Council for Christian Unity

In the Church of England ecumenical work is organised by the Council for Christian Unity (CCU).

The Council of Christian Unity works to:

Continue, promote and enhance effective ecumenical working at all levels of the church.
Advise the Archbishops, the Archbishops' Council, the General Synod and the House of Bishops on issues and proposals relating to Christian unity, often with the Faith and Order Commission.
Be the main channel of communication with other Christian churches, the Ecumenical Organisations of which we are a member and (where ecumenical matters are concerned) the institutions and member Churches of the Anglican Communion, on behalf of the Archbishops' Council and the General Synod.
Service committees and commissions directly contributing to the above.

The CCU was established as an advisory committee of the General Synod and the Archbishops' Council to foster ecumenical work in the Church nationally and in the dioceses.

The members of the Council are:

Rt Revd Jonathan Baker, Bishop of Fulham (Chair)
Rt Revd Dr Robert Innes, Bishop of Europe (Chair of Faith and Order Commission, Deputy Chair of CCU)
Dr Rachel Jepson (Deputy Chair of CCU) - appointed by the Appointments Committee
Dr Chris Angus - appointed by the Appointments Committee
Revd Rebecca Swyer - appointed by the Appointments Committee
Revd Canon Dr Peniel Jesudason Rufus Rajkumar - appointed by the Appointments Committee
Revd Katherine Magdalene Price - appointed by the Appointments Committee
Ms Catherine Butcher – elected by General Synod House of Laity
Ms Lucy Docherty – elected by General Synod House of Laity
Revd Canon Lisa Battye – elected by General Synod House of Clergy
Revd Dr Mark Smith – elected by General Synod House of Clergy

The Council has ecumenical observers from Churches Together in England, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Baptist Union.

Their work is supported by the staff team:

Revd Canon Dr Jeremy Morris, National Advisor for Ecumenical Relations (Secretary of CCU)
Revd Dr Matthias Grebe, Adviser for European Church Relations
Revd Tim Norwood, National Officer for Local Ecumenism
Angeline Leung, Executive Assistant (Inter Religious Affairs & Ecumenical)

They belong to the Faith and Public Life team, based at Lambeth Palace.

The Council also works closely with the Secretary of Faith and Order Commission, the Bishop to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and with the Director for Unity, Faith and Order in the Anglican Communion and the Unity, Faith and Order Programme Executive.

Archbishop: Leading bishop with authority for a province. There are two provinces and therefore two Archbishops in England – Canterbury and York.
House of Bishops: A body made up of all Diocesan bishops ( as well as The Bishop of Dover who performs many of the Archbishop of Canterbury's diocesan functions); the Bishop to the Forces; seven suffragan bishops elected from among the total number of suffragan bishops and 8 regional representatives elected by and from senior women clergy.
General Synod: The 'Parliament' of the Church of England. The General Synod usually meets twice a year to debate and discuss matters of interest and to consider and approve amendments to Church legislation.
Anglican Communion: Global family of Anglican Churches whose links include their relationship to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

CCU Privacy Notice

CCU Privacy Notice.pdf (122.56 KB)