Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Statistics are inexorable: according to the data of the last census, less than half of the residents of England and Wales (46.2%) call themselves Christians. For the majority, the Nativity of Christ has turned into a season of sales, and in municipal councils, nativity scenes are increasingly banned under the pretext of “inclusivity.” But what is more frightening is something else—the very preaching of the Gospel has become a dangerous occupation.
Christians go through humiliating procedures of detention, cells, and courts to prove their right to quote the Bible
It is important to be precise in terms: British police often use arrest as a measure of prevention and intimidation, even if the case falls apart before trial or ends in acquittal. Christians go through humiliating procedures of detention, cells, and courts to prove their right to quote the Bible. Here are just a few examples of this systemic practice:
2010, Dale McAlpine: arrested in Cumbria for mentioning in a conversation with a passerby that homosexuality is a sin according to the Bible. Spent seven hours in a cell. Charges later dropped.
2016, Michael Overd: convicted by a magistrates’ court for quoting the Book of Leviticus (the prosecutor called it “offensive”). Only a year later, after an exhausting struggle, he was acquitted by the appellate court.
2019, Oluwole Ilesanmi: an elderly preacher from whose hands the London police snatched the Bible. He was taken several miles from the place of preaching and left on the street without money for fare. Later, the police admitted the actions were illegal and paid compensation.
2021, Pastor John Sherwood: the seventy-one-year-old pastor was roughly pulled off a stepladder and handcuffed in the center of London for preaching that God created the family as a union of man and woman. Spent the night in prison.
However, the system continues to tighten. In October 2024, army veteran Adam Smith-Connor was not just arrested, but convicted (found guilty) by the court. His “crime” consisted in silently standing with his back to an abortion clinic. To the police question: “What are you doing?”—he honestly answered: “Praying to God for my deceased son.” The court sentenced him to conditional release, but ordered him to pay enormous court costs in the amount of 9,000 pounds.
Looking at this spiritual decline, we decided to conduct a thought experiment. What if the Savior Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, came today in the flesh not to Galilee, but to modern London? If He lived as described in the Gospel: preached, healed, drove out the merchants from the temple?
Episode I. “Do Not Make My Father’s House a House of Trade”
Imagine the Savior entering one of the majestic cathedrals of London—for example, St. Paul’s Cathedral. Today there is no lowing of oxen and bleating of sheep there, as in the Jerusalem Temple. Trade has taken on a “civilized” form: rows of ticket counters (entry costs twenty-five pounds), shops with expensive souvenirs, jewelry replicas, art books, and branded textiles.
According to the Gospel, Christ makes a scourge of cords. In the realities of London, He does not find animals, but sees tables with expensive goods obscuring the place of prayer. He overturns the souvenir counters and scatters the cash registers. He would be charged with:
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Criminal Damage. Damage to expensive trading equipment, destruction of souvenir products, and disruption of the store’s operation qualify under the Criminal Damage Act 1971. Considering the prices in central London, the damage would instantly exceed five thousand pounds, which transfers the case to the category of serious crimes considered by the Crown Court.
Verdict: Up to ten years in prison.
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Possession of an Offensive Weapon.
Even if the scourge was not used on people, the very fact of its manufacture and carrying in a public place (the cathedral is open to the public) falls under the Prevention of Crime Act 1953. The police would not accept the argument about “symbolic action.” For them, the scourge is an offensive weapon.
Verdict: Up to four years in prison.
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Disorder in a Place of Worship.
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The special Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act 1860 still operates and punishes “riotous behaviour” in church.
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Verdict: Fine or imprisonment.
Episode II. Preaching the Truth and “Hate Speech”
Imagine Christ preaching in Trafalgar Square. Inevitably, questions about sin, about marriage would arise (Mt. 19:4–6).
The Savior would be accused of “inciting hatred” and violating public order
In modern England, this is truly a minefield. Any public condemnation of the sin of sodom would immediately activate Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986. The law prohibits words that may cause “alarm or distress” to listeners.
It is enough for one statement from a passerby that Christ’s words “offended” him or made him feel “unsafe” for the officer to make an arrest. The Savior would be accused of “inciting hatred” and violating public order.
Episode III. Miracles of Healing and the Cancer Act
Perhaps the most cynical trap would await the Lord in the sphere of… healings. Suppose the disciples proclaim that the Teacher can heal any disease, and the suffering flock to Him.
Few know, but in Great Britain, the Cancer Act 1939 operates. This law directly prohibits any advertisement (including oral announcements) offering cancer treatment by anyone except licensed doctors.
The paradox of English law: it does not matter whether you actually healed the person or not. The crime is the promise of healing itself without a medical license.
In addition, as we know from the Gospel, Judas Iscariot carried the money box (Jn. 12:6). Thus, a new charge arises for illegal fundraising and fraud, since collecting money in a crowd without a license is strictly prohibited.
Episode IV. The Sermon on the Mount: A Nightmare for the Police
“And great multitudes followed Him…” (Mt. 4:25). Imagine a crowd of five thousand people following Christ along the roads of England.
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Blocking Roads: The movement of such a mass of people is a violation of the Highways Act 1980.
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Public Nuisance: According to the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, actions creating serious inconvenience to society are punishable by up to ten years in prison. The police have the right to disperse such a gathering by force as unauthorized.
Conclusion: List of Charges Against the Savior in Twenty-First-Century England
Jesus Christ, if He came to modern Great Britain, would stand before the Crown Court with the following list of charges:
| Essence of the Charge | Article of Charge (Law) | Possible Punishment |
| Destruction of souvenir shops in the cathedral (damage > £5,000). | Criminal Damage (Criminal Damage Act 1971) | Imprisonment up to 10 years. |
| Manufacture and carrying of a scourge. | Possession of Offensive Weapon (Prevention of Crime Act 1953) | Imprisonment up to 4 years. |
| Organization of mass gatherings of people, blocking roads. | Public Nuisance (Police Act 2022) | Imprisonment up to 10 years. |
| Disorder in church (“riotous behavior”). | Violent Behaviour in Church (Ecclesiastical Courts Act 1860) | Imprisonment up to 2 months. |
| Public promise of cancer healing by a non-doctor. | Cancer Act 1939 (Section 4) | Тюрьма до 3 месяцев + штраф. |
| Preaching that “offended” minorities. | Hate Speech (Public Order Act 1986) | Fine and/or imprisonment. |
The System’s Verdict: through partial addition of terms, the Savior would face from four to seven years of actual deprivation of liberty in a high-security prison (for example, HMP Belmarsh).
Conclusion: “Fear Not, I Have Overcome the World”
This thought experiment leads us to a sad conclusion. The modern Western world has built a system in which there is simply no place for Christ. Laws written supposedly for the sake of “safety” and “tolerance,” in fact, have created a cage into which the Truth does not fit.
The modern Western world has built a system in which there is simply no place for Christ
Once, two thousand years ago, there was no room for the Infant Christ and His Most Pure Mother in the inns of Bethlehem. The world was too busy with its cares, censuses, and trade. Today, history repeats itself, but on an even more terrible scale. Now there is no place for Him not just in a building, but in the entire legal system of the state. And most importantly—there is no place for Him in the hearts of those who have replaced faith with political correctness, closing the doors of the soul with the bolt of “tolerance,” behind which is emptiness.
For us, Orthodox Christians, this is a dire warning. We must value the freedom to confess our faith and preserve fidelity to Christ, remembering His words resounding through the centuries above all cordons:
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (Jn. 16:33)
