Church of England Considers Heresy Trials

The Guardian is reporting a new plan for introducing heresy trials:

The Church of England's general synod at York will today discuss whether the church should reinstitute what would in effect be heresy trials to discipline errant or unorthodox clergy for the first time in nearly half a century.

The move comes with the church still in a febrile state over issues of homosexuality and whether it should ordain or promote gays and lesbians in the ministry.

But both liberals and evangelicals fear any move to discipline clergy in the church over teaching, ritual or ceremonial issues could rebound on them.

There is historical precedent for the fear. Pilgrim's Progress was written in the Bedford Gaol because Bunyan's worship services were not in conformity with the Church of England. Patrick Henry's speech, Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, stemmed from witnessing a pastor being flogged for not being licensed.