British Evangelical Anglican Theologian Takes Down Archbishop of York over Same-Sex Marriage

By David W. Virtue, DD

www.virtueonline.org

July 14, 2025

British Anglican theologian Dr. Ian Paul tore into the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, accusing him of fudging the issue over same sex marriage. He specifically accused the archbishop about the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) report calling it “disastrous”, “divisive” and “damaging” to the Church of England.

Dr. Paul pointed the finger at former Archbishop Justin Welby describing the LLF report he engineered as “ill conceived”, “incoherent” and “open to misrepresentation.”

In an open letter to the Archbishop of York, Paul said the discussion in dioceses around the country only highlighted just how divided we are, and that the LLF process, far from enabling us to 'live with difference', has exacerbated division. 

In a jab at Cottrell himself, the theologian said he suspected that the conversation in York wouldn’t have been much different.

Paul then took aim at the conflicted archbishop saying that The Church of England is not divided at all in its doctrine. “As you know very well, canon law is very clear on both where we get our doctrine (that is, our understanding and our teaching; 'doctrine' is just the Latin-based word for teaching), and what our doctrine of marriage is.”

Cottrell, who should have resigned over his safeguarding failures but did not, now finds a church more divided even as the See of Canterbury remains empty.

Has Living in Love and Faith come to an end, asks Paul? In an open letter to the Archbishop of York, Paul bluntly stated that “the doctrine of the Church of England is grounded in the Holy Scriptures, and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, The Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal.

“The Church of England affirms, according to our Lord’s teaching, that marriage is in its nature a union permanent and lifelong, for better for worse, till death them do part, of one man with one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side, for the procreation and nurture of children, for the hallowing and right direction of the natural instincts and affections, and for the mutual society, help and comfort which the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity.”

IT'S SIN!

Sexual intimacy outside the context of the marriage of one man and one woman is sin and should be met with a call to repentance, said Paul. “It has been reiterated both by statements in the House of Bishops and by answers to questions on General Synod on multiple occasions, including in LLF debates. You have been part of the HoB which issued such statements.”

Paul ripped into Cottrell accusing him of being double-minded. “When you made your statement after the February 2023 debate, on Radio 4, that sexual intimacy is appropriate for anyone in a ‘permanent, faithful, stable’ relationship (without defining any of those terms), you contradicted the doctrine of your own Church, something you vowed to uphold.”

“When I challenged you on this, you denied that they are contradictory, and claimed that you still believed the doctrine of the Church, and that in February 2023 you ‘misspoke under pressure’. Stephen, these claims are not credible! The heart of our problem is that we have bishops and archbishops who do not believe the doctrine of their own Church!”

“You said you believed that this was not an issue that should divide the Church; that you respected and valued the conscientiously-held theological convictions of those who saw the issue differently. On what basis do you believe this? Where has the theological work been done on this? You appear to be saying, by archiepiscopal fiat, that this subject is a ‘thing indifferent’, one of the adiaphora, despite the fact that, all through scripture, and all through the history of the Christian church, it certainly is not.”

Paul took the gloves off and lit into the archbishop; “the belief in marriage as between a man and a woman was the ethical distinctive in the first-century world, and the first followers of Jesus, even if they were gentile, adopted the same (Jewish) position. On what grounds should we dispense with this? I cannot find anywhere where you have given an answer to this.”

“This whole debate is precisely around what does indeed constitute the ‘sinfulness’ that we need to repent of—and it cannot be reduced to ‘disagreement’. All our canons, all our liturgy, and all the previous statements of the House have been clear on this. Why are you confused?”

Paul tore into Cottrell saying, “you demonstrate that you do not understand the position of those who disagree with you. This isn’t a matter of personal ‘theological conviction’; it is a matter of whether we believe our own doctrine and the teaching of Jesus himself. This is not about ‘feeling able’ to do one thing or another. It is about whether or not the Church of England has the integrity of its own convictions.”

In a final blast at the archbishop, Paul accused Cottrell of ‘a failure of Christian love’.

“As we head into General Synod in York, those of us who do believe ‘the doctrine of Christ as the Church has received it’ on questions of marriage and sexuality are faced with being led by an archbishop who does not actually understand our concerns, who does not appear himself to believe that doctrine, who has created immense division in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, who has led a process that has avoided starting with theology, and who fails this test of love by telling us how we ought to feel about it.”

Cottrell has never answered the accusations of Paul. A knowledgeable insider told VOL that Cottrell is a theological lightweight that would not know how to answer Paul. He sees his episcopate status transcending all debate.

END