Ukrainian Orthodox ties to Moscow

From the Church of England’s National Adviser for Ecumenical Relations

Sir, — Whilst Ukraine is fighting for its very existence, it is hardly surprising that the Ukrainian government has taken an increasingly negative view of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which, unlike the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, is bound by historic ties and canonical relationships to the Russian Orthodox Church (“Ukraine evicts pro-Moscow clergy”, News, 31 March).

On the eve of the invasion, the UOC was by far the largest Orthodox community in Ukraine; it may still be, despite many parishes’ transferring their allegiance. But your headline is somewhat misleading. It is important to acknowledge that many, indeed most, of the UOC’s clergy have condemned the Russian invasion, and are Ukrainian patriots as determined to defend their country as other Ukrainians are.

The UOC has removed Patriarch Kirill of Moscow from its prayers, deleted references to the Moscow Patriarchate from its statutes, and called for recognition of its independence from Moscow. As the Orthodox scholar Cyril Hovorun — a strong critic of Kirill — has said, this is virtually a de facto declaration of autocephaly by the UOC.

It is true that some leaders of the UOC have been cautious to the point of silence in their criticism of Kirill. Some of its clergy are themselves products of the Soviet era, and, no doubt, look still to Moscow for spiritual leadership. Doubtless, some have actively collaborated with the invaders, especially in the Donbas region. But it is a tragedy of this war of Russian choice that the main body of this Church now finds itself excluded from historic monasteries, including the Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv, and regarded with hostility by its own government.

JEREMY MORRIS
Lambeth Palace
London SE1 7JU

‘Green Man’ on King’s Coronation invitations 

From Stephen Miller

Sir, — I would point out that claims that the “Green Man” motif — much discussed for its recent appearance on the King’s Coronation invitation — is an ancient figure from British folklore are inaccurate. The Green Man appellation is a term misapplied by Lady Raglan in her 1939 article “The ‘Green Man’ in Church Architecture”, for the journal Folklore.

The more accurately named “disgorging foliate head motif” was part of a new repertoire imported into England from northern France or Europe, post-Norman Conquest. It is a specific Christian/Judaic-derived motif relating to the legends and medieval hagiographies of the Quest of Seth: the three twigs or seeds or kernels planted below the tongue of post-fall Adam, by Adam’s son Seth (provided by the Angel of Mercy responsible for guarding Eden) shoot forth, bringing new life to humankind: a specifically Christian motif, in fact, for the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

STEPHEN MILLER
Author of The Green Man in Medieval England (Cambridge Scholars, 2022) (Books, 21 October 2022)
42 Selborne Road
London N14 7DH

Worshippers who love 1662 are not the problem 

From the Revd John M. Overton

Sir, — In response to the Revd David Keighley’s letter (31 March), I write as someone in his mid-seventies, who was ordained in his early sixties.

Through my early to middle teens, our worship was exclusively with the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. For the past 50 years or so, church authorities have introduced almost constant change, which many of us welcomed as the key to spreading the gospel and the growth of the Church. Those who raise the average age of congregations to 61 years are largely those who have embraced, accepted, or endured change upon change over decades. They are not the “problem”. They are the ones who have persevered while many others have dropped out.

Societal changes, work pressures, and increased availability of varied leisure activities have all played a part in church decline (across all denominations), but the changes in the Church which were supposed to bring church growth in the C of E have manifestly failed to do so.

A few months ago, my wife and I, on a weekend away in another part of the country attended a C of E all-age communion service, which had plenty of guitar-led songs, but no Lord’s Prayer, confession/absolution, or collect of the day, and only one Bible reading. At this distance in time, I cannot remember if there was any form of credal statement, but I believe that the “blessing” was a “we” form prayer. With the present situation, many seem to feel that they can order worship as they see fit. We have certainly lost what we had in common across the C of E.

When it comes to belief in God and the living of a life of faith, there is much that is mystery. Life itself is not simple. We need acknowledgement of that in our worship. Many of us need the assurance of the words of an absolution and a blessing addressed to us in the second person. We all need to hear the scriptures. As we get older and short-term memories fade, the comfort of prayers and other words memorised from a lifetime of repetition becomes ever more precious.

The BCP has a place in this, as increased attendance at cathedral services of evensong in recent years attests. But perhaps we also need to question change for the sake of it, and explore the possible value of return to universal standards in worship?

JOHN M. OVERTON
6 Brown Edge Close, Buxton
Derbyshire SK17 7AS

Jews and the Gospels 

From Claudine McCreadie

Sir, — I enjoyed Rabbi Jonathan Romain’s piece on his synagogue’s study of St Matthew’s Gospel (Faith, 6 April). I don’t know how many of your readers have come across Professor Amy-Jill Levine. She writes as a committed Jew, whose scholarly understanding leads her to an infectious enthusiasm for the New Testament and its continuity with the Hebrew Bible. Her books include “Beginners’ guides” to Jesus’s miracles, to his teaching, to Advent, to Holy Week, to the Sermon on the Mount, which I and a friend have found hugely illuminating.

CLAUDINE McCREADIE
6 Clarendon Court
Kew Gardens Road
Richmond TW9 3HE

Labour policy-making in relation to the Fall 

From the Revd Martin Jewitt

Sir, — I’m encouraged by Frank Field’s confession of hope in the Easter gospel (Comment, 6 April).

He is right to point out ignorance of our fallenness on the part of Labour colleagues, but surely this is a hazard of all political activity. We all have a responsibility to judge which human beings will best govern the country, but, in so doing, we can lose sight of our God, who is ultimately sovereign.

So, to the extent that my Labour colleagues understand the doctrine of the Fall, they would surely recognise the fallenness of the rich few who try to maintain the very unjust economic system that we live in, even though some might be tempted to overlook any who cheat the welfare system.

I wish Lord Field joy and healing this Easter.

MARTIN JEWITT
12 Abbott Road
Folkestone CT20 1NG

Mental health and conversion therapy: studies 

From the Revd Dr Jonathan Tallon

Sir, — Dr Christopher Shell (Letters, 6 April) argued that the Revd Dr Charlie Bell (Letters, 24 March) had provided no evidence for the harm caused by conversion therapy. He may find the following studies informative.

Regarding sexual conversion therapy, Blosnich et al. (2020) found that those who had experienced attempts at sexuality conversion therapy were nearly twice as likely to experience suicidal ideation, and 88-per-cent-increased odds of attempting suicide.

Regarding gender conversion therapy, Turban et al. (2019) found that those transgender adults who had experienced attempts at gender conversion therapy were over twice as likely to have attempted suicide in their lifetime, and, if they had experienced this before the age of ten years, then four times as likely.

There were no significant differences in whether these interventions were carried out by secular professionals or religious leaders.

These are just two examples of the large evidence base that conversion therapy significantly worsens mental health. Conversion therapy is harmful.

JONATHAN TALLON
Tutor, Luther King Centre for Mission and Ministry
31 Brighton Grove, Rusholme
Manchester M14 5JG

Characterising Jesus as a social revolutionary 

From the Revd Mike Plunkett

Sir, — I am both surprised and annoyed by the article by Canon Angela Tilby (Comment, 6 April). The statement that Jesus was not a social revolutionary is trying to destroy something that, she must know, is central to the faith and life of many Christians.

I commend two recent publications for Canon Tilby to consult: first, Eccentric Existence (2009) by David Kelsey, and, second, the truly inspiring commentary on St Mark by Ched Myers, Binding the Strong Man (1988, 2008).

MIKE PLUNKETT
1 The Ridge, Bishop’s Castle
Shropshire SY9 5AB

Christian interpretations of a crossword mix-up 

From Anthony Tibbs

Sir, — I found myself struggling to complete Bishop David Thomson’s enjoyable Crossword No. 1656 (6 April). But no worries: the Church Times had considerately published the answers alongside, under the guise of Solution to No. 1655. A fine gesture of Easter charity by the Church Times!

ANTHONY TIBBS
73 St Thomas Street
Wells BA5 2UY

From Canon David Newman

Sir, — I am sure that many readers have alerted you to the fact that you published the wrong crossword answers in your latest issue. Instead of the answers to the previous puzzle, they belonged to the current crossword, which was situated right alongside them. I assumed this was a mistake, but then I wondered whether this was a Holy Week test. Could we stay with the struggle, or would we, as soon as it got too difficult, make straight for the solution? We easily leap from Palm Sunday to Easter Day and skip the bit in between.

DAVID NEWMAN
33 High Street
Barrow-upon-Soar
Loughborough LE12 8PY

Our apologies. The solution to No. 1655 is here.