The 2022 Ecclesiastical Law Society day conference – the first in-person conference organised by the Society since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic – took as its overarching theme the question of governance in the Church of England: an increasingly topical subject in light of the appearance of the ‘Save the Parish’ movement and the ongoing review of the Church's central governance structures under the leadership of the Bishop of Guildford. The conference was generously sponsored by Wrigleys Solicitors LLP and was hosted in the parish centre of St Alban's church, Holborn.
The day opened with a stimulating historical overview from Professor Norman Doe on the development of the Church of England's constitution and whether it was fair to say – as had Archbishop William Temple's biographer, Frederic Iremonger, in 1948 – that its modern governance structures favour a ‘legalist’ rather than a ‘moralist’ approach to the nature and activity of the Church. Following Professor Doe's lecture, the Rt Rev'd Pete Broadbent brought these matters up to date with his reflections on the recent work of General Synod and some proposals for addressing the crisis in church governance which had been exposed during the first national lockdown in 2020.
A valuable additional feature of both of these lectures was a theological response delivered by the Rev'd Canon Professor Alison Milbank, Professor of Theology and Literature at the University of Nottingham, highlighting issues of theology relevant to the matters discussed and making further proposals to ensure that future developments in church governance are based upon sound theology and ecclesiology. Professor Milbank later participated in the closing plenary session chaired by the Society's president, the Rt Rev'd Christopher Hill, during which four short papers were presented with lively contributions from the floor on the topics of ‘the centre’ vs ‘the local’, the shape of the centre, ‘representation’ vs ‘nomination’, and parish governance.
Following the lunch break the Society held its annual general meeting, chaired by Elizabeth Wilson, Chair of Trustees. As well as receiving the trustees’ Annual Report and the 2020 Statement of Accounts, the assembled members elected the Rev'd Paul Benfield as treasurer and the Rt Rev'd Martin Warner, Bishop of Chichester, as Vice-chair. Elected as trustees were the Worshipful Ruth Arlow, the Venerable Moira Astin, Paul Barber, the Rev'd Stephen Coleman and Frances Godden.
With much to reflect on and still more to discuss, the conference delegates moved from the plenary session into the body of St Alban's church, where the day concluded with choral evensong, sung by the parish choir.
