The Archbishop of York headed off a revolt over his leadership at the start of this week’s meeting of General Synod after a vote to block him from giving the Presidential Address at the start of synod failed.
On 10 February 2025 at the meeting of the General Synod at Church House in London, Sam Margrave, a lay delegate from the diocese of Coventry, moved Standing Order 39 which would suspend Standing Order 119. The effect of this motion would be to omit the Presidential Address to synod by the Archbishop of York and move to the next item on the agenda, the Report from the Business Committee. A third of General Synod members declined to back Cottrell, with 73 voting in favor of blocking his speech, 239 against, and 43 abstaining causing the motion to fail.
In an email distributed on Sunday evening before the start of Synod, Mr. Margrave wrote “This motion is an important action for General Synod and if passed will remove the Archbishop’s right to give a Presidential Address and move us immediately to the next item of business.”
“This action is not taken lightly, but it is necessary. Safeguarding must be our priority, and recent revelations — including allegations of bullying, poor judgment, and safeguarding failures — demand that we take decisive steps. An Archbishop should not be given a national platform while serious concerns remain unresolved.”
“Synod must provide leadership at this critical moment. By taking this step, we ensure our focus remains on victims, survivors, and the integrity of our Church.”
Mr. Margrave added: “This mechanism appears to be our only way to send a message to Parishes and the nation, that General Synod listens, agrees and will act.
“[W]e have to try to use our powers as a Synod to speak truth to power,” wrote Mr. Margrave, who had been subject to a campaign of vilification and abuse over the past year in his battle to hold the archbishops accountable for their actions.
Before the start of the meeting, the Bishop of Newcastle, the Rt. Rev. Helen-Ann Hartley told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the archbishop should step aside. “I think he is the wrong person. I think to be in that position of leadership, you have to talk the talk and walk the walk, and you can’t have one without the other. And I think for him to have allowed David Tudor [a priest found to have committed misconduct] to remain in post, I do find abhorrent.”
It came after a senior bishop again called for Cottrell to quit, saying it was inappropriate for him to be “leading change that the church needs at this time”.
Helen-Ann Hartley, the bishop of Newcastle, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think he is the wrong person. I think to be in that position of leadership, you have to talk the talk and walk the walk, and you can’t have one without the other. And I think for him to have allowed [a priest accused of abuse] to remain in post, I do find abhorrent.”
But the Rt. Rev. Beverley Mason, bishop of Warrington, who made a complaint of sexual harassment against a the Bishop of Liverpool, which it is alleged the Archbishop of York sought to minimize and cover up, did not support the call for Stephen Cottrell to go.
In a letter to fellow synod members, she said: “I would like to openly and publicly state that I do not support such calls and would ask that in our pursuit of good and transparent processes and structures that are fit for purpose, we do not weaponise or personalise this endeavour to the detriment of individuals.”
In his Presidential Address, following the unprecedented show of no confidence by a third of the synod members, Archbishop Cottrell, he had made mistakes.
He said he was “deeply dismayed by our failings” and “determined we make the changes necessary that will prevent these failings ever happening again”.
Archbishop Cottrell acknowledged Justin Welby had done the “honorable thing in standing down”, but added “Let’s not squander the opportunity this vacancy creates to be a better, more accountable and more transparent church.”
Since Archbishop Welby’s resignation in December the Church of England had “rightly seen a level of scrutiny that none of us have ever seen before,” Archbishop Cottrell said.
“All of us, and I assure you I begin with myself, must be subject to proper processes of accountability,” he said, adding this meant at times it was “no longer appropriate for someone to hold public office. Sometimes criminal proceedings” must ensue.
“And I am more sorry about this than I can say. I know mistakes have been made. I have made mistakes,” Archbishop Cottrell said.
