Bishop Richard [Chartres], for his part, made clear that he was not about to issue detailed policy prescriptions for the world of finance: \u201cThe church doesn\u2019t and shouldn\u2019t claim ordination gives you a tremendously privileged insight into how to solve the euro-zone problems.\u201d\u009d Asked whether that implied a difference between himself and his boss, Bishop Richard replied teasingly that he would study the Financial Times article with great respect, given its author\u2019s credentials as a prominent European intellectual. As a proof of the two men\u2019s continuing personal closeness, he cited their common interest in Russian Orthodox theology and culture\u201d\u201da topic on which the number of potential conversation partners is limited.<\/p>\n
But despite the chaotic image it presented this week, the Church of England looks more likely to trundle on eccentrically than to break into establishment and anti-capitalist camps. Buildings like St Paul\u2019s are part of the reason. No matter how compelling the demands of the poor and angry, which faction would ever agree to abandon the cathedrals?<\/p>\n