This study describes and evaluates the Church of England's revision of its canon law in the twentieth century, concentrating on the period from 1939 to 1969. By way of introduction it should be said that this assessment is but part of a larger study which proceeds on two planes of comparison. In the larger study, revision by the Church of England is laid horizontally alongside another Anglican revision carried out as a result of disestablishment of the Church in Wales in 1920, and also the two revisions of Roman Catholic canon law leading to the promulgation of the Codex luris Canonici in 1917 and 1983. Vertically, the history of the revision of English canon law over the previous four hundred years gives some idea of what needed revision, and the difficulties in carrying it out under the constraints of being an established church. In this article, however, only the process of revision by the Church of England in the twentieth century is discussed.

‘The Ecclesiastical Courts date from 1076, but it is certain that at no time in their long history have they been as busy as they are today. Most of their work arises out of applications for faculties to make alterations in churches, their contents or churchyards. The majority of cases are dealt with without a hearing and in Chambers, but an increasing number have to be decided after a full hearing in Open Court. Most Ecclesiastical Court Judgments are not reported; yet many of them are of considerable interest and together they create a body of Ecclesiastical Law. To meet an undoubted need, the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple has been glad to receive from the Ecclesiastical Judges’ Association transcripts of Judgments, to copy, bind and index them and to make them available for reading and, if desired, copying within the Inn's Library. If provided with copies of future Judgments, the Library will treat them in the same way.’

The organisation now known as the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded in 1957, and its Newsletter was first published in 1969. The activities, publications and achievements of the Society within the Roman Catholic Church are manifold, and were acknowledged by Pope John Paul II when he granted an audience to participants of the 1992 annual conference held in Rome. This papal address is printed at the beginning of The Canon Law: Letter & Spirit (London 1995), the full commentary on the 1983 Code of Canon Law prepared by the Society.

For a number of years the Society has been troubled at the absence of, or at least the spasmodic nature of, any systematic teaching about Canon or Ecclesiastical law among ordinands and clergy of the Church of England. The first that an ordinand knows of law is often his or her Declaration of Assent and licensing as an Assistant Curate. Provided there are no great crises or scandals, or problems over marriages when the training Incumbent goes on holiday leaving the new Deacon to his or her own devices, the next occasion of ecclesiastical law will be at first incumbency, or possibly as a Team Vicar. After that Faculties, secular employment law, the Children Act, the Charities Act, the Ecumenical Canons become increasingly important; not to speak of the Pastoral Measure in Teams and Groups. No other profession would allow its officers such systematic ignorance of the rules of the game, or be so tardy in providing them with a summary of their rights and responsibilities. Sadly the image of law—and lawyers—has obscured the need for knowledge of professional rules and good practice. A misunderstanding of St Paul on Law and Gospel has permeated much evangelical, charismatic and radical thinking. Anglo-Catholics have a perverse respect for the canon law of another church rather than their own. But the tide has begun to turn.

‘As from the date of disestablishment ecclesiastical courts and persons in Wales and Monmouthshire shall cease to exercise any jurisdiction, and the ecclesiastical law of the Church in Wales shall cease to exist as law.’

This paper had its origin in an excursus to the dissertation offered in part requirement for the University of Wales LLM degree in Ecclesiastical and Canon Law. Like all work on Colenso, it is indebted to the magisterial investigations of the late Peter Hinchliff, in whose biography of Colenso will be found an extensive bibliography to 1964. Later sources are itemised in this paper.