Archbishop of Cemetery

I picked up a copy of the satirical magazine Private Eye this week. It proposed a number of candidates for the role of Archbishop of Canterbury, including Russell Brand, Rory Stewart, Tony Blair and Richard Dawkins. Of course, these names are only amusing because they are utterly inappropriate. The final name added was Justin Welby’s, proving my point.

Whoever gets the job, however, is likely to be disappointing from the perspective of a faithful believer. Even if a sound man of orthodox theology is duly sourced, his main mission would be attempting to hold together this chaotic and compromised organisation. At a time when the land needs to hear plain, Christian truth, it will be offered an Archbishop whose primary concern will be to prevent the Anglican behemoth from swallowing itself up or chewing off its divergent limbs. The next calendar year will surely see an increased exodus of true believers; the old arguments about it being ‘their’ church into which the liberals have inveigled themselves will sound increasingly hollow as the Woke grandstanding which occurred on Archbishop Welby’s watch will become essential dogma on his even-worse-successor’s.

So join me in praying for our brethen in the state church, that God would give them wisdom at this difficult time: to know when to stand and speak, and when to walk away.