by Martin Davie
In an open letter to the Church of England published in the Church Times on 9 May under the headline ‘Separate structures put the Church of England in danger,’ two senior London incumbents, the Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin in the Fields, and the Revd Lucy Winkett, Rector of St James’ Picadilly, respond to what they see as the threat to the ‘integrity’ of the Church of England posed by plans announced by conservative parishes in London ‘to form a separate structure, perhaps a new province in the Church of England.’
Developments in the Diocese of London
The first point to note about what they say in their letter is that their account of what is happening in London is over simplistic and therefore misleading.
It is true that the Alliance, the umbrella body representing those in the Church of England who cannot accept the direction in which the Prayers of Love and Faith process is taking the Church of England, has said that it may be necessary to ‘to establish what would in effect be a new de facto ‘parallel Province’ within the Church of England and to seek pastoral oversight from bishops who remain faithful to orthodox teaching on marriage and sexuality.’ [1] However, the key words are ‘in effect.’ What the Alliance is talking about is conservative parishes remaining within their existing dioceses and provinces and operating within the limits of Canon Law, while at the same time establishing structures for mutual support and orthodox oversight that could help pave the way for the legal establishment of a new provincial structure in the Church of England at some point in the future.
Furthermore , it needs to be recognised, as Wells and Winkett do not, that the purpose of any new provincial structure would not be to divide the Church of England, but to enable both conservatives and liberals to remain together in the Church of England with theological integrity, a point to which I shall return at the end of this post.