Church of England policies debated

LONDON — One of the Church of England’s most senior prelates, Bishop Mark Santer of Birmingham, has called for the church to dissolve its ties with the state and with the monarchy.

Addressing his diocesan synod March 9, Santer, who is due to retire at the end of May, called into question the role of the British prime minister in appointing bishops, the control of ecclesiastical legislation by Parliament, the presence of bishops in the House of Lords, and the role of the monarch as supreme governor of the Church of England. Most of the church’s bishops are happy to defend establishment as helpful to the church’s mission.