Has Living in Love and Faith come to an end? An open letter to the Archbishop of York

Posted on July 11, 2025 
Filed under Church of England, Culture wars

At Psephizo, Ian Paul writes to the Archbishop of York:

“Dear Stephen

I read with interest your address to York Diocesan Synod on 5th July, and one word leapt out for me: ‘final’. Near the end of your address, you comment:

The Living in Love and Faith process is not yet complete. Some final proposals will be brought to the February 2026 meeting of the General Synod.

If that is the case, I am and countless others (on all sides of this debate) will be delighted. This has been a disastrous and divisive process since 2017; I wonder whether you realise how damaging it has been, and whether you will ever publicly acknowledge that. It sprang out of Justin’s spontaneous and ill-conceived phrase ‘radical new Christian inclusion rooted in scripture and Christian theology’ which was both incoherent (how can this be new if it’s rooted in existing theology?) and immediately open to misinterpretation …”

– Read it here.

Image: Ian Paul speaks at last year’s Church of England General Synod.