak about migration it always hits the headlines—and never ends well.  In 2016, Justin Welby got into trouble when he said that it was quite reasonable to ‘fear’ the consequences of mass migration. There is a tendency to say ‘those people are racist’, which is just outrageous, absolutely outrageous. But in … Continue Reading