In 2023, The Telegraph published an investigation which revealed that parishes are closing at a record rate, prompting fears that the Church had been “dealt a death knell”.

The investigation found that almost 300 parishes have disappeared in the past five years alone — the fastest rate since records began in 1960.

The figures came against the backdrop of claims that senior bishops and clergy were “putting a gun to people’s heads” to drive through controversial plans to cut costs, merge parishes and cut vicars.
They also came amid declining congregation numbers, leaving many clergy afraid to speak out for fear of losing their jobs.

Marcus Walker, the Rector at St Bartholomew the Great, said that the closures of parishes has led to The Telegraph has analysed new data from the Church of England’s latest Statistics for Mission 2022 report, and has found that across the country, usual Sunday church attendance sits at 81 per cent of 2019 levels, meaning that 133,200 regular parishioners had not returned to the Church despite the end of Covid restrictions.

The Telegraph’s previous reporting on the fall in regular parishioners in 2021 had been described as “misleading” by the Church, as some Covid restrictions were still in place at the time the 2021 report was compiled.

However, the latest figures suggest that this is not the case.

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