Church of England reveals huge overhaul of governance, as parishioners warn of ‘coup’
The Church of England has announced a “radical” overhaul of its governance, amid criticism from parishioners that the plans are “a coup by Archbishops to take control of everything”.
Following instruction from the Archbishops of York and Canterbury, the Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines, has published his findings as to “how to provide more transparent and accountable governance for the Church”, and has concluded that the majority of national governance bodies should be merged.
He recommends that the Church Commissioners – who essentially hold the purse strings for the Church and the Archbishops Council and decide how the Church’s money is spent – should be combined and brought into a single charitable body established by legislation and called Church of England National Services (CENS).
The last time the governance and structure of the Church of England was reviewed was in 1995, with the publication of the Turnbull Report, which recommended the establishment of a single executive body (or a "National Council").
More than 20 years on, the Church of England still does not have a unified national governance structure or a single focus of decision-making and strategic planning.
However, the revitalised proposals have sparked concern among the country’s parishioners who fear that such a consolidation would negatively impact embattled parishes.
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