A REVIEW of the contention in the parish of Malpas, about 15 miles south of Chester, has been commissioned, after protests went public in the city in April.

Flyers setting out grievances against the Rector of St Oswald’s, Malpas, the Revd Dr Janine Arnott, were glued to Chester Cathedral on Easter Day (News, 30 May).

The Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Mark Tanner, wrote to the PCC that the leaflets were “anonymous, factually incorrect, libellous, and sought by forgery to impersonate a bishop”, the Whitchurch Herald reported.

This week, the Suffragan Bishop of Birkenhead, the Rt Revd Julie Conalty, announced that an independent reviewer had been “invited to carry out a church health check, following some challenges earlier this year that were noted in the press.

“The aim is to build a clear picture of how things are going, and to offer constructive recommendations that will help shape and support the ongoing ministry in Malpas, Threapwood and Bickerton.”

The PCC of St Oswald’s passed a vote of no confidence in Dr Arnott’s leadership in 2022, reports the Whitchurch Herald, and there was a further dispute this month about whether the PCC meetings were held in person.