The General Synod yesterday asserted its representative authority and refused to mandate the abolition of the boards, councils and committees of the Church of England that do so much work in fields such as mission and education.
The Synod rightly resisted the call from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and their advisers to place these responsibilities in the hands of a few powerful “lead” representatives and a handful of advisers. There will now be a review to draw up a new set of proposals.
It would be tempting to interpret this as a blow to the authority of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, but the opposite is the case.
Immediately afterwards an almost contrite Synod drew back from another proposal to abolish lots