The Church of England is to seek legal protection against being forced to sell its cash-strapped ancient cathedrals in the event that any them become bankrupt. A meeting of the General Synod, the church’s parliament, this week set in train the passing of a new law which would prevent creditors from seeking the sale of a cathedral’s land or buildings in the event that it falls insolvent.
The financial health of some of the CofE’s 42 cathedrals, among which figure some of the greatest treasures of British architecture, has made recent headlines as a number of institutions struggle to secure sufficient income….
“The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, warned last year that cathedrals are “not too big to fail”. Cathedrals are regarded as autonomous within the CofE and as such have been told that they cannot rely on any bail-out from central bodies such as the Church Commissioners, which manages the CofE’s £8.3bn of assets.” I am puzzled by this statement. It would be a sad day indeed if the cathedrals had to be sold.