Securing Evangelical Witness
from CEEC:
The February 2023 General Synod of the Church of England (C of E) gave a ‘green light’ to the House of Bishops to
continue in their endeavour to prepare prayers to bless couples outside of marriage between one man and one
woman.
This has raised substantial questions for evangelicals (and other orthodox church members) who are now asking
whether a biblical understanding of sex and marriage will not just be acknowledged as one amongst many viewpoints, but positively secured for the future so as to enable them to remain in the C of E.
This paper explores the ‘provisions’ that will be needed to secure evangelical presence and witness in the C of E if the current trajectory continues. It is intended to :
• help local church leaders (ordained and lay) think through their own position and need for provision
• be drawn on by Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship (DEF) committees when discussing these matters with their
bishops
• contribute to a national discussion as to what might be needed in any ‘settlement’ (a phrase used by the
Archbishop of York in his February General Synod speech).
CEEC has given substantial thought over the last few years as to what kind of provision might be needed in the
situation in which we now find ourselves – including to the various ‘forms’ or ‘models’ by which long term provision
might be made. In short, CEEC believes that the nature and scale of provision needed will necessitate significant
structural rearrangement (the detail of these considerations can be found in papers available on the CEEC website :
and welcomes a discussion to enable the C of E to avert the otherwise inevitable loss of large numbers of evangelicals from the C of E.
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