As the Church of England prepares for next week's General Synod, all eyes are on the Archbishop of York. Following the resignation of Rt Rev Justin Welby, there is no Archbishop of Canterbury in place to open Synod, so Most Rev Stephen Cottrell is due to step in on Monday to deliver the Presidential Address. Efforts have been made, however, to prevent him speaking.
Sam Margrave, a lay member of General Synod, submitted formal requests to suspend proceedings and move to the next business, in order to stop the Archbishop from addressing the Synod.
In doing so, Mr Margrave cited the Archbishop of York's alleged safeguarding failures and the further reputational damage he alleges it would do to the Church if the Archbishop is perceived as unaccountable.
This is at a time when the reputation of the Church is at an all time low - with a recent YouGov poll revealing that only 25 per cent of the population has a positive view of the Church of England.
Over the past few weeks, allegations have been made that while Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell, lauded Rev David Tudor as a "Rolls Royce priest," and supported his appointment as an Honorary Canon of the cathedral, despite being aware of past convictions for indecently assaulting three underage girls. The convictions were later quashed on technical grounds.
Concerning the allegations surrounding his handling of Tudor, Archbishop Cottrell said: "He was an Area Dean when I came into post. That post was renewed twice, and that is something I regret."
More recently there have been allegations that Cottrell put pressure on a member of the Crown Nomination Commission to appoint his colleague, the Rt Rev Perumbalath as Bishop of Liverpool, and that he later installed the bishop, fully aware that there were allegations of sexual abuse against him that had not yet been fully investigated.
A spokesperson for the Archbishop of York said that he "categorically rejects any suggestion of coercion or bullying during a Crown Nomination Commission (CNC)".
"The CNC's secret ballot process prevents any undue influence," they said.
Synod officials denied Mr Margrave's requests because the Standing Orders give the Archbishop the right to speak, but as there are rumours that a separate request for a protest has also been blocked, this has fuelled accusations of a "stitch-up" that silences victims and those demanding reform.
Mr Margrave said, "If I am honest, the Archbishop of York needs to resign and if he refuses to do so then the Synod needs to find a way to take action, otherwise the governance of the Church of England will no longer be fit for purpose."
Archbishop Cottrell has refused to resign, despite over 37,000 people signing a petition calling for him to step down.
Concerning the Bishop of Liverpool's resignation, the Archbishop of York's spokesperson said, "In 2023 a complaint of alleged misconduct against Bishop John Perumbalath was brought to the National Safeguarding Team (NST). This complaint was made after Bishop John Perumbalath had formally and legally become Bishop of Liverpool.
"The complaint was looked into according to statutory safeguarding guidance in an NST-led process and an independent risk assessment undertaken. This process concluded that there were no ongoing safeguarding concerns, but a learning outcome was identified with which the bishop fully engaged.
"The complaint was also investigated by the police which resulted in no further action."
