On Monday, 6th January 2025, Justin Welby laid down his bishop’s Crozier on the altar at Lambeth Palace, marking the conclusion of his tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury. This action signifies a departure from the historical practice of removing an unwanted Archbishop through assassination. Mr. Welby resigned in November 2024 following a church report that indicated he could have and should have taken more decisive actions in relation to John Smyth, a serial sadomasochistic abuser of youths and young men whom he encountered while serving as a leader at Iwerne camps.

John Smyth was a barrister. Whether he was involved with Jimmy Savile is unknown, but Anne Atkins wrote an article in the Daily Mail in 2012, in which she said she knew of an unnamed ‘eminent lawyer with considerable influence in a well-known public school’ who had beaten boys in his shed following Bible study. The unidentified lawyer in the article was Smyth.

Although Welby worked at Iwerne and met Smyth it is reasonable to assume he knew nothing about the abuse, which was done away from the camps in a soundproof shed in Smyth’s garden. However, he was Archbishop when the abuse was discovered in 2013 and had the responsibility to see things through. Welby’s resignation is on the grounds of responsibility, not fault.

I find many things about the theology of Iwerne worrying.

1. The level of secrecy there, the camps were invitation only and those attending were told they must not mention the camps to anyone.

2. Muscular Christianity. This was a reaction in the mid-1800s against what was seen as the feminisation of Christianity. I have nothing against the idea of muscular Christianity, it led to the setting up of the Boy Scouts and Boy’s Brigade, but the extent to which it was followed at Iwerne is problematic as self-examination was seen as feminine, something not to be done. Also, an emphasis on God’s punishment can lead to people thinking they are doing God’s will by punishing people, no matter how brutal their punishments.

3. Compartmentalisation. Lack of self-examination can lead to people having one area of their lives dedicated to God and others that are not. Smyth could have carried on because he never looked at his own actions. Being saved was enough.

4. Using “Social Gospel” as an insult. The need for a Christian to do any sort of social work was played down and thought of as feminine.

5. It targeted the top 30 private schools. This work later expanded to the next tier of schools down from it. The reason for this was a belief that if the top people are saved it will trickle down to the rest of society.

Why do I see this as a problem?

One of the big themes of the Bible is that we are to help the vulnerable, often using the three groups of orphans, widows and foreigners. These were the groups which were disempowered at the time of writing. This idea runs through the Old Testament, especially in the Law and Prophets sections. It continues into the New Testament including the teachings of Jesus. It is intrinsic to the teaching in the Bible and although it must never replace the teaching of salvation it is vital and must run alongside.

The biggest problem for me is the elitism. Two parts of the Bible that spring to mind, are the introduction to John’s Gospel (John 1:1-18) and the poem in Philippians 2:6 which tells of Jesus being honoured by God because he gave up his position in heaven to become human and then further humbles himself to walk the path of obedience to death. Jesus the master becomes the servant. The idea that redemption comes from suffering meant that Smyth could tell those boys and young men that what he was doing was good for them. I used to believe in redemptive suffering too.

What made me change my mind was an accident which was not my fault. I have had nearly 19 years of being disabled and in daily pain to work it out and my suffering is not redemptive for me. Instead of this, I have come to the conclusion that it is vulnerability that is redemptive. I have found God’s healing in allowing myself to be vulnerable. Instead of trying to be strong in suffering, I have l allowed myself to be weak and find Jesus is there with me. The God who became weak is my strength.

There are two churches of England.

The first Church of England is in the parish. It helps people deal with debt, and it runs food banks and soup kitchens. And whenever these people ask, “Why are you helping me?” It talks about the love of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In contrast, the other Church of England has seats in the House of Lords, officiates at royal weddings and coronations and seems to be obsessed with its position in society.

To be fair most Anglican churches fall between these two extremes, but I am only impressed by one of these.