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Andrew Goddard writes: This article analyses the July 2026 General Synod’s debate on Helen King’s Private Members’ Motion concerning same-sex relationships and Christian discipleship explored in a previous article. It traces the two competing amendments before explaining why the eventual amended motion failed in the House of Bishops. It notes the significant shift in voting … Continue Reading
On Sunday evening, General Synod debate the Carlisle Diocesan motion (which they had passed in 2021) asking us to ‘receive’ the Kairos II Palestine document, which you can read here. The debate did not finish in time on Sunday evening, so (to some howls of protest) was adjourned until Monday morning, when the debate concluded, … Continue Reading
General Synod is planning to have a debate about the Kairos II Palestine document on Sunday night. In theory, it is claimed to be a listening to the voice of our Palestinian Christian brethren. But in reality, it proposes a selective and distorted account which is potential going to do irreparable harm to Jewish-Christian relations … Continue Reading
Sir Paul Marshall, the owner of GB News, has apparently committed the unforgivable sin. Instead of seeking to save the planet from global warming, he has contributed money to the seemingly lesser cause of actually seeing people saved by coming to faith in Jesus. The co-owner of GB News, a British TV channel accused of … Continue Reading
This July, in the final session of this quinquennium, General Synod is due to debate a Private Members Motion from Helen King suggesting that there are no fundamental objections to committed same-sex relationships. Because of its timing, and the ambiguity of its wording, some have argued it must be opposed. Andrew Goddard here assesses the … Continue Reading
Last summer, with a little help, I reimagined how Synod would look to Anthony Trollope and Raymond Chandler, whom I had been reading at the time. Now that the dust has settled from Synod in London last week, it is worth reflecting with some humour on the proceedings. One of the debates on Thursday was … Continue Reading
Yesterday in Synod, we spent five hours (yes, five!) on what is likely to be the final debate on the Living in Love and Faith process (LLF), the Church of England’s damaging and divisive debate on sexuality launched by Justin Welby in 2017. Following what was widely seen as a volte face by the House of … Continue Reading
David Tudor was ordained in the Church of England, and served in Southwark Diocese in the 1980s, and then in Chelmsford Diocese from 2000, as Rector of Canvey Island. As a BBC report from a year ago notes: In 1988, David Tudor was a defendant in two criminal trials In the first trial, he was … Continue Reading
Paul Chamberlain writes: I’m a priest in the Church of England, the vicar of a parish in Portsmouth Diocese, the Area Dean of Gosport, and a member of General Synod. Same-sex attraction is part of my story, although my wife and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary later this year, and we have two … Continue Reading
Attending General Synod is always an intense experience, and I always need a couple of days to recover, despite trying to be wise in the use of my time and energy whilst there. And it is dangerous making early judgements about the significance of a particular meeting, since this often only comes to light with … Continue Reading
General Synod is currently meeting in York (you can watch the proceedings live on the Church of England YouTube channel), and the debates can vary from the sublime to the ridiculous. Everything is improved with a sprinkling of humour, and to that end I asked ChatGPT how Anthony Trollope might describe the opening of Synod. … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Associate Senior Research Fellow, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod and Archbishops' Council. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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