Review of the ecclesiastical court judgments during October 2024

In contrast to earlier months in which as many as twenty consistory court judgments have been reviewed, in this October only two judgments were circulated: Re All Saints Ripley [2024] ECC Lee 2 which concerned the replacement of pews, and the controversial Re Holy Cross Newcastle [2024] ECC New 3. Here the court was faced with a “wholly avoidable problem” of the “apparent failure to follow what is now longstanding Church of England guidance, a failure to take the steps preparatory to obtain the appropriate faculty before committing the church financially”. As we have noted, the raises a number of fundamental questions relating to the consequences of the uncritical adoption of “net zero” targets by General Synod in February 2020 and the required deliberations of the consistory courts through the Faculty Jurisdiction (Amendment) Rules 2022. A more detailed post is in preparation.  Continue reading →