The Bishop of Ebbsfleet is a suffragan bishop who fulfils the role of a provincial episcopal visitor in the Church of England. [1] From its creation in 1994 to 2022, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet served traditionalist Anglo-Catholic parishes that reject the ordination of women as priests and bishops. Since 2023, the bishop has served conservative evangelical parishes that reject the ordination and/or leadership of women due to complementarian beliefs.
The see was erected under the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 by Order in Council dated 8 February 1994 [2] and licensed by the Archbishop of Canterbury as a "flying bishop" to provide episcopal oversight for parishes throughout the province which do not accept the sacramental ministry of bishops who have participated in the ordination of women. The position is named after Ebbsfleet in Thanet, Kent. In the southern province, the bishops of Ebbsfleet and of Richborough each ministered in 13 of the 40 dioceses; the Bishop of Ebbsfleet served the western 13 dioceses: Bath and Wells, Birmingham, Bristol, Coventry, Derby, Exeter, Gloucester, Hereford, Lichfield, Oxford, Salisbury, Truro and Worcester. [3] Until the creation of the suffragan See of Richborough in 1995, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet served the entire area of the Province of Canterbury with the exceptions of the dioceses of London, Rochester and Southwark which came under the oversight of the Bishop of Fulham.
Jonathan Goodall was announced as the fifth Bishop of Ebbsfleet on 2 August 2013. [4] His episcopal consecration took place on 25 September 2013 at Westminster Abbey. He had been the chaplain and ecumenical secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was the fourth of the five bishops to be affiliated with the Society of the Holy Cross. On 3 September 2021 he resigned his episcopacy in order to be received into the Roman Catholic Church. [5]
In June 2022, it was announced that, from January 2023, oversight of traditionalist Anglo-Catholics in the west of Canterbury province (formerly the Bishop of Ebbsfleet's area) would be taken by a new Bishop of Oswestry, suffragan to the Bishop of Lichfield. Oversight of conservative evangelicals would be taken by the next Bishop of Ebbsfleet; the See of Maidstone (the original conservative evangelical flying bishop) would be left vacant, available for other uses. [6] As such, from 2023, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet will provide alternative episcopal oversight to parishes who have passed resolutions that reject the ordination and/or leadership of women due to complementarian beliefs. [7] On 9 December 2022 the appointment was announced of Rob Munro as the next Bishop of Ebbsfleet [8] [9] and he was consecrated bishop on 2 February 2023. [10]
| Bishops of Ebbsfleet (Traditionalist Anglo-Catholics) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 29 April 1994 | 31 October 1998 | John Richards | Retired; died November 2003 |
| December 1998 | 18 December 1999 | Michael Houghton SSC | Died in office |
| 30 November 2000 | 31 December 2010 | Andrew Burnham SSC | Resigned to become a Roman Catholic [11] |
| 16 June 2011 | 13 February 2013 | Jonathan Baker SSC | Translated to Fulham |
| 25 September 2013 | 8 September 2021 | Jonathan Goodall SSC | Resigned to become a Roman Catholic [12] |
| 8 September 2021 | 2023 | vacant | |
| Bishops of Ebbsfleet (Conservative Evangelicals) | |||
| 2023 | present | Rob Munro | [10] |
| Source(s): [1] | |||
The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq mi) of several counties: almost all of Staffordshire, northern Shropshire, a significant portion of the West Midlands, and very small portions of Warwickshire and Powys (Wales).
The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford, and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. It contains more church buildings than any other diocese and has more paid clergy than any other except London.
The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering eastern Kent which was founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The diocese is centred on Canterbury Cathedral and is the oldest see of the Church of England.
A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction, "are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests". The system by which such bishops oversee certain churches is referred to as alternative episcopal oversight (AEO).
The Bishop of Fulham is a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of London in the Church of England. The bishopric is named after Fulham, an area of south-west London; the see was erected under the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 by Order in Council dated 1 February 1926.
The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York covering the pre-1974 county of Cheshire and therefore including the Wirral and parts of Stockport, Trafford and Tameside.
The Diocese of Derby is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, roughly covering the same area as the County of Derbyshire. Its diocesan bishop is the Bishop of Derby whose seat (cathedra) is at Derby Cathedral. The diocesan bishop is assisted by one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Repton.
The Bishop of Maidstone is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the county town of Maidstone in Kent.
The Bishop of Richborough is a suffragan bishop and provincial episcopal visitor for the whole of the Province of Canterbury in the Church of England.
The Bishop of Beverley is a Church of England suffragan bishop. The title takes its name after the town of Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
John Richards was a British Anglican bishop. He was the first Bishop of Ebbsfleet from 1994 to 1998.
Jonathan Mark Richard Baker is a bishop of the Church of England. He is currently the suffragan Bishop of Fulham and was formerly the Bishop of Ebbsfleet.
Christ Church Fulwood is a large conservative evangelical Anglican parish church of the Church of England situated in Fulwood, Sheffield, England. The Revd Canon Paul Williams was vicar at Christ Church from 2006 to 2021.
Jonathan Michael Goodall is a British Roman Catholic priest and a former Church of England bishop. From 2013 to 2021, he was Bishop of Ebbsfleet, a suffragan bishop who is the provincial episcopal visitor in the western half of the Province of Canterbury for those "within the spectrum of Anglican teaching and tradition" who are "unable to receive the ministry of women as bishops or priests". He was ordained a Catholic priest on 12 March 2022.
Roderick Charles Howell Thomas is a retired Church of England bishop. He was the Bishop of Maidstone, a provincial episcopal visitor for conservative evangelical members and parishes of the church, from 2015 until his retirement in 2022.
The Bishop of Oswestry is a suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Lichfield who fulfils the role of a provincial episcopal visitor in the Church of England.
William Peter Guy Hazlewood is a British Anglican bishop who has been the Bishop of Lewes since 2020. From 2011, he was Vicar of Dartmouth and Dittisham in the Diocese of Exeter.
Paul Richard Thomas SSC is a British Anglican bishop who has served as Bishop of Oswestry, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Lichfield and the provincial episcopal visitor for the western half of the Province of Canterbury since February 2023. From 2011, he was vicar of St James's Church, Paddington.
Robert Speight Munro is a Church of England bishop. Since 2023, he has been Bishop of Ebbsfleet, the second provincial episcopal visitor for conservative evangelical members and parishes of the church.
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