The Archbishop of York has told Premier he believes the Lord's Prayer should come with a health warning to emphasise its significance and power.
“Don’t say this prayer unless you’re prepared to make it part of your life,” he said, challenging people to think critically about their intentions, especially with phrases like “Your kingdom come” and “Give us today our daily bread.”
To help avoid reciting it on autopilot, Most Rev Stephen Cottrell advises believers to slow down and take it “a phrase at a time” to reflect deeply on its meaning. He notes that the prayer is brief — less than 70 words — but reflects what it means to live as a disciple of Jesus.
He made these remarks while sharing more details about his new book, Praying By Heart, which offers a deep dive into this famous prayer.
Archbishop Stephen has often reflected on the opening of the prayer, “Our Father in heaven,” as a reflection of unity within the body of Christ. Given this, he was asked whether he believes unity is possible within the Church of England as it navigates deep divisions over issues of sexuality.
He expressed hope that it is possible to have both conservative and liberal streams within the Church of England.
“There’s disagreement, but there are ways of living with disagreement. I’m very committed to finding a way of honouring the conscience of those who hold different views and saying you can have a place within the church with your different views. We’ve managed to do that on other issues where there’s been profound disagreement; I think we can do it on this one, because God loves His church. We are sisters and brothers, whether we like it or not, and that’s what I’m giving myself to. I’m not trying to win an argument; I’m trying to maintain the unity of the church,” he said.
“We’re not going to divide. We’re going to find ways of loving one another, honouring the conscientious differences, which will mean perhaps different spaces within the church for different people to flourish. We’re going to honour that, and we’re going to live out that prayer we say each day: that we belong to each other.”
Archbishop Stephen is also gearing up for a tour in 2025, during which he’ll be visiting the northern dioceses of the Church of England to teach and inspire people to embrace the Lord's Prayer.