title: Society for the Maintenance of the Faith
text: # Society for the Maintenance of the Faith
  
  The Society for the Maintenance of the Faith is an Anglo-Catholic organization in the Church of England founded in 1873. As of 2022, it holds 94 advowsons or rights of patronage for church appointments. The group in 1995 supported the idea of life-long appointments as a means of promoting diversity among the clergy.
  
  ## Presidents
  
  * Lord Eliot (1873–1878)
  * Octavius Leefe (1878–1881, 1889–1901)
  * Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill (1881–1889, 1901–1911)
  * The Duke of Newcastle (1911–1928)
  * Lord Mamhead (1928–1945)
  * Sir Henry Slesser (1946–1948)
  * Sir John Best-Shaw (1949–1967)
  * Dr. Arthur Peck (1967–1974)
  * Dr. Paul Kent (1974–1999)
  * Dr. Brian Hanson CBE (1999–2018)
  * Dr. Colin Podmore MBE (2019–present)
  