Bishops face cull demand at General Synod

The posts of dozens of bishops, archdeacons and cathedral deans could disappear under proposals for cuts in the Church of England to be debated next month.

The General Synod, the Church’s parliament, will be asked to consider cutting the number of senior clergy in the established Church to bring them into line with falling clergy numbers.

The call appears to stand a good chance of winning backing from clergy and laity amid a feeling that a reduction by nearly a third in the number of stipendiary clergy over just two decades has left the Church top heavy.

Maintaining the episcopal apparatus in just one diocese, if a bishop’s house and support staff are taken into account, costs an average of £500,000.
Related Links

Added up across dioceses, these are fast becoming costs the Church can ill afford as parishioners are asked to find more cash for clergy pensions and historic assets of the Church fall in value because of the recession.

The Rev John Hartley will, on behalf of the Bradford diocesan synod, ask the General Synod at its meeting at York University in mid-July to “formulate proposals for reductions in the numbers of episcopal and senior clergy posts”. Read more
No comments will be posted without a full name and location, see the policy.