It may soon be possible, courtesy Cameron Ch as she then was, not only to lunch (as many already do) but also to dine at the crypt restaurant below St Mary-le-Bow, and to enjoy beer, cider or wine with your meal. That is a thoroughly secular use of part of a church; and it is something which would not have been permitted until relatively recent times. To Cock burn CJ in 1869 there was a self-evident distinction between ‘purposes purely secular’ and ‘those of an ecclesiastical character’, and ‘nothing short of an Act of Parliament can authorise the conversion of consecrated ground to secular purposes’. In one of his early judgments, sitting as Deputy-Chancellor, George Newsom QC declined to allow the use of consecrated land for an NCP car park, referring to consecration as ‘this special status [which] has been a striking privilege of the Church of England. It is no part of the duty of this court to seek to whittle it away’. The aim of this Paper is to explore the erosion of the divide between ‘secular’ and ‘ecclesiastical’ purposes, and to suggest that it offers a novel role for the Church both in the countryside and in towns and cities. I also touch briefly on some of the problems of rating, planning and listed building law which arise.

In the latter part of the nineteenth century there were attempts to unite the various bodies which had split off from the Church of Scotland in the previous hundred years. In particular, there were great hopes for a union between the United Presbyterian Church [UPC] and the Free Church of Scotland [FC].

Although it is indisputable that Muslims have been in Britain for centuries now, it is the events of the recent past that has increasingly focussed attention on the presence of what is now one of Britain's largest minorities. Like numerous other religious minorities in the United Kingdom, Muslims have established themselves and largely conduct their religious and cultural practices within the confines of English law. The aim of this article is to investigate how English law deals with Islam and the regulation, recognition and accommodation, if any, of certain Muslim practices, such as religious divorces and marriages and the establishment of places of worship. The article does not aim to be comprehensive in its coverage of all the issues raised by the Muslim population in the United Kingdom, especially the criminalisation of certain political activities which some Muslims consider to be religious obligations, but simply attempts to analyse how in some respects British Muslims regulate their activities and how a parallel but non-recognised legal system is now in operation and the extent to which English law makes provision for British Muslims and their practices, beliefs and needs.

This paper is intended to point to some major concepts and features in Anglican ecclesiology and to mention some significant moments or phases that have shaped it. It will also reflect briefly on the direction that our ecclesiology is taking, as the Churches of the Anglican Communion face challenges, both positive and negative.

Readers of this Journal do not need to be told of the importance of legislation in forming and reforming ecclesiastical law. They are familiar with the division of legislative functions between Parliament and the General Synod in accordance with the Enabling Act and the conventions which have grown up around it. Where proposed Government legislation has an obvious impact on the interests of the churches, there will normally be consultation between the relevant Government department and the church authorities. The Churches Main Committee monitors and seeks to influence and headquarters staff have access to policy-makers in Whitehall.

On 7 July 1990 the chairman of the Dioceses Commission told the General Synod that the sixteen members of the Commission were united in a ‘feeling of frustration’ about the difficulties arising from the provisions of the Dioceses Measure 1978. He said that the 48-page Report entitled The Dioceses Measure 1978, a Review (GS 925) put before the General Synod by the Commission was ‘a genuine cri de coeur’. This Report analysed the problems and suggested solutions with the obvious aim of obtaining some assistance from the General Synod in response to the cri de coeur.

I want to suggest that, for possibly the first time since the Second World War, we have a genuine opportunity for the Church of England to reform its mission and pastoral coverage, and its institutions, for good and for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God. Our changing culture is the main context for this reform, but it is being made possible by two external drivers—the financial meltdown which is currently taking place at national and diocesan level, and the decline in clergy numbers which has forced the Church at last to embrace the new patterns of ministerial priesthood and lay leadership proposed by John Tiller in 1983. It is clear to me that the Church of England as an institution only embraces change when it is forced to do so. It would be perfectly possible to ignore our changing cultural situation and to die quietly in a corner, were it not for our lack of money and priests. I am upbeat about this, because I do not believe that the forces of reaction and darkness will prevail this time. But I am worried that the framework of ecclesiastical law will delay and attempt to prevent the changes that are needed—and to this concern I will return.

The Archbishops' Council has set up a Review of the Dioceses and Pastoral Measures and related Measures, inter alia, ‘… to ensure flexible and cost-effective procedures which fully meet changing pastoral and mission needs…’. This article is mainly devoted to the Pastoral Measure, the current use of which may be of interest. There are about 200 pastoral schemes and orders a year, of which about one in six attract objections. These schemes result in a net reduction of about 70 benefices a year (1%). At the same time, around 20 churches are declared redundant a year (0.1%), of which 60% are found suitable uses and less than 20% demolished. However, not all uses provide a permanent solution and old cases often require re-visiting.