In the Church of England the recent passionate arguments about the ordination to the priesthood of women or of practising homosexuals are symptoms of a much wider debate. Should the hierarchy of the established church - with its historical emphasis on compromise and consensus - yield to the increasingly vocal calls from both Evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics for a more clearly defined lead? Should the C of E be more involved in politics or less? David Lomax talks to the Archbishop of Canterbury and assesses the mood of the Anglican faithful in parishes in Essex, Cornwall and County Durham.