All 41 Church of England cathedrals have become registered charities, co-regulated by the Charity Commission and Church Commissioners.
Cathedrals were previously excepted from registering with the Commission but the Cathedrals’ Working Group recommended in June 2018 that they should register with the charity regulator.
At an event earlier this month to mark their registration, Commission chief executive David Holdsworth said the formal exclusion of cathedrals from the register of charities had been “something of an anomaly”.
Speaking at Southwark Cathedral, Holdsworth said: “The Commission does not regulate your spiritual mission, or matters of faith or religious doctrine.
“Ecclesiastical matters are your preserve.
“As the secular regulator under charity law, we will carefully co-regulate cathedrals with the Church Commissioners, who have regulatory functions under ecclesiastical law.
“We will work constructively with you, and with the Church to ensure that you live up to the expectations of charity, but we will also support you appropriately in that effort.”
Cathedrals welcome new status
David Monteith, chair of the College of Deans, said: “We as deans and cathedral communities welcome the opportunities created by our registration as charities.
“We belong to wider society as well as to the mission of the church and as such we need to steward our resources with great care and accountability.
“It also means that we focus clearly on the good things we do, from the heart of worship and glorious music to the fostering of the arts, justice and peace.
“Now as registered charities we also focus more on the impact of all this, enabling us to live and tell the story of the gospel and to demonstrate the Christian call to service for all.
“We are aware of the huge challenges we face in stewarding this heritage. As registered charities we will be able to build more partnerships and capacity to find new ways to address such challenges more confidently in tough economic times.”
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