Dear Editor,
Thank you for the recent interchange on leaving the Church of England. Please allow me to point out that not every fear materialises, so it may not be wise to pre-judge outcomes.
When I was ordained into Anglican ministry in 1992, there were three particular challenges. The first was the gospel. A Bishop of Durham questioned the bodily resurrection of Christ and cathedrals hosted multi-faith events. Now our Archbishops write that ‘God raised Jesus from the dead. This is the Christian hope’ (26 January 2021). The second was leadership. Archbishop Carey said that excluding women from the presbyterate was ‘a most serious heresy’. Now we have the Five Guiding Principles which pledge support for those who keep leadership for men, and the Bishop of Maidstone is appointed to speak up for this position. The third was training. A report threatened Oak Hill’s licence, but General Synod threw it out. All these challenges remain, but in a different form.
