Abolish the Church, says former bishop

The Church of England should be abolished, according to Dr David Jenkins, the controversial former Bishop of Durham. In his autobiography, due out next year, Dr Jenkins claims the church is out of date, out of touch and needs to be dismantled.

As Bishop of Durham, Dr Jenkins was a constant thorn in the side of Christian traditionalists who objected to his intellectual interpretation of Biblical events. While he had already called for the Anglican Church to be disestablished, he has never before demanded its wholesale abolition.

"I would like to see its disappearance," he says. "The church is not getting to grips with the issues of today. People are realising that there is no case for an established church. So let's anticipate that fact and go further ­ let's say that the Christian churches should get together in a federation, and the Church of England can just disappear into that. At the moment we're anchored to out-of-date structures with their roots in medieval times."

As well as Jenkins's thoughts on the future of the church, A Cuckoo in the Nest, which he is still writing, will give an account of his 10-year tenure as Bishop of Durham.

It began literally with a bang when York Minster was struck by lightning and gutted by fire two days after he was consecrated there, an event his enemies took as a sign of divine displeasure. His outspokenness on doctrinal matters and his readiness to criticise the Thatcher government attracted notoriety in the 1980s.

He was a hero to those who saw the official parliamentary opposition as ineffectual, but a hate figure to those who clung to the view that the Church of England was supposed to be the Conservative Party at prayer.

Lord Hailsham was typical of the traditional Anglican Tories who queued up to denounce him. "I much prefer the word of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John," he said, "because they were there and David Jenkins wasn't."

His carefully chosen words about the resurrection ­ that the risen Christ may not have had "a literally physical body" ­ caused particular anger. He was incorrectly labelled as the bishop who thought the resurrection was a "conjuring trick with bones".

Dr Jenkins seemed to revel in his role as the turbulent priest, to the point that some suggested he indulged in provocation for its own sake.

His publisher Robin Baird-Smith, Managing Director of Continuum, disagrees: "When he talks about people he's very irreverent and funny. But he has a serious agenda, and is serious about what he believes.

"This will be another useful talking point from Bishop David Jenkins," is the diplomatic response from a Church of England spokesman. "He always gets people talking and talking is a good Church of England tradition."