Anglican archbishops in Africa are challenging the decision by the Church of England to allow clergy to bless same-sex couples’ marriages, a move that may lead to a split in the church. The Church of England’s General Synod voted on February 9 to permit the offering of prayers and liturgies at civil marriages. This compromise Read more
The Bishops of the Church of England are launching a new project to explore the use of gender-neutral language for God in church services. A written question posed to the Liturgical Commission, which prepares and promotes forms of service and religious worship in the Church, prompted the news. The project is expected to begin later Read more
The Church of England has approved gay-couple blessings for the first time. The approval came after bishops rejected calls to allow same-sex marriages in churches at a meeting in January. Instead, they proposed numerous options and suggested offering blessings after a civil partnership or marriage, known as Prayers of Love and Faith. The Anglican General Read more
Smaller churches have recovered better from Covid lockdown restrictions than larger ones, a new study has revealed. The study published by Anglican evangelical mission agency CPAS is based on church attendance figures at Easter this year. CPAS found that, although in-church Easter attendance was three-quarters what it had been at Easter 2019, many people were Read more
The Church of England is facing questions over its role in converting hundreds of asylum seekers, including the Liverpool suicide bomber, to Christianity in an attempt to help them avoid deportation. Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, is understood to be appalled at the “merry-go-round” of failed asylum seekers changing religion and using other tactics to Read more
The ‘Blessing of the Light’ service St Stephen Walbrook, City of London, is believed to be the first Virtual Reality (VR) service conducted by the Church of England. The evening service was recreated in 3D for an online liturgy last month. The Blessing of the Light gives thanks for Christ the light of the world Read more
Petertide — the days around the feast of St. Peter on June 29 — is traditionally one of the most joyful seasons for the Church of England, a time for the ordination of new priests and deacons. But this year’s Petertide has been marred by what many have interpreted as an attack on the future Read more
It’s a long-standing joke that the Church of England exists largely to remove any idea of religion from our national life. The more the Church has sought to make its services more “inclusive” and “relevant”, the more Christians have converted to other denominations where they think things are done properly (notably Roman Catholicism), and the more those curious Read more
The Church of England must include at least one candidate from a minority ethnic background on shortlists for bishops and other senior roles in a drive to rid the church of “racial sin”, a report says. All governing bodies within the church, including parish councils, should have at least 15% of minority ethnic representation by Read more
The Church of England has vowed to consider its stance on LGBT+ rights issues such as same-sex marriage by 2022 in a major new publication – but critics have accused it of being all talk, no action. Three years in the making, the Church of England has published a set of resources titled Living in Read more