Presbyterianpolity is a method of church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or consistory, though other terms, such as church board, may apply. Groups of local churches are governed by a higher assembly of elders known as the presbytery or classis; presbyteries can be grouped into a synod, and presbyteries and synods nationwide often join together in a general assembly. Responsibility for conduct of church services is reserved to an ordained minister or pastor known as a teaching elder, or a minister of the word and sacrament.
The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is Christopher Cocksworth and the current dean is John Witcombe.
Alison Elliot CBE FRSE is an honorary fellow at New College, Edinburgh. She was the former Associate Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2004 she became the first woman ever to be elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. An elder and session clerk at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, she was also the first non-minister to hold this post since George Buchanan in 1567.
The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners formed in 1836. The Church Commissioners are a registered charity regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, and are liable for the payment of pensions to retired clergy whose pensions were accrued before 1998.
Rev. Edward Aloysius Malloy, C.S.C. is an American Catholic priest, academic, and former college basketball player who is a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Nicknamed “Monk Malloy”, he is best known for his service as the 16th president of the University of Notre Dame from 1987 to 2005.
Dame Sarah Elisabeth Mullally is a British Anglican bishop, Lord Spiritual and former nurse. She has been Bishop of London since 2018, and is the first woman to hold the position. From 1999 to 2004, she was Chief Nursing Officer for England and the National Health Service's director of patient experience for England; from 2015 to 2018, she was Bishop of Crediton, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Exeter.
Sir Robert MontgomeryGCSI, KCB, was a British administrator and civil servant in colonial India. He was Chief Commissioner of Oudh during the period of 1858 to 1859 and later served as Lieutenant Governor of Punjab between 1859 and 1865.
Jane Alison Shaw is a British historian of religion, Anglican priest and academic. She is principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford, Professor of the History of Religion, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Oxford. Previously she was Professor of Religious Studies and Dean of Religious Life at Stanford University and Dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.
Sarah Anne Coakley is an English Anglican priest, systematic theologian and philosopher of religion with interdisciplinary interests. She is an honorary professor at the Logos Institute, the University of St Andrews, after she stepped down as Norris–Hulse Professor of Divinity (2007–2018) at the University of Cambridge. She is also a visiting professorial fellow at the Australian Catholic University, both in Melbourne and Rome.
Lynn Forester, Lady de Rothschild is an American-British businesswoman who is the chair of E.L. Rothschild, a holding company she owns.
John Martin Clarke is a retired Anglican priest. He was the Dean of Wells from 2004 until his retirement on 31 December 2015.
Kate Elizabeth Pickett is a British epidemiologist and political activist who is Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York, and was a National Institute for Health and Care Research Career Scientist from 2007 to 2012. She co-authored The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better and is a co-founder of The Equality Trust. Pickett was awarded a 2013 Silver Rose Award from Solidar for championing equality and the 2014 Charles Cully Memorial Medal by the Irish Cancer Society.
Neil Francis Jeremy Mendoza, Baron Mendoza, is a British businessman, academic administrator, and member of the House of Lords.
Stephen David Lake is an Anglican clergyman and author who has been Bishop of Salisbury since April 2022; he was previously Dean of Gloucester from June 2011.
Paula Gooder is a British theologian and Anglican lay reader, who specialises in the New Testament. She is Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral. She has previously taught at two theological colleges, Ripon College Cuddesdon and The Queen's Foundation, served as Theologian in Residence for the Bible Society (2013–2017), and as Director of Mission, Learning and Development in the Diocese of Birmingham (2017–2018). She is a freelance writer and speaker.
Loretta Caroline Rose Minghella is a British academic administrator and former charity executive. Since 2021, she has served as Master of Clare College, Cambridge, her alma mater. Previously, she was the Chief Executive Officer of Christian Aid, and served as the First Church Estates Commissioner, one of the most senior lay people in the Church of England.
Peter John Galloway, is a British Anglican priest and historian, specialising in ecclesiastical history, architectural history, and the British orders of chivalry. From 2008 to 2019, he was Chaplain of the Queen's Chapel of the Savoy and Chaplain of the Royal Victorian Order. His is also a visiting professor of Brunel University London.
Gillian Evelyn Joynson-Hicks, Viscountess Brentford, is a British evangelical Anglican and activist. She served as the Third Church Estates Commissioner, one of the most senior lay people in the Church of England, from 1999 to 2005. She was also President of the Church Mission Society (CMS) between 1998 and 2007.
Lisa Kerr is a British business leader. After a career in commercial radio, in 2016 she was appointed principal of Gordonstoun. She is the first female principal in the school’s history. Kerr is also a Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of Moray.
Margaret Heather Laird, was a British teacher and senior laywoman in the Church of England. From 1989 to 1999, she served as the Third Church Estates Commissioner, having been appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England and the Third Church Estates Commissioner attends the Church's General Synod.
