And of course, you believe the lie, because you have the Church Pension Fund to ease the pain and stretch out the agony till at last you keel over like an aging brontosaurus.

The Western church has been on death watch for nearly forty years, longer if you probe deeply enough, but its final days are upon us.

A Bishop - to be elected by the House of Bishops

The Archbishop of York or, if they choose not to be a member of the CNC, a further Bishop to be elected by the House of Bishops

Three representatives elected from the Diocese of Canterbury by their Vacancy in See Committee

The six representatives (three clergy and three lay) elected by General Synod to serve as members of the Commission for a five year period

Five representatives from other churches in the Anglican Communion - one each from Africa; the Americas; Middle East and Asia; Oceania and Europe.

But Welby spoke emphatically on matters of which he was profoundly ignorant, and found himself repeatedly flailing in muddy waters.

In fact, he made such a fool of himself that even rabbis took him on for his remarks.

The departure of the archbishop follows many months of inflammatory statements regarding the Jewish state.

A review of the Church's handling of allegations of abuse by Keith Makin had said Welby, the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, was "insufficiently curious" about allegations of abuse by John Smyth, a barrister who ran camps in the 1970s and 80s.

The Makin Review accused the Church of England of a "cover-up" and said the abuse "could and should have been reported to the police in 2013".

According to the review, Welby had come into contact with Smyth through evangelical circles when Welby was in his early 20s and has denied knowing anything of Smyth's abuse then. In 2013, soon after Welby's appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury, he was informed of the Smyth case and was told that complaints had been reported to the police. But no formal referral had been made. Instead, the review says, Welby and other senior church figures showed "a distinct lack of curiosity" and "a tendency towards minimization of the matter."

Following the Archbishop of Canterbury's resignation over his failure to
prevent the "prolific, brutal and horrific" abuse, Smyth's victims have called
for two bishops and an associate minister to follow suit.

The Telegraph can disclose that dozens of church leaders, including several
bishops, could now be removed for their role after an internal review of the
case.

Though an independent report has implicated Archbishop Justin Welby in these matters, he has offered a formal apology for the shortcomings in the investigation of these allegations and has submitted his resignation.

The GSFA recognizes the observations, findings and recommendations of the Makin Report, including the danger of a church culture in which what is expedient takes priority over the values for which the Church stands. As we proceed with the Cairo Covenant, our fellowship will hold fast to paramount biblical and spiritual principles, including those of fostering a safe church, implementing oversight over best safeguarding procedures in the interests of all groups, parishioners, stakeholders and vulnerable persons who operate within the Anglican Communion.

It is nearly five years since the Director of Anglican Futures gave her last speech at the General Synod of the Church of England in the February 2020 discussion of the IICSA Report. Since then, Anglican Futures has had the privilege of walking with more than a hundred survivors of different kinds of abusive and bullying behaviour relating to nearly thirty different church and parachurch settings.

Title IV documentation released by the Diocese of Dallas on November 11 charges him with violating six canons, including "failing to safeguard the property and funds of the Church and Community"; "any criminal act that reflects adversely on the Member of the Clergy's honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a minister of the church"; and "conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation."

In a statement, Welby said that it had become clear that he "must take personal and institutional responsibility" for the "long and retraumatising" period after he was informed of allegations in 2013, during which Smyth was not brought to justice and survivors were repeatedly failed by the Church.

THE ARCHBISHOP'S STATEMENT

John Smyth QC was accused of carrying out brutal assaults on young men whilst being the head of a Christian charity that ran summer camps for boys

John Smyth QC was accused of carrying out brutal assaults on young men whilst being the head of a Christian charity that ran summer camps for boys

Welby apologised for failing to ensure that allegations were "energetically investigated" in 2013 but said he had known nothing about Smyth's abuse prior to this, so did not think it a resigning issue.