30 AUGUST 1986, Page 12

ists of the century. Can we imagine Henson saying, 'I

had never been to Nea Moni before, which has filled in a gap for me of the whole Byzantine jigsaw thing'? In spite of the Bishop's professed love of 'the whole language game and so on', he has less feeling for language, than my cat; and a man who expresses himself so unclearly can surely pose very little threat?

The prettiest girl on this cruise with me and the Bishop told us one night at dinner why she disliked New York. It was because you would be walking along a pavement when every so often, from a ventilation hole at your feet, there would come gushing exhalations of steam and hot air in your face. That is what life is like nowadays in the Church of England with David Jenkins as Bishop of Durham. But hot air quickly evaporates, and bishops retire. Dazzled by his first taste of publicity, the Bish discovered that when he said truly silly things he always got his name in the newspapers. But this is a very ephemeral pleasure. Christians will continue to say the Creed of Nicaea. Scholars will continue to remember the heresy known as Arian- ism. But there is no heresy which anyone could label Jenkinsism. When he retires (in less than five years' time?) the hot steam will vanish into the air, and no one will remember his buzzings. Perhaps that accounted for his hangdog expression amid the ruins of Nicaea.

In the midst of the word he was trying to say, In the midst of his laughter and glee,

He had softly and suddenly vanished away For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.