Notebook

By Andrew Carey

Bookmakers odds: is she the best ‘man’ for the job?

The bookmakers have the Bishop of Chelmsford, as an early front- runner to succeed Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury according to a report in the Telegraph (Iranian-born refugee could be first female archbishop of Canterbury, 16 May 2025).

As I talk to clerics and lay people it is clear that many remain sceptical that a woman will be chosen as Archbishop arguing that this would be divisive in the Anglican Communion. But that division has already happened. The next Archbishop of Canterbury is just as likely to be a woman as a man (in spite of the fact that men remain the majority in terms of numbers).

And to put it another way, if the next holder of the office of Canterbury is not a woman, then the northern province will certainly have a female Archbishop. Any discussion in the CNC which rules out an entire gender will be given short shrift and rightly so. If women can become bishops they should become Archbishops.

The question is, of course, whether she is the right ‘man’ for the job. She’s the right age being only 59, and can therefore give the job 10 years. She is modest, impressive, independent-minded and good in public. She is not the most charismatic or engaging of speakers but instead is quietly authoritative in what she says. Recently she came to the fore criticising the government’s new stance on immigration and she has form on the same subject with regard to the previous government.

In terms of formation and education on the plus side she has a Masters in the theology department at the University of Bristol and a PhD with a doctoral thesis titled ‘Religious feminism in an age of Empire’ focussing on CMS women missionaries in Iran.

She has precious little parish experience but has served a curacy and worked in chaplaincies as well as devoting time to her family and three children. The lack of parish experience, after a period of centralising authoritarian mission creep, is a significant something missing. Is she a pastoral figure who can bring healing to the C of E after a bruising time? These are the questions that the CNC must ask as they consider her.

From a public-facing point of view she has a great backstory. In the age of reality TV this cannot be discounted. She is a refugee who has experienced persecution because of her faith.

Her father, Hassan Dehqani- Tafti (1920-2008) was the Anglican Bishop in Iran from 1961 until 1990. After the Iranian revolution in 1979, her parents were attacks, leaving her mother wounded and her 24-year-old brother, Bahram was killed by Iranian agents in May 1980. Her family was forced to leave and settled in the UK where Hassan remained bishop in exile.

On the subjects under contention, Bishop Dehqani has shown a commendable independent-mindedness opposing strategies imposed by the centre. On LLF, she supports provision of blessings to gay and lesbian couples. Sources suggest however that she is unlikely to favour any grand scheme of alternative provision for evangelicals and catholics who are orthodox on human sexuality and marriage. This will make her a more divisive candidate than we need. My view is that she should not be appointed but that means she probably will.

Canterbury: the outsider bishop

In my next few notebooks I will take a look at some of the leading candidates and some outsiders. This weeks’ outsider is a real longshot in the form of the current Dean of Windsor, Dr Christopher Cocksworth. My view is that if the Crown Nominations Commission has any sense it will appoint someone for the short-term rather than the long-term.

The advantage of a short appointment (and Bishop Cocksworth could only serve at the most four years having been born in 1959) is to allow some movement in the House of Bishops after a period of homogeneity. There is scarcely any theological variety or talent coming through after a period in which the public ministry of the C of E has been so dominated by the Archbishops. The pathway to ministry by which talent is spotted early needs to be binned so we can begin to appoint a real variety of people again. Who knows in the next few years, a number of leaders among the current College of Bishops may begin to emerge.

The C of E also needs healing, pastoral experience and theological wisdom. Prior to becoming bishop, Cocksworth was a university chaplain, the principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He has a doctorate in theology (in which he studied under the supervision of Richard Bauckham). He lacks parish experience, but has plenty of chaplaincy and teaching experience.

He is known to be an effective pastor and is experienced in the councils of the C of E having been a member of the Litrugical Commission, and the Faith and Order Commission. He served as Bishop of Coventry from 2008 until June 2023 when he was appointed the head of St George’s Chapel. The only problem is that this is a Royal Peculiar and the King may not want to let him go, even if it is to Canterbury.

Countdown for another Archbishop?

Will another Archbishop in the UK be forced to resign in ‘disgrace’. We’ve lost an Archbishop of Canterbury, we’ve very nearly lost an Archbishop of York, and the pressure is now on the Archbishop of the Church in Wales.

The reason for this is that Bangor Cathedral where Archbishop Andy John serves as diocesan bishop, has been put in what the local press has described as “special measures” following a report that raised concerns about safeguarding and financial matters. The alleged poor leadership of the Archbishop is being blamed for the mess at the Cathedral.

This story is gaining little traction outside Wales and until it does, his archiepiscopacy is likely to survive for a little longer.

Snores at General Synod

The agenda of the July Synod looks suitably like a bore-fest, with substantial items relating to LLF and safeguarding kept firmly off the agenda. There is a great deal of legislative business, approval of spending plans, and business to do with pensions, redress for abuse victims etc which is the important part of the work of General Synod, though seldom life-changing.

An attempt is bring brought through a private members motion to remove Issues in Human Sexuality from the vocations process. The 1991 document has lasted far longer than was ever thought likely and in the Archbishops’ preface to Issues, they stated that it “was not the last word on the subject”. It has now mostly been discarded and I suspect therefore that its passing will be symbolic rather than representing any real change.

Under contingency business an item on Poverty and the Church: 40 years after Faith in the City is presented. It is to be hoped that this will receive debate. In a church that has so little historical memory and tends to reinvent the wheel endless times, it is well worth revisiting the Faith in the City, the quality of research that was put into it, and the excellent and informative debates which ensued.

We may remember how to do theology in the public square, with such a range of public views being expressed by church leaders and indeed some knowledgeable interventions from politicians.

Anglican Communion candidates named

The all-important Anglican Communion candidates on the Crown Nominations Commssions have been named. Previously there was only one voting members in addition to the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, but Canterbury diocese has given up representation to allow five Anglican Communion reps to sit on the CNC.

This controversial decision should be a pretty short-lived experiment given that the role of Canterbury is becoming much less central in the Communion. Nevertheless we are stuck with it and a further five candidates who are not elected but selected according to various characteristics which owe more to diversity and inclusion criteria than anything else.

The candidates are Canon Iaac Tui Te Kanupu Broudigan Beach – a Maori priest who is self- described as a “governance leader and social entrepreneur”; Archbishop Hosam Naoum, the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem and a very impressive Palestinian Christian; Professor Grace Nkansa Asante, from Ghana who is a priest and Ghana’s first female professor of Economics; Mr Joaquin Philpotts from the Province of South America and an industrial engineer and the only lay person among the five; and Bishop Mary Stallard, from the Church in Wales who was one of the first women to be ordained in Wales in 1993 by Rowan Williams.

It remains to be seen what they will bring to the discussions of the CrownNominationsCommission when they are selecting the Primate of All England who must give priority to the healing of the C of E after a period of trauma and division. Good practice should suggest a review of how the process has worked at a later date.