26 September 2024
The Independent Review into Soul Survivor Watford, led by Fiona Scolding KC, has been formally published today. The report includes key recommendations for Soul Survivor, the Diocese of St Albans, and the wider Church of England. We express our gratitude to those who contributed and are committed to carefully considering its findings. Read our full statement here.
10 July 2024
The Church of England’s General Synod debated a proposal for a further independent inquiry at its meeting on 7 July. The Bishop of St Albans and the Lay Chair of St Albans Diocesan Synod both spoke. Watch the whole debate on YouTube or read the text of Bishop Alan’s speech.
In his speech, Bishop Alan expressed expressed his profound sadness over the events at Soul Survivor and the harm caused and highlighted that Soul Survivor and the Diocese have each offered pastoral support since the issues surfaced. He also confirmed that Mike Pilavachi has followed and completed the process of relinquishing his holy orders.
The timetable for Fiona Scolding’s review has been extended to allow more people to contribute. We expect to be given the opportunity to read and consider its recommendations in the coming weeks. As a diocese we are committed to exploring what went wrong and taking meaningful action to minimise the risk of a similar situation happening again.
6 September 2023
As published on the Church of England website, the internal investigation into Mike Pilavachi, conducted by the National Safeguarding Team and the Diocese of St Albans, has concluded, substantiating concerns of spiritual and emotional abuse in his ministry. The Bishop of St Albans expressed sorrow for the harm caused and commended the courage of those who came forward, saying:
Mike Pilavachi has resigned from his role at Soul Survivor and surrendered his licence, preventing him from ministering in the Church of England. A separate clergy disciplinary process is ongoing, and statutory authorities have been informed. An independent review of Soul Survivor, led by Fiona Scolding KC, is also underway.
20 July 2023
The Bishop of St Albans has accepted the Revd Mike Pilavachi’s resignation of his licence to minister in the Diocese of St Albans, and his honorary canonry of St Albans Cathedral, with immediate effect.
The investigation into allegations against the Revd Mike Pilavachi will continue, and anyone with information is encouraged to contact the safeguarding teams as detailed below.
11 July 2023
We have been informed of the resignation of Mike Pilavachi from his employment at Soul Survivor and want to stress that the safeguarding investigation will continue in line with House of Bishops guidance and we will continue to listen to and offer support to those who come forward. The joint investigation is being run by the diocese of St Albans and the National Safeguarding Team, independently of Soul Survivor.
If you would like to speak to anyone connected to this investigation or have been affected please be assured that any concerns raised will be treated with the utmost sensitivity and support / access to counselling is available. Please contact Jeremy Hirst at the Diocesan Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@stalbans.anglican.org or Judith Renton, Ian Bowles or Anthony Clarke at the National Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@churchofengland.org who will listen to what you have to say. Again, please be assured that any safeguarding concerns raised will be treated with the utmost sensitivity.
If you or anyone you are in contact with are affected by this news and want to talk to someone independently, please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056.
8 June 2023
Soul Survivor Watford Trustees have announced today the suspension under HR processes of two serving members of staff following information submitted to the investigation into Mike Pilavachi which is being run jointly by the diocese of St Albans and the National Safeguarding Team, NST, according to House of Bishops guidance. This information relates to the handling of allegations and concerns raised in the Mike Pilavachi case and we cannot say anymore while this new strand of investigation runs its course. The Bishop of St Albans has requested that the senior pastor voluntarily withdraw from any ministry until the investigation is concluded. Support is being offered to all those involved.
If you would like to speak to anyone connected to this investigation or have been affected please be assured that any concerns raised will be treated with the utmost sensitivity and support / access to counselling is available.
Please contact Jeremy Hirst at the Diocesan Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@stalbans.anglican.org or Judith Renton, Ian Bowles or Anthony Clarke at the National Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@churchofengland.org who will listen to what you have to say. Again, please be assured that any safeguarding concerns raised will be treated with the utmost sensitivity.
If you or anyone you are in contact with are affected by this news and want to talk to someone independently, please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056
NOTES
May 2023 Statement from Archbishop of Canterbury on the investigation
19 April 2023
Further to the joint statement on 2 April, the National Safeguarding Team and the Diocese of St Albans continue to investigate a number of safeguarding concerns relating to Mike Pilavachi.
The Church of England’s safeguarding investigation, being carried out according to House of Bishops’ Guidance is fully supported by Soul Survivor Watford but is being conducted independently of them by safeguarding professionals from the NST and diocese.
If you would like to speak to anyone connected to this investigation or have been affected please be assured that any concerns raised will be treated with the utmost sensitivity and support / access to counselling is available. As we have said before support is being offered to all those involved.
Please contact Jeremy Hirst at the Diocesan Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@stalbans.anglican.org or Ian Bowles, Anthony Clarke or Judith Renton at the National Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@churchofengland.org who will listen to what you have to say. Again, please be assured that any safeguarding concerns raised will be treated with the utmost sensitivity.
If you or anyone you are in contact with are affected by this news and want to talk to someone independently, please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056.
2 April 2023
Non-recent safeguarding concerns relating to Mike Pilavachi have been reported to the national Church and, working closely with the Diocese of St Albans, these are currently being looked into according to the Church of England House of Bishops guidelines. Soul Survivor Watford Trustees were informed this week and have since been working with the National Safeguarding Team and the diocese. It was mutually agreed with Mike that he would step back from all ministry, while this investigation is carried out. We would like to stress that the police are not involved; this is not a criminal investigation and Mike has not been suspended. It is also not currently a clergy disciplinary matter.
We cannot say any more while this process is carried out though we can assure you that support is being offered to all those involved.
The staff of the church have been given the information in this statement and are here to support you but please be aware they do not have further details and cannot comment on what is happening.
We really appreciate your prayers for all those involved at this very difficult time and we do ask, for the sake of all those involved, that you do not speculate or discuss this more widely, including on social media while the process runs its course. This is to be fair to everyone involved. At this stage we do not know when the investigation will conclude but the Trustees will keep the staff and wider church body updated as appropriate. In the meantime, please do be assured that on a day-to-day basis Soul Survivor Watford will continue to run, as usual led by Andy (Croft) and the team.
If you have any safeguarding concerns relating to this then please contact Jeremy Hirst at the Diocesan Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@stalbans.anglican.org or Ian Bowles or Anthony Clarke at the National Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@churchofengland.org who will listen to what you have to say. Please be assured that any safeguarding concerns raised will be treated with utmost sensitivity.