The Bishop to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York is a position within the hierarchy of the Church of England. It is a non-diocesan appointment in which a bishop acts as head of staff or general assistant to the Archbishop of Canterbury and to the Archbishop of York. It was created in 2021 to replace the former role Bishop at Lambeth, who assisted only the Archbishops of Canterbury.
On 19 April 2021, it was announced that Emma Ineson, then Bishop suffragan of Penrith, was to move to Lambeth Palace, to become "Bishop to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York". She took up the appointment on 1 June 2021, and her new role replaces that of Bishop at Lambeth as episcopal assistant to Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. The new role also includes assisting Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, coordinating between Lambeth and Bishopthorpe, and overseeing the Lambeth Conference 2022 programme. [1] [2] On 15 December 2022, it was announced that Ineson was to become the next Bishop of Kensington (an area bishop in the Diocese of London) in "spring 2023". [3] On 2 February 2023, it was announced that David Urquhart (retired Bishop of Birmingham) would succeed Ineson for a one-year interim period starting during the week beginning 6 February 2023. [4]
From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | 1984 | Ross Hook | Hook was the first bishop (recently) to serve as Chief of Staff to the Archbishop of Canterbury. [5] |
Bishops at Lambeth | |||
1984 | 1992 | Ronald Gordon | Previously Bishop of Portsmouth (1975–1984). Also became Bishop to the Forces (1985–1990). |
1992 | 1994 | John Yates | Previously Bishop of Gloucester (1975 –1992). |
1994 | 1999 | Frank Sargeant | Previously Bishop of Stockport (1984–1994). |
1999 | 2004 | Richard Llewellin | Previously Bishop of Dover (1992–1999). Appointed in 1999. [6] Became Chairman of the Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals (ASWA). [7] |
2004 | 2013 | vacant | [8] |
October 2013 [9] | 2017 | Nigel Stock | Previously Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich; retired during August 2017. [10] |
6 September 2017 | 30 September 2021 | Tim Thornton | previously Bishop of Truro; [11] commissioned 6 September 2017; [12] retired on 30 September 2021. [13] |
Bishops to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York | |||
1 June 2021 | February 2023 | Emma Ineson | Previously Bishop suffragan of Penrith; [1] translated to Kensington. [3] |
February 2023 | present | David Urquhart | ad interim and part-time; retired Bishop of Birmingham. |
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justin Welby, who was enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on 21 March 2013. Welby is the 105th person to hold the position, as part of a line of succession going back to the "Apostle to the English" Augustine of Canterbury, who was sent to the island by the church in Rome and arrived in 597. Welby succeeded Rowan Williams.
The Lambeth Conference convenes as the Archbishop of Canterbury summons an assembly of Anglican bishops every ten years. The first took place at Lambeth in 1867.
The Bishop of Truro is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Truro in the Province of Canterbury.
The Bishop of Croydon is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Southwark, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The Croydon Archdeaconry was transferred from Canterbury Diocese to Southwark in 1984.
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.
The Bishop of Kensington is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The Bishop of Kensington is responsible for a part of Greater London, including Kensington, Hounslow, Hampton, Hammersmith and Fulham, plus the Spelthorne district in Surrey.
The Anglican church in the British Armed Forces falls under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury; however, for all practical purposes the function is performed by the Bishop to the Forces. His full title is "The Archbishop of Canterbury's Episcopal Representative to the Armed Forces". The Bishop to the Forces is not a military chaplain. The Bishop always sits in the Church's House of Bishops and (therefore) General Synod; from 2014 to 2021, this fact was utilised to give the Bishop at Lambeth a seat on both.
David Andrew Urquhart is a retired Scottish bishop. He served as the ninth Bishop of Birmingham in the Church of England.
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 Ebbsfleet is a suffragan bishop who fulfils the role of a provincial episcopal visitor in the Church of England. 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 Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada. Two of the major events that contributed to the movement were the 2002 decision of the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada to authorise a rite of blessing for same-sex unions, and the nomination of two openly gay priests in 2003 to become bishops. Jeffrey John, an openly gay priest with a long-time partner, was appointed to be the next Bishop of Reading in the Church of England and the General Convention of the Episcopal Church ratified the election of Gene Robinson, an openly gay non-celibate man, as Bishop of New Hampshire. Jeffrey John ultimately declined the appointment due to pressure.
The Bishop of the Falkland Islands was historically a bishopric in the Church of England; as the ordinary of the Diocese of the Falkland Islands, the bishop had responsibility for chaplaincies across South America, before national metropolitical provinces were formed.
William Nigel Stock is a British Anglican bishop. From 2013 until his 2017 retirement, he was Bishop at Lambeth, Bishop to the Forces and Bishop for the Falkland Islands; from 2007 to 2013 he was Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.
The Bishop of Penrith is an episcopal title named after the town of Penrith in Cumbria.
Timothy Martin Thornton is a retired British Anglican bishop. His final post was as Bishop at Lambeth, Bishop to the Forces, and Bishop for the Falkland Islands (2017–2021). He was previously the area Bishop of Sherborne from 2001 to 2008, the diocesan Bishop of Truro (2009–2017), and a Member of the House of Lords (2013–2017).
Timothy John Dakin is a retired Anglican bishop. He was the general secretary of the Church Mission Society (CMS) and the South American Missionary Society (SAMS) prior to his consecration. He was appointed as Bishop of Winchester in 2011, and, as such became an ex officio member of the House of Lords. From 2013 he served as the Bishop for Higher and Further Education.
The Cross of St Augustine is an award of merit in the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is awarded to members of the Anglican Communion who have made significant contributions to the life of the worldwide Communion, or to a particular autonomous church within Anglicanism. It is also awarded to members of other traditions who have made a conspicuous contribution to ecumenism. It is the second highest international award for service within Anglicanism.
Emma Gwynneth Ineson is a British Anglican bishop and academic, specialising in practical theology. Since 2023, she has served as Bishop of Kensington, the area bishop for West London. From 2014 to 2019, she was Principal of Trinity College, Bristol, an evangelical Anglican theological college; from 2019 to 2021, she was Bishop of Penrith, the suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Carlisle; and from 2021 to 2023, she served as "Bishop to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York", i.e. assistant bishop on the staffs of both archbishops.
The fifteenth Lambeth Conference was an assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, between 27 July and 7 August 2022. It was the first Lambeth Conference to be held since 2008.