Unbiblical Hierarchy of the Church of England

In my other article, The Apostasy of the Church of England, I covered on a more in-depth level the apostasy of the Anglican Church and their affiliates. Here I would like to highlight the hierarchy specifically, which is unbiblical. I will begin with a summary and then show you the line of authority in one particular diocese from top to bottom.

The chain of command from parish priests in the Diocese of Manchester up to the top level of the Church of England moves from local parish leadership to diocesan bishops, then to the Archbishop of York, then to Archbishop of Canterbury (pictured left), then to the national governing body known as the General Synod, and finally to King Charles himself, the Supreme Governor of the Church. [1, 2]. The term rotting from the head comes to mind.

All authority is given, and the authority in the Church of England flows like this from top to bottom. Here is an example of the org structure for one diocese, the Manchester Diocese in England:

King Charles III (Supreme Governor of the Church)

            |

General Synod (Supreme legislative body of the Church) 

            |

Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally (Primate of All England)

            |

Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell

            |

Diocesan Bishop of Manchester, The Rt Revd Dr David Walker

            |

Bishop of Middleton, Mark Davies, a Roman Catholic & Bishop of Bolton, Matthew Porter

            |

Diocese of Manchester (including Rachel Mann as the Archdeacon of Bolton and Salford, the first transgender Archdeacon in the CoE & Mark Davies, a Roman Catholic)

            |

Vicar/Rector (pastor of a local parish church)

Detailed Version

Now allow me to go into detail about the people listed above in the org structure.  In the section below, I show them in reverse order from the bottom level to the top, and have highlighted specific matters of concern with the individuals in leadership

According to Google AI, the structure, from bottom to top, is:

1. Parishes and Deaneries (Local Level)

• Parish Priest (Vicar/Rector): Leads individual churches (parishes).
• Area Dean: Leads a Deanery, which is a collection of parishes. [3, 4]

2. Diocese of Manchester (Regional Level)

• Archdeacons: Support the bishop and oversee specific archdeaconries within the diocese. In Manchester, these are one transgender and two females:
• Rachel Mann as the Archdeacon of Bolton and Salford, the first transgender Archdeacon
• Archdeaconess of Manchester, Karen Best
• Archdeaconess of Rochdale, Karen Smeeton
• Suffragan Bishops: Assist the Diocesan Bishop. In Manchester, these are:
• The Bishop of Middleton, Rt Rev Mark Davies, a Roman Catholic
• The Bishop of Bolton, Matthew Porter
• Diocesan Bishop (Bishop of Manchester): The Rt Revd Dr David Walker has oversight of all clergy and parishes within the Diocese of Manchester. Walker supports the introduction of same-sex marriage in the Church of England: "I would be delighted to serve as bishop in a church that fully celebrated the committed, exclusive and faithful love of two adults, regardless of whether they were of same or different sexes" He was delighted in 2023 to announce the appointment of the Revd Canon Dr Rachel Mann as the Archdeacon of Bolton and Salford, the first transgender archdeacon appointed in the Church of England. He is accountable to Archbishops Stephen Cottrell and Sarah Mullally [2, 5, 6, 7, 8]

3. Province of York (Northern Province)

• Archbishop of York: The Bishop of Manchester reports to the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who is a progressive leader, advocating for an inclusive church, the affirmation of same-sex relationships, and social justice. [1, 2, 7]. A member of Affirming Catholicism, Cottrell supports the blessing of same-sex unions and has stated that traditional views on biblical sexuality can "legitimise homophobia". He believes the church should embrace diverse views on marriage. He suggests that scripture interpretation should evolve, and that the Bible must fit current culture.

4. National Level (Top Level)

• Archbishop of Canterbury: Primate of All England and senior bishop. Dame Sarah Mullally is a liberal-progressive leader emphasizing "radically inclusive" Christianity and "strategic ecclesiology" to maintain Anglican unity amidst theological divisions. Her spirituality champions social justice, gender equality, and LGBTQ+ inclusion, marked by her role in supporting same-sex blessings in the Church of England.
• General Synod: The supreme legislative body of the Church of England, consisting of bishops, clergy, and laity.
• The Monarch: The King is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. [1, 3, 9, 10, 11]

The Bishop of Manchester is accountable to the Archbishops and the wider House of Bishops. [7]

High Ratio of Clergy to Congregants

The total number of active ordained clergy was approximately 20,000 in 2019, including 7,700 paid (stipendiary) staff. This is an abnormally high number of clergy compared to the 1.02 million adherents of the Church of England. If we subtract from the 1.02 adherents the 20,000 clergy, we are left with one million adherents. That's a ration of 1:50 or one clergy for every fifty congregants, which is quite high.

Closing Words

The org chart above includes women in authority over men, LBGTQ-affirming people, who believe in blessing same-sex marriages, as well as Roman Catholics, and is generally full of apostate people who have no business being in oversight of the flock of God, which is the Church. It is no wonder that Paul the apostle warned the Ephesian church during his final address to them saying:

"Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them." (Act 20:28-30)

Back to my article on The Apostasy of the Church of England.

Footnotes:

[1] Link

[2] Link

[3] Link 

[4] Link 

[5] Link 

[6] Link 

[7] Link

[9] Link 

[10] Link 

[11] Link 

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Image of Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally (Primate of All England) taken from Wikimedia Commons, and is in the public domain.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this, you may like, my article on The Apostasy of the Church of England, The Faith of King Charles, as well as The Truth About the Roman Catholic Church. You may access more of my articles on the Main Directory of this blog, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.