On Thursday 12 October, a number of the House of Bishops (12 at the time of writing), issued a 'dissenting' statement in which they raised substantial concerns about the proposals being made by the House. In particular, they questioned whether the legal and theological case for the Prayers was as secure as was being said, whether the House had followed good governance and not abused its powers, and whether it was right for the proposal to be presented in a 'piecemeal' manner, as indicated, when the General Synod has been promised a complete package (read a fuller explanation/commentary HERE).https://ceec.info/ceec-responds-to-house-of-bishops-announcement/

CEEC is very grateful to the bishops who signed this dissenting statement - and we commend them to you for your prayerful support.

Where does this all leave us now? In short...

1. The dissenting statement shows the level of disagreement within the House of Bishops - and we pray that this will cause our Archbishops to draw back from their plans to commend the Prayers.

2. The Evangelical Group on General Synod (EGGS) will be preparing to expose at the November General Synod the inadequacies and dangers for local churches, of the proposals as they stand.

3. CEEC will continue to make the case that the 'tectonic' divide that exists in the Church of England around sex and marriage cannot be bridged, and that the only alternative to ongoing and painful 'wrangling' in the church is to seek a structural settlement.

4. In the event of the Bishops continuing on their stated course of action, and without robust provision being introduced to secure a place for those who hold to a biblical view, CEEC will introduce provisions relating to alternative episcopal oversight, new financial systems, and new fellowship arrangements in order that orthodox bible witness might flourish in the C of E going forwards.

The Revd Canon John Dunnett is the National Director, CEEC