Russell Dewhurst

MPhys LLM BTh

Publication

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Research

My principle research activity at present is directed towards my PhD thesis on subsidiariy in Anglican canon law.

In 2021-2, working with Norman Doe, Mark Hill, and Stephen Coleman, I convened a joint project of the Ecclesiastical Law Society and the Cardiff Centre for Law and Religion, directed towards study and revision of the Principles of Canon Law Common to the Churches of the Anglican Communion. I co-ordinated ten online reading groups from around the world which studied the Principles during 2021. In 2021-2 I convened the revision committee which has updated the Principles, and the revised edition was launched at the 2022 Lambeth Conference of bishops from across the Anglican Communion. I have presented papers on this work at conferences in Cardiff and in Rome.

I pursue my interest in ecumenism through canon law by my membership of the Colloquium of Anglican and Roman Catholic Canon Lawyers, a network of the Cardiff Centre for Law and Religion. I have given papers at the meetings of the Colloquium, in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022. In January 2023, I gave a paper on the Anglican canonical approaches to synodality at the 'Listening to the West' conference at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome. 

I am also a member of the Church Law History Consortium, another network of the Cardiff Centre for Law and Religion. I gave a paper at the inaugural meeting in 2022 at Magdalene College, Cambridge, on the development of the law of the Church of England 1901-1947.

In 2020, with the Ecclesiastical Law Society, I co-ordinated and ran reading groups studying the Canons of the Church of England. Over fifty people were involved reading and discussing the canons over a period of six months. Stephen Coleman and I gave a lecture to the ELS on the canons of the Church of England in 2021, which can be seen here.

As Communications Officer of the ELS, I oversee the Society's Youtube channel, where I host a series of accessible discussions on topical aspects of ecclesiastical law and the online repository of the Society's recorded lectures.

I am Book Reviews Editor of the Ecclesiastical Law Journal, published by Cambridge University Press.

Thesis

The Principle of Subsidiarity in Anglican Canon Law: A Comparative Study

In the latest ARCIC agreed statement, Walking together on the Way, the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches have committed to exploring ‘through the study of the Church local, trans-local, and universal… what Anglicans and Catholics could learn from one another’. The document expressly commends ‘the further development of … commonly accepted canonical principles.' In response to this call, I am exploring whether the principle of subsidiarity, as found in Roman Catholic social teaching and canon law, could become a more explicitly recognized principle in Anglican canon law.

Funding sources

I am grateful to the Trustees of Ascot Priory, the Cleaver Ordination Candidates Fund, and the Chichester Theological Trust for funding my research.

Teaching

I teach on Cardiff's LLM Canon Law, including:
* Liturgical Law in the Church of England
* The Laity in Anglican Canon Law
* The Faculty Jurisdiction in England
* English Ecclesiastical Law 1900-1948
* The Principles of Canon Law Common to the Churches of the Anglican Communion
* The Law of Baptism and Confirmation in the Church of England

In 2022, with the Ecclesiastical Law Society, I teach 'canon law for the newly ordained' at several TEIs (theological education institutions) in the Church of England.

I am module tutor for the 'Law and the Public Minister' module in the Diocese of Chichester through St Augustine's, West Malling, where I am a research fellow. The module is part of the Common Awards Diploma and BA in Theology, Ministry, and Mission, validated by Durham University.

Supervisors

Norman Doe

Professor of Law

Jo Hunt

Professor in Law and Director of Research