Dr Martyn Percy has announced he is to leave the Church of England
Dr Martyn Percy, the former Dean of Christ Church, has announced he is to leave the Church of England. This will be a cause of sadness and regret to many who have appreciated Martyn’s ministry across the years through his writing and speaking and particularly his ministry as Principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon and as Dean of Christ Church. Martyn’s ministry is wider and deeper than the difficult experiences of recent years. He has impacted many for good across the Diocese of Oxford, Oxfordshire and the University. We fully acknowledge the complexity and pain of the situation for Martyn, and also for others involved. We are deeply saddened by his decision and also by the inaccurate and unevidenced claims he makes in his media interviews. We need to offer some response to the various claims for the sake of all those involved. This page contains a summary of some of the information given to the press in recent days.
Martyn's cri de cœur will anger many readers, as it simply does not reflect the church that they know and love. It is time for an objective and independent account of what has happened at Christ Church during the past two years. Following a decision by Bishop’s Council some months ago, we have jointly commissioned with the Archbishops’ Council an independent review to take place this year, to be led by the Church of England Independent Safeguarding Board. We welcome the scrutiny the review will bring and are ready and willing to acknowledge any failings. Our hope is that Martyn will too and, after a time away from ministry, he might reconsider his decision to leave the Church of England. Background
Previous diocesan statements
Media enquiriesSteven Buckley | 07824 906839 | steven.buckley@oxford.anglican.org
|