Helen King

@helenking.bsky.social

13K followers 750 following 720 posts

Sort of retired (not), Professor Emerita, The Open University. Classics, history of medicine/the body/gynaecology. Writer, blogger, C of E lay preacher, chair of Together on General Synod (formerly Gender & Sexuality Group). She/her. Likes flowers. .. more

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Helen King is a British classical scholar and advocate for the medical humanities. She is Professor Emerita of Classical Studies at the Open University. She was previously Professor of the History of Classical Medicine and Head of the Department of Classics at the University of Reading. .. more

History 52%

Philosophy 21%

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Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · Jul 19

If you fancy reading something about the history of women’s bodies, and about what has been taken as defining a ‘proper woman’ (and how dodgy that is)… a reminder that my book came out in paperback last month! Immaculate Forms, Profile Books profilebooks.com/work/immacul...

Immaculate Forms - Profile Books

profilebooks.com

Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · 1d

Helpful, practical advice on considering becoming an Inclusive Church viamedia.news/2025/11/18/l...

Learning and Listening: Being Inclusive - ViaMedia.News

by Kat Campion-Spall, Rector of the Bristol Harbourside Churches, and a member of General Synod Arriving 3 years ago in a newly formed parish, a question from a parishioner awaited me: would we consid...

viamedia.news

Reposted by Helen King, Morwenna Ludlow

Ruth Harley @ruthh.bsky.social · 2d

Any #CofEpeeps following the sorry saga of #LLF should read this powerful response by Professor Mike Higton to the "misappropriation" of his work in the recent Faith and Order Commission paper on doctrine, intended to inform the House of Bishops decision-making. viamedia.news/2025/11/17/c...

Cries of Suffering: A Response to ‘The Nature of Doctrine and the Living God’ - ViaMedia.News

by Mike Higton, Professor of Theology and Ministry at Durham University The Faith and Order Commission’s recent document on ‘The Nature of Doctrine and the Living God’ (GS Misc 1429) is not, in my jud...

viamedia.news

Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · 2d

What is the role of the bishops? What about the voices of lesbian and gay people? Mike Higton writes on Living in Love and Faith viamedia.news/2025/11/17/c...

Cries of Suffering: A Response to ‘The Nature of Doctrine and the Living God’ - ViaMedia.News

viamedia.news

Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · 4d

Peter Collier KC on possible ways forward on clergy in same-sex marriages viamedia.news/2025/11/15/t...

The House of Bishops on Clergy and Same-Sex Marriage – Further Personal Reflections - ViaMedia.News

by Peter Collier KC, retired Senior Circuit Judge and former Vicar-General of the Province of York Further to my recent reflections on the House of Bishops’ October statement on the future use of the Prayers of Love and Faith, I have now also reflected on their statement about the future of clergy and same sex marriage.

viamedia.news

Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · 5d

Sadly much of the CofE does seem to be going back in time. It’s a sweatshirt for goodness sake. She wasn’t performing a summonsing or accosting passers-by!

Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · 6d

Maybe I should hang out in more bookshops!

Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · 6d

So I was in a bookshop yesterday and saw someone flicking through a copy of my book… and I went up and said ‘Hello, I wrote that!’ We had a good chat (and I met her mum too). Still not sure if I should have just walked away?!

Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · 6d

And today a reminder that there are real people whose lives are affected by the current C of E policies on LGBTQIA+ relationships viamedia.news/2025/11/13/a...

A Question of Conscience - ViaMedia.News

by Revd Ruth Harley (Vicar, Cowgate and Priest in Charge, Newbiggin Hall) Standing at the font, I smiled at the scene unfolding in front of me. A happily gurgling baby and his two proud parents, surro...

viamedia.news

Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · 7d

And the final instalment of Fr Thomas Sharp’s critiques of those FAOC papers. It’s a long read, but there are so many contradictions in that document… viamedia.news/2025/11/12/a...

A Response to “The Exercise of Discipline and Clergy Exemplarity in the Church of England: The Case of Same-Sex Civil Marriages: A Report of the Faith and Order Commission” (GS Misc 1431) - ViaMedia.N...

Fr Thomas Sharp is a priest theologian based in the South East of England and is also Provincial Secretary of the Society of Catholic Priests This was the third report which briefed the House of Bisho...

viamedia.news

Reposted by Helen King

Wolfson History Prize @wolfsonhistory.bsky.social · 8d

"If we don't look hard at history, we're like kids who prefer to believe the stork delivered them."

Sara Lodge (@victoriandetective.bsky.social) the 2025 #WolfsonHistoryPrize shortlisted author, on how history shapes the world.

Learn more about Sara Lodge in our interview.⬇️

bit.ly/3L1Cm6C

Reposted by Morwenna Ludlow

Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · 8d

The second instalment of Fr Thomas Sharp walking you through those FAOC Living in Love and Faith docs viamedia.news/2025/11/11/a...

A Response to “The Doctrine of Marriage and the Prayers of Love and Faith: Texts and Contexts: a Report of the Faith and Order Commission” (GS Misc 1430) - ViaMedia.News

Fr Thomas Sharp is a priest theologian based in the South East of England and is also Provincial Secretary of the Society of Catholic Priests This was the second report which briefed the House of Bish...

viamedia.news

Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · 9d

Radical eh?!

Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · 9d

www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/2560198... Blessing boats = absolutely fine. Blessing same sex couples’ relationships, not.

Bishop blesses 144-year-old Cornish lugger at Newlyn

Barnabas, recognised as an operational flagship for 2025 by National Historic Ships UK, received her blessing from Bishop David at Newlyn's Old Quay.

www.falmouthpacket.co.uk

Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · 9d

Couldn’t agree more. It’s all so opaque

Reposted by Morwenna Ludlow

Helen King @helenking.bsky.social · 9d

Is doctrine “something generally static, generally serene, a quiet lake in which even its dynamism is limited to the occasional wave breaking on the shoreline of its boundaries”? Er, no, says Fr Thomas Sharp viamedia.news/2025/11/10/a...

A Response to “The Nature of Doctrine and the Living God: a Report of the Faith and Order Commission” (GS Misc 1429) - ViaMedia.News

Fr Thomas Sharp is a priest theologian based in the South East of England and is also Provincial Secretary of the Society of Catholic Priests We can now see the legal advice and theological briefing w...

viamedia.news

Reposted by Helen King

Misogynoir to Mishpat (M2M) Research Network @m2mresearchnetwork.bsky.social · 10d

The Widow’s Last Meal: Choosing Who Deserves to Eat
open.substack.com/pub/misogyno...