by Fergus Butler-Gallie, The Critic
As trust in the Church of England collapses, its leaders are prescribing more of the very managerialism that created the problem
The dust is only just beginning to settle from General Synod. I know it might sound preposterous to talk about the Church of England’s parliament in terms redolent of a gunfight in the Old West: gunfights in the Old West were often conducted in a friendlier spirit.
There were the usual vicious fights about sex, as bishops said one thing and then voted in a completely different way. There was an exceptionally unedifying scrap over a report into the State of Israel, which has possibly done serious harm to interfaith relationships. There was even a bit of rancour about Net Zero. A full house for 2026 Britain!
It is often said that the Church doesn’t represent the nation any more. Au contraire: this Synod showed it was the perfect mirror to the badly governed, divided and petty nation which it seeks to serve.
Perhaps the most divisive aspect of it, still filtering down amongst the clergy and the laity, was the Synod’s decision to “take note” of a report into the culture of mistrust in the Church. The report itself was staggering. Its field work was done among Diocesan Secretaries and lay chairs, choosing to make these insiders representative of the whole laity. It laid the blame firmly at the doors of those on the ground — parish volunteers and ordinary clergy were at fault for not being “willing to implement policy”.