O Come, All Ye Wokeful! Now CAROLS are censored by Church of England so they don’t upset other faiths

Priests have been told to edit popular carols this Christmas to avoid upsetting other religions.

The Church of England has been accused of ‘losing the plot’ after it urged clergy to alter Advent hymns so that congregations can celebrate the festive season ‘without causing unnecessary offence’.

Christian hymns such as O Come, O Come, Emmanuel have been singled out for depicting other faiths as being ‘outside of God’s grace’.

An email sent to clergy in the Birmingham diocese said: ‘Try to use language that won’t add further confusion or tension or take away anything from the good news of the Nativity.’ 

A vicar who shared the email with The Mail on Sunday said the Church has ‘really lost the plot’, adding that even Russian dictator Vladimir Putin ‘doesn’t order Orthodox churches to censor carols at Christmas’.

Also targeted was Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending, a favourite of Queen Victoria. Clergy have been sent a link to research that suggests the second verse contains ‘problematic words’ by stating Jesus is the ‘true Messiah’.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel has upset the CofE’s high command with the phrase ‘captive Israel’.

Canon Chris Sugden, a former member of the General Synod and executive secretary of the Anglican Mainstream group, said hymns should not be altered just because the ‘Church conforms to every progressive cause’.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel and Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending are among hymns that were earmarked as having a ‘strong emphasis of supersessionism’ (file photo)

He added: ‘If one was attending a Jewish or Hindu festival, would you expect them to alter the lyrics or alter the liturgy because there are some who might find them difficult? Who are the people they think are going to object to this?

‘People who attend Christmas carols… will expect to have them sung properly. If the Church cedes the line on this, what else?’

But diocesan officials in the ‘presence and engagement team’ claim the hymns have a ‘strong emphasis of supersessionism’ – a doctrine which holds that Christianity is the one true religion. 

Their email reads: ‘Some of the language used in our liturgy, hymns and readings could easily cause confusion.’

Sam Margrave, a lay member of the General Synod, said: ‘My advice to clergy is sing loud and proud. We have a great heritage of hymns in this Christian nation and any clergy who don’t like what the Church has to offer needs to think whether they are in the right role.’

The debacle has echoes of a row in 2022 prompted by attempts to rewrite the 17th Century carol God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, supposedly to be more ‘inclusive’ to women and gay people.