London Consistory Court: Cameron Ch, November 2000
The petitioners sought a faculty concerning inter alia the placing of a stand containing votive candles next to the font at the eastern end of the north aisle in the church in response to frequent requests by visitors wishing to light a candle. It was not intended that the stand would be used during services but primarily by those coming into the town centre church during the day. There were two objectors to the proposed scheme on the basis that the introduction of such candles would be out of keeping with the churchmanship of the church in question and might be perceived as being within the Roman Catholic tradition. In granting the faculty sought the chancellor was of the opinion that the introduction of votive candles did not of itself indicate a change in churchmanship but merely reflected that the parish had a breadth of vision which saw it as important to have the broadest possible range of churchmanship in its approach to mission and to meet a pastoral need. In her survey of the relevant law the chancellor stated that she was not aware of any case where a candle stand by itself had been found to be illegal and shared the view expressed by Bursell Ch in Re St John the Evangelist, Chopwell [1995] Fam 254, [1996] 1 All ER 275, that such items were permissible as aids to private devotion 'as long as they [did] not detract from the devotions of others, nor more particularly, from the actual services and ministrations within the church itself'. She distinguished Re St Oswald, King and Martyr, Oswestry (1998) 6 Ecc LJ 78, in which Shand Ch had not considered the authorities in relation to private devotion which were considered in Chopwell. The chancellor also had regard to Re St Michael and All Angels, Great Torrington [1985] Fam 81, [1985] 1 All ER 993, requiring her to carry out a balancing act which gave sufficient weight to those who supported the application and noted that the petitioners had a strong case from a pastoral point of view. Following her usual practice the chancellor required the displaying of a notice close to the candle stand explaining the symbolism of light within the Christian tradition.
(2001) 6 Ecc LJ 162-163
