Church urged to ditch mitres
A SENIOR Church of England figure is calling for bishops to ditch their mitres.
The Rev Ian Paul, a member of the Archbishops’ Council, said the traditional hats were part of a “world of the past” and meant the bishops appeared elevated above the rest of the Church.
“It looks daft and it doesn’t signify anything in the Church of England. It makes them distant and it makes them look silly,” he told The Sunday Telegraph, adding that the hats were “Roman Catholicism by the back door”. Mitres were not generally worn by bish- ops in the Church until the late 19th century and there is no rule that compels them to be worn. Mr Paul linked the mitres to a “culture of deference”, criticised by Dame Moira Gibb in her report following an inquiry into the Church’s handling of the sexual abuse committed by former bishop Peter Hall.
The associate minister at St Nicholas’ Church in Nottingham made the comments ahead of a debate at the Church of England synod tomorrow about changes to clergy clothing. Clergy are to be able to dress down under plans to allow ministers to ditch vestments.
SENIOR Church of England figures have been accused of “kicking into the long grass” plans for guidance on the Church’s stance on gay marriage.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, and other senior bishops were also accused of “going round the mulberry bush” over the church’s long-awaited verdict. The Archbishop admitted at General Synod that the report, which is currently scheduled to be completed in three years’ time, could end up taking even longer.
The debate took place on the same day that thousands marched in London to celebrate Pride, 50 years after homosexuality was decriminalised.
Prime Minister Theresa May said: “Around the world, cruel and discriminatory laws still exist – some of them directly based on the very laws which were repealed in this country 50 years ago. So the UK has a responsibility to stand up for our values and to promote the rights of LGBT Plus people internationally.”
The Archbishop said that while the teaching document, which would be the first in 30 years to deal with the Church’s stance on sexuality, was due to be finished by early 2020, he would “make no guarantees” on the time frame. The admission prompted criticism from the Bishop of Buckingham, Alan Wilson, who said the Church had been “going round this mulberry bush regularly for almost 30 years”. One of the only Church of England bishops to publicly back gay marriage, he said: “Each new iteration consists of a grand announcement that the bishops will lead the way forward. There follows two years of ‘trying desperately hard to say nothing’. Slightly retro but wellmeaning temporising waffle is then produced with great trumpeting.”
Bishop Wilson also praised the Church of Scotland, which earlier this year made the first step towards allowing gay people to marry in its churches.
Synod member Joyce Hill, a former pro-vice chancellor of Leeds University, said: “Are the bishops sufficiently aware of the urgency of this question? I’m very concerned that there is a lot of long grass potentially growing in the programme being put before us.”
Speaking after the debate, Prof Hill said she was concerned that the church’s stance could alienate potential members.