A Church of England bishop has said that non-Christian faith groups cannot hold services in its churches after a Muslim event in London caused outcry.
The Bishop of Southwark, Christopher Chessun, said in a statement on Tuesday that the Inclusive Mosque event in his diocese, at St John's church in Waterloo, London, on 6 March, breached Church rules.
During the interfaith service, which was led by a female imam, the vicar, Canon Giles Goddard, read Psalm 139. Christian icons in the church were covered over for the duration of the event.
In his statement, Bishop Chessun said: “Whilst it is very important to build good interfaith relations, it is clear that an act of worship from a non-Christian faith tradition is not permitted within a consecrated Church of England building.”
A number of clergy said the event was sacrilegious. Canon Andrew Stevens of St Nicholas’, Plumstead, said that covering up Christian icons was an affront, while Fr Martin Hislop, of St Luke's in Kingston, said that it was scandalous to celebrate Islam in a church at a time when Christians were being slaughtered for their belief in countries such as Iraq and Syria, Christian Today reported.
Canon Goddard this week apologised for any offence caused by the service and for any infringement of Church of England rules.
He said that he had given permission for and participated in the event as a committed Christian because he sought to build better understanding between faiths.
“Now, more than ever, it is essential that we are able to meet in friendship across the boundaries of faith, and the event at St John’s was part of attempts to enable that to happen. I remain committed to finding ways for Christians and Muslims to acknowledge our shared heritage and history, without minimising the uniqueness of both our traditions. I have assured the Bishop of Southwark of my commitment to work to build good interfaith relations, but to do so within the teaching and guidelines of the Church of England,” he said.
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