General Synod Election Candidates 2026

CHRISTOPHER SMITH

Vicar of St Alban’s Holborn

Proposers: Stephen Coleman and Damien Mason

Treasures new and old
Colleagues in the Diocese were kind enough to elect me to General Synod in 2015, and I
hope they might put me back on this time, after five years away. I was elected as a Church
Commissioner nearly ten years ago and re-elected, though am now about to be guillotined,
as it were. The substantial majority of that work has not divided along ‘party’ lines, but
there have been times when I have felt obliged to speak out on controversial subjects, even
when that has left me somewhat lonely! I hope it is also true to say that I made a good
contribution on the floor of General Synod when I was a Proctor—though only speaking
when I had something meaningful to say, I hope!—and I contributed to the drafting of
legislation through the relevant steering and revision committees, and through the tabling
of amendments and so on. I have recently become Synodical Secretary for the Province of
Canterbury, so I have had a role in the Convocation, which sort of makes me Synod ‘staff’,
although in that context I don’t have the right to speak or vote.

Be a shepherd not a wolf
I have always tried to contribute to the life of the diocese and wider Church of England, on
synods and boards of education and bishops’ councils and so on, but (and?) nothing has
[PTO…]

ever shaken my belief that there is no substitute for the parish in the life of the Church. The
ecclesiology of episcopy and the diocese is important, but at the practical level, what
matters most is the place where the Body of Christ meets, in its parish churches. As a
Commissioner I have seen ‘pastoral schemes’ brought by dioceses (mercifully not ours!)
which seem bound to undermine pastoral ministry by creating vast new units. Part of that is
a vocations problem, of course, but I am always suspicious that there is a desire for greater
control which can only militate against what we clergy were ordained to do. If only bishops
had any memory of the Prayer Book Ordinal! The new Mission and Pastoral Measure is at
its revision stage, and (having had some involvement in that at Commissioners level) I would
hope to contribute as a member Synod to this next part of the process.

Looking ahead
The end of Living in Love and Faith has been peculiarly unsatisfactory, with the ‘blood-
letting’ debate in February leaving nobody especially happy, and we will now have to watch
carefully as the new Work Group and Consultative Group take up their burden. I do feel
that it ought to be possible to keep in the fold people with widely differing views on these
matters, not least because we have managed it with the question of Holy Order.
There is also the ongoing question of new safeguarding arrangements, and we will have to
put in the hard graft that is necessary to get that right.
The Clergy Conduct Measure is of interest to me, having written on its predecessor
legislation and sat on the Clergy Discipline Commission for a time. It has recently completed
its passage through parliament and received the Royal Assent; now the Synod needs to keep
a close watch on its implementation. And in the light of recent events, it is also important
that we get our relationship with the Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament securely back
on track after the debacle over the National Church Governance Measure.
Other stuff I want to get stuck into includes the significance of Church Schools, clergy
retirement provision, vocations and the importance of proper theological training of
ordinands and curates, and the rights of private patrons.

Looking for the City that is to come
To my surprise, I find that I have been ordained for quite a long time now—my ordination to
the priesthood was thirty year ago—and I have been an incumbent for twenty-five. I do
have some significant experience to offer, and some theological clout to bring to the table.
(Still working on that doctorate…!) I can also bring to debates and
legislative scrutiny some ‘extra-parochial’ skills both educational and
legal (I qualified as a barrister once-upon-a-time), and many years’
experience of diocesan bodies. For pleasure, I play the piano and am a
bit of a cricket fan. I have a cat called Bella and a collection of Wisdens.

Fr Christopher Smith 18 Brooke Street EC1 020 7405 1831 [email protected]

church schools,clergy conduct,clergy discipline,dioceses,living in love and faith,mission,ordinands,ordination,prayer,retirement,safeguarding,vocations