Previous studies of archdeacons in this Journal defended their pastoral hearts in a ministry dominated by law. This article sees the archdeacon's pastoral and priestly ministry as created and enabled by law. It looks at the canonical description of the archdeacon's office before turning to the work of an archdeacon in such areas as visitations, parish and diocesan governance, faculty jurisdiction, care and discipline of clergy, conflict resolution and creative innovation. The article draws on relevant legislative instruments, including Acts, Measures and Codes of Practice; on case law; and on quasi-legislation such as diocesan handbooks. Its conclusions are based not only upon what is set down in these, but also upon what archdeacons actually do. Archdeacons across the Church of England and the Church in Wales, and a Channel Islands dean, responded to a short survey looking at archdeacons’ work in relation to the stipulations of the law. The article concludes that archdeacons occupy a pivotal position in dioceses, both because of what the law requires and because of what it does not prohibit. They play a key role in shaping the church and its ministry. With bishops and others, they delight in its beauty and rejoice in its well-being.

The Convocations of Canterbury and York are of ancient origin and bring together clergy in a deliberative and legislative body. The convocations have been reformed at various points in their existence, notably in the Reformation and during twentieth-century reforms of Church government. While they have waxed and waned in terms of importance and influence, the two convocations remain important components of the complex system of government of the Church of England.

In recent years, the wearing of Islamic dress in public spaces and elsewhere has generated widespread controversy all over Europe. The wearing of the hijab and other Islamic veils has been the subject of adjudication before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on many occasions. The most recent case before the ECtHR as to the prohibition on wearing the hijab is Lachiri v Belgium. In this case, the ECtHR held that a prohibition on wearing the hijab in the courtroom constitutes an infringement of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which guarantees the right to freedom of religion or belief. From the perspective of religious freedom, the ruling of the Strasbourg Court in Lachiri is very significant for many reasons. The purpose of this comment is critically to analyse the ECtHR's decision in Lachiri from the standpoint of religious liberty.

This journal has published two distinguished series on the lives and careers of individual jurists in the history of English church law, from the mediaeval period to the late nineteenth century: one by Professor Sir John Baker on ‘famous English canonists’ (1988–1997); and the other by Professor Richard Helmholz on ‘notable ecclesiastical lawyers’ (2013–2017). Most prepared for their professional careers with the study of civil law at Oxford or Cambridge (and before the Reformation also of canon law). Many practised as judges, advocates and proctors in the church courts (until statute ended much of their jurisdiction in the 1850s). Some wrote treatises on church law. A small number were also priests, but less so as the centuries unfolded. While these professional canonists and civilians may have had a monopoly in practising church law, they did not have a monopoly in thinking or writing about it. The clergy, who never trained or practised as lawyers, also had things to say about church law. But the clerical profession has been somewhat neglected by scholarship as a class contributing to the history of church law and jurisprudence. From diocesan bishops through parish priests to clerical scholars in the universities, their books, pamphlets, sermons, letters and other materials often deal with the nature, sources and subjects of church law. Their aims vary: from the educational through the historical or theological to the practical and polemical. These priest-jurists – fathers-in-law, they might quip – contributed much to the intellectual development of church law. One is Robert Owen, a Welsh scholar cleric whose books include Institutes of Canon Law (1884). No scholar has to date unveiled Owen as a notable Anglican priest-jurist – strangely, he has been lost to scholarship as among those whom he himself chided as ‘eminent Canonists’ who ‘hide themselves’ and remain ‘veiled Prophets’.

The International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS) chose Rio de Janeiro and the sun-kissed beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana for its fifth conference and, unsurprisingly, the event was heavily over-subscribed. ICLARS was founded in 2007 with the aim of providing a forum where information, data and opinions could be readily exchanged among members and made available to the broader scientific community. Its first conference was held in Milan in 2009, followed by meetings in Chile in 2011, the USA in 2013 and Oxford in 2016. The proceedings from all these conferences have been published, giving permanence and a wider readership to the innovative scholarship which these gatherings have consistently produced.

The 2018 G20 Interfaith Forum took place 26–28 September 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This was the fifth annual event in a series of G20 interfaith fora held to coincide with the meetings of the international Group of Twenty Economic Summit. This year's G20 Summit will take place in Buenos Aires, from 30 November to 1 December. Previous interfaith fora have been held in Gold Coast, Australia (2014), Istanbul, Turkey (2015), Beijing, China (2016) and Potsdam, Germany (2017).

The Charity Commission for England and Wales published an updated list of the questions to be included in the 2018 Annual Return for registered charities. The trustees of charities excepted from registration with the Commission – which include a considerable number of church congregations – are not required to submit an annual return; but an increasing number find that they must do so because when an excepted charity's annual income exceeds £100,000 it loses its excepted status. The previously expressed intention to require every charity trustee to provide an e-mail address has been abandoned; instead, the Commission intends to ask all trustees either to supply an e-mail address or to confirm that they do not have one – which looks very like a welcome climbdown. The Commission's on-line Annual Return Service opened for submissions on 20 August.

The General Assembly met in Edinburgh from 19 to 25 May, with the Rt Revd Susan Brown BD DipMin, Chaplain in Ordinary and Minister of Dornoch in the Presbytery of Sutherland, installed as Moderator. Her appointment as Moderator fell on the fiftieth anniversary of Act XXV 1968 permitting the ordination of women to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. This year's Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly was the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry.

The Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd John Davies, reminded members that the Church was still addressing challenges and implementing radical changes following the Harries Review in 2012. He reflected that the Church in Wales is planning to celebrate its centenary in 2020 by ‘recognising concrete steps, solid progress and commitment to our core purpose in which everyone has a part to play’. The archbishop went on to remind members that a year ago the Governing Body committed itself to putting evangelism at the heart of the Church, stating that we had more than 1,200 local church buildings in regular use and that they must be places where newcomers and inquirers from communities feel welcome. He emphasised that the Church in Wales is not a private membership organisation existing to provide comfortably familiar services to its members. Nourishing and accessible worship and teaching in a variety of styles and forms must be offered to all who seek it.

This year's General Synod, the first meeting of the triennium, was held in the now familiar venue of a hotel in Armagh City. The Synod considered Bills relating to the Book of Common Prayer, safeguarding trust issues, the governance of St Fin Barre's Cathedral, temporary suspension of episcopal electoral colleges and General Synod membership. During the meeting of Synod a commentary on the Constitution of the Church of Ireland was launched.

The General Synod met at St Paul's and St George's Church in Edinburgh from 7 to 9 June. It was the first General Synod at which the new Primus, the Most Revd Mark Strange, presided. In his charge to Synod, he preached on the love of God and the meaning of ‘loving your neighbour as yourself’. The mission of the Church was about revealing God's love and making life better for all, not just for church members.