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The synod's big chance to destroy the Church of England over female bishops The synod's big chance to destroy the Church of England over female bishops
(3 months later)
When the General Synod of the Church of England meets in York this weekend it will face a historic opportunity to finish off the struggling body that it is supposed to represent. Failure to reach a decisive agreement on the creation of female bishops will generate headlines outside the church, and disgust within it, from which the institution will never recover. But this does not mean that if it does reach agreement it will mark a turning point from which the church recovers, merely that it will be given more chances to fail in the future.When the General Synod of the Church of England meets in York this weekend it will face a historic opportunity to finish off the struggling body that it is supposed to represent. Failure to reach a decisive agreement on the creation of female bishops will generate headlines outside the church, and disgust within it, from which the institution will never recover. But this does not mean that if it does reach agreement it will mark a turning point from which the church recovers, merely that it will be given more chances to fail in the future.
Although the new archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has just appointed an aide whose job is to help him "re-evangelise England", the task looks about as easy as building an escalator to the moon. Research presented at a conference in Church House last week shows that the Church of England has been losing believers far more quickly than God has; that if older people are hostile to it, this is because they find it stuffy and out of touch, while younger opponents think it actively bigoted against women and gay people; and most people (58%) think nothing of it at all.Although the new archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has just appointed an aide whose job is to help him "re-evangelise England", the task looks about as easy as building an escalator to the moon. Research presented at a conference in Church House last week shows that the Church of England has been losing believers far more quickly than God has; that if older people are hostile to it, this is because they find it stuffy and out of touch, while younger opponents think it actively bigoted against women and gay people; and most people (58%) think nothing of it at all.
The female bishops fiasco is the latest expression of the long-running problems that have led to this situation. The Church of England as a whole wants female bishops by an overwhelming margin. Once it is allowed that women can be priests, and thus can represent Jesus at all, the idea that they can't be promoted within the organisation becomes absurd and repugnant. Nonetheless, opposing female bishops is an article of faith among Conservative evangelicals, who believe that the Bible has patriarchy as a core value.The female bishops fiasco is the latest expression of the long-running problems that have led to this situation. The Church of England as a whole wants female bishops by an overwhelming margin. Once it is allowed that women can be priests, and thus can represent Jesus at all, the idea that they can't be promoted within the organisation becomes absurd and repugnant. Nonetheless, opposing female bishops is an article of faith among Conservative evangelicals, who believe that the Bible has patriarchy as a core value.
Although they are a very small minority among Anglicans and still smaller nationally, they are rich, well organised and passionate. At the last synod elections, in 2010, they managed to capture a blocking third of the members of the synod's house of laity, which is elected by an arcane procedure from among churchgoers with the highest tolerance of committee meetings about nothing very much – deanery synod members, to be technical.Although they are a very small minority among Anglicans and still smaller nationally, they are rich, well organised and passionate. At the last synod elections, in 2010, they managed to capture a blocking third of the members of the synod's house of laity, which is elected by an arcane procedure from among churchgoers with the highest tolerance of committee meetings about nothing very much – deanery synod members, to be technical.
This meant that when proposals to make female bishops came before the synod for the last time last autumn – and this after five years of a legislative process apparently modelled on a cow's digestive system, with four separate stages, much chewing on regurgitated matter, and a remarkable emission of noxious gas throughout – it still needed two-thirds majorities among all three constituent "houses" of the synod. The bishops and clergy voted it through overwhelmingly, but in the house of laity it failed to reach the necessary two-thirds majority by six votes.This meant that when proposals to make female bishops came before the synod for the last time last autumn – and this after five years of a legislative process apparently modelled on a cow's digestive system, with four separate stages, much chewing on regurgitated matter, and a remarkable emission of noxious gas throughout – it still needed two-thirds majorities among all three constituent "houses" of the synod. The bishops and clergy voted it through overwhelmingly, but in the house of laity it failed to reach the necessary two-thirds majority by six votes.
The backlash was immediate and overwhelming. The outside world, and even the church outside the synod, simply could not understand how this had happened. The incoming archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has produced a much simpler measure to replace it, which would only take two years – incredibly fast by synodical standards – to become law. This strips off all the legislative frills and furbelows of the old measure, which were meant to protect the delicate sensibilities of opponents from the sight of women in episcopal frocks. Instead, they must hope that female bishops choose not to inflict their presence on congregations that loathe them. Although this will almost certainly happen, the fact that conservatives will no longer have a legal right to pretend that nothing has changed seems to them an appalling persecution. Any resemblance to their attitude to gay rights is entirely intentional.The backlash was immediate and overwhelming. The outside world, and even the church outside the synod, simply could not understand how this had happened. The incoming archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has produced a much simpler measure to replace it, which would only take two years – incredibly fast by synodical standards – to become law. This strips off all the legislative frills and furbelows of the old measure, which were meant to protect the delicate sensibilities of opponents from the sight of women in episcopal frocks. Instead, they must hope that female bishops choose not to inflict their presence on congregations that loathe them. Although this will almost certainly happen, the fact that conservatives will no longer have a legal right to pretend that nothing has changed seems to them an appalling persecution. Any resemblance to their attitude to gay rights is entirely intentional.
So the Welby measure will certainly be passed at synod, but the nerds of church politics will be counting carefully the votes in the house of laity. It needs only a majority to pass on Monday, but if there are still more than a third of the votes opposed, this means that it could still fail when it returns in 2015. However, there will have been fresh synod elections before then. If the supporters of women priests and common decency within the church cannot get their act together to take over the house of laity at those elections, then the church will not only die, it will have died by self-administered poisoning.So the Welby measure will certainly be passed at synod, but the nerds of church politics will be counting carefully the votes in the house of laity. It needs only a majority to pass on Monday, but if there are still more than a third of the votes opposed, this means that it could still fail when it returns in 2015. However, there will have been fresh synod elections before then. If the supporters of women priests and common decency within the church cannot get their act together to take over the house of laity at those elections, then the church will not only die, it will have died by self-administered poisoning.
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