The Church of England has described as "nonsense" reports that it has plans to drop the word ‘church’.

It was responding to an independent report by the Centre for Church Planting Theology and Research at Cranmer Hall, Durham entitled ‘New Things:  A Theological Investigation into the Work of Starting New Churches Across 11 Dioceses in the Church of England’.

The report found that around 900 “new things” have been started in the past decade, with none of the eleven dioceses using “church” as the primary descriptor.

Report author Rev Will Foulger, Vicar of St Nicholas’s, Durham said it raised concerns about the impact of “new ecclesial language” on the Church of England’s theology.

However in a statement to Premier a Church of England spokesperson said:

“It is complete nonsense to suggest that the Church of England has plans to drop the word ‘church’ or that it is rebranding itself.

“This claim seems to have stemmed from a recent report from an external body looking at new initiatives mostly created by parish churches – ranging from new youth groups or sport outreaches, right up to new congregations, with some of these not meeting in a church building -  and noted that they do not always refer to what is happening as new churches but are using a variety of terms.

“Some people have claimed this means the Church of England has plans to drop the word ‘church’ or is rebranding itself. It does not.”