Oxford Diocese will allocate £1.5 million to support the five Church of England dioceses in most financial need.

Due to being in a “much more fortunate financial position compared to a number of other Church of England dioceses,” the Diocese of Oxford has extended its commitment to mutual support following its 2020 to 2024 initiative.

Oxford Diocesan Synod approved the recommendation from Bishops Council to make the funds available for the period of 2025 to 2029 at the November Synod.

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Allocations will be made to the five dioceses judged by the Archbishops’ Council to be the dioceses in greatest need based on the latest data, and paid directly to each diocese.

Oxford Mail:

"The Diocese of Oxford has the eighth largest investment assets per capita of dioceses in the Church of England, so this is entirely right for us to do," said the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford.

Speaking on why the Oxford Diocese is in a stronger financial position, a spokesman for the Diocese of Oxford said: “Alongside the Diocese of Oxford’s investments in equities and bonds, it holds land and commercial properties, known as Glebe, which accounts for some £5 million of its annual income.

“Historically, Glebe was the land given to individual priests to provide them with a source of income.

“The amount of such land varied from one parish to another, creating wealthy ‘livings’ and poor ones.

“In 1978 all such land was transferred to the dioceses and held as an endowment fund to pay the parish priests centrally and equitably.

“As a result, the Oxford Diocesan Board of Finance (ODBF) holds permanent endowments in land, buildings and investments, which has been built up over many years.

“Thanks to outstanding management of our property portfolio, coupled with the growth in stocks and shares in recent years, Glebe income makes a significant contribution to the life of our churches right across the diocese of some three million pounds each year."

Recipients of the 2020 to 2024 funds included the dioceses of Liverpool, Newcastle and Canterbury.

The spokesman added: “Our Glebe income is also higher than other dioceses, because of our location in the country, which means our land values are high, and more so when we can sell land for development.

“The Diocese of Newcastle were forced to sell their last piece of land during the pandemic, for £200,000.

“When the Diocese of Oxford sold land in 2022 the proceeds were nearly £4.5 million. Although there certainly isn’t an endless supply of land for the Diocese of Oxford to sell, there are likely to be more sales in the future.

“So, we are in a much more fortunate financial position compared to a number of other Church of England dioceses.”

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1