The Church does not need a female archbishop

The Church of England needs something. Attendance rates have been falling for decades and fell much more sharply after COVID. Research conducted by the Brierly consultancy found that between 2005 and 2010, Church of England membership declined, while orthodox, Pentecostal and other new churches (including evangelical and charismatic) had an increase in members.  

The recent scandal with Justin Welby isn’t going to help matters, but now he has resigned the Church is poised for a new start. Could a female archbishop be exactly what the Church needs to revitalise itself? 

An imbalance between the sexes

“The future is female” was a phrase coined in the 1970s feminist movement to describe a brighter, better future, with women in positions of power. There’s a prevailing idea in our culture that life will be more equal – and better – when there are more women in leadership positions. We see it as a mark of progress, when women can break the glass ceiling, become prime minister or do any other job that men can do.

When it comes to the Church, it might be natural to apply the same kind of thinking – that in order to progress and improve we need to reach that milestone. We might even be led to think that where men have failed a woman could do it better. 

But is this kind of thinking biblical? In the garden of Eden, Eve ate the forbidden fruit first, and in that moment Adam was absent. He didn’t stop Eve, or advise her against it. He appeared only later after Eve had eaten the fruit, and accepted her offer to eat it too.  

Ever since then we have lived in a fallen world. One of the consequences of the Fall is that there is an imbalance between men and women. I sometimes wonder if one of the reasons many men find it hard to listen or take advice from a woman, is because this fatal moment when Adam listened to Eve is written into man’s DNA.  

The danger of jumping on the bandwagon

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that in order for things to get better, women need to be in the top positions in churches. In fact, the apostle Paul wrote: “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer’’, he must be ‘’the husband of one wife ’’(1 Timothy 3:1-2, ESVUK). Overseer is a translation of the Greek word, episkopos, which is also translated as ‘bishop’ or ‘priest’. 

The subject of women teachers and priests has been endlessly debated, and Bible verses are interpreted differently to draw different conclusions. I just don’t see a strong case in the Bible for women in leadership roles, and I think we’ve got to be extremely careful not to change the way the Church does things because the world is changing. 

This is something that the Church of England is failing at. You may have heard in the news that in December last year an email was sent to clergy in the Birmingham diocese asking them to edit Christmas carols so they wouldn’t offend people of other faiths. Falling attendance rates suggests that church goers don’t want a ‘woke’ church, and given what Jesus said about his gospel being offensive, I don’t think he would either. 

The ultimate authority is Jesus

Much more than needing a woman archbishop, the Church of England needs to return to the gospel, to Jesus and to the words of the Bible. Ultimately the position of archbishop isn’t actually in the Bible. In biblical times there were bishops who led local churches, and then later bishops who led groups of churches in a particular area. To me this seems like a healthier model. High levels of power and influence lead to corruption, as we have seen over and over again. 

The future isn’t female, any more than it is male, and I won’t be putting my hope in the next archbishop, whatever their gender. The future is Jesus. When he returns he will put everything right. The Bible is our guidebook, and I think we need to take our eyes off the world, and read the word more. Perhaps then we can be more like the Church that Jesus wants us to be.