The Very Revd Jonathan Greener, Dean of Exeter, has announced that he is to retire in July 2026. He has been the dean since 2017, and before that he was Dean of Wakefield from 2007 to 2017.
0 CommentsThis letter was sent to all General Synod members on 13 March:
National Church Governance – update for General Synod Members – 13 March 2026. The full text is copied below the fold.
There is a news story about this in the Church Times today, 20 March:
Plans to reform Church of England structures ‘not expedient’ says Ecclesiastical Committee
There are numerous links to related documents here.
2 CommentsThe Prime Minister’s Office issued the press release below this morning. The London diocesan website has more details in New Bishop for East London announced.
The King has approved the nomination of The Venerable Roderick (Rod) Ernest Alexander Green, BA, MA, MTh, to the Suffragan See of Stepney, in the Diocese of London
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP
Published 20 March 2026
The King has approved the nomination of The Venerable Roderick (Rod) Ernest Alexander Green, BA, MA, MTh, Archdeacon of Llandaff, in the Church in Wales, to the Suffragan See of Stepney, in the Diocese of London, in succession to The Right Reverend Dr Joanne Woolway Grenfell, MA, DPhil, following her translation to the See of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.
Rod was educated at the University of Reading and the London School of Theology, and trained for ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He served his title at Christ Church, Spitalfields, in the Stepney Area of the Diocese of London and was ordained priest in 2008.
In 2011 he took up the role of Associate Rector at St Paul’s, Shadwell, also in the Stepney Area of the Diocese of London. In 2014 he was appointed Vicar at St. Peter’s, West Harrow, in the Willesden Area of the Diocese of London.
He has served in his current role as Archdeacon of Llandaff, in the Diocese of Llandaff, in the Church in Wales, since 2021.
5 CommentsThe Prime Minister’s Office issued the press release below this morning. There is more information on the St Albans diocesan website.
Appointment of Bishop of St Albans: 19 March 2026
The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Dr. Andrew Paul Rumsey, for election as Bishop of St. Albans
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 19 March 2026
The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Dr. Andrew Paul Rumsey, Suffragan Bishop of Ramsbury in the Diocese of Salisbury, for election as Bishop of St. Albans, in succession to The Right Reverend Alan Smith, following his retirement.
Background
Andrew was born and raised in the Diocese of St Albans, where his father served as a parish priest. He was educated at the University of Reading and Kings College, London, and trained for ordination at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He served his title at Trinity St. Michael, Harrow, in the Diocese of London, and was ordained priest in 1998.
Andrew served as Vicar of Christ Church, Gipsy Hill, in the Diocese of Southwark, from 2001 and was appointed Rector of Oxted & Tandridge (later Team Rector of Oxted) in 2011.
In 2019, Andrew took up his current role as Bishop of Ramsbury, in the Diocese of Salisbury. He is also lead bishop for church buildings.
Andrew is a singer-songwriter and the author of Parish: An Anglican theology of place (Books, 21 July 2017) and English Grounds: A pastoral journal (Books, 11 March 2022).
23 CommentsColin Coward Unadulterated Love Mapping God: When everything is taken literally, meaning itself can swiftly start to unravel
Michelle Burns Guarding the Flock Persistent. Vexatious. Or Simply Uncomfortable?
Martyn Percy Bullying Institutions and the Church: Some Remarks
Lorraine Cavanagh On Forgiving The Church
15 CommentsLucy Sixsmith ViaMedia.News When the Music Fades: the Soul Survivor Generation
Mark Clavier Well-Tempered Formed for Faithfulness (9): Learning to Pray Again
Martin Sewell Surviving Church Persistent and Vexatious – Pursuing Justice in the Church of England
Gerry Lynch The Critic Schrödinger’s schism
68 CommentsThe Bangor Diocesan Board of Finance and the Bangor Diocesan Trust published the findings of an independent governance review on 6 March. There is a press release here, and the report itself is here. The Church Times published an article on the report under the title Weak financial controls and ‘disempowered’ trustees were background to Bangor débâcle, review says.
5 CommentsThe Prime Minister’s Office issued the press release below this morning. There is more information on the Carlisle diocesan website.
Appointment of the Suffragan Bishop of Penrith: 11th March 2026
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Canon Dr Michael John Leyden, BA, MA, MSt, PhD, to the Suffragan See of Penrith, in the Diocese of Carlisle.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 11 March 2026
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Canon Dr Michael John Leyden BA, MA, MSt, PhD, Dean and CEO of Emmanuel Theological College, to the Suffragan See of Penrith, in the Diocese of Carlisle, in succession to the Right Reverend Robert James Saner-Haigh, MA, MPhil, following his translation to the See of Carlisle.
Michael grew up in Merseyside and was educated at Oxford University and Chester University and trained for ministry at St John’s College, Nottingham. He served his title at St Ann’s, Rainhill, in the Diocese of Liverpool. Following a secondment to St Mellitus College, North-West, Michael was appointed half-time Incumbent of the Benefice of Weston with Shavington in 2014, in the Diocese of Chester, alongside working half-time as Lead Academic Tutor at St Mellitus College. In 2018, Michael was appointed full-time Director of St Mellitus College, North-West, and in 2019 he was licensed as Associate Priest of St Peter’s, Chester.
In 2021, Michael took up his current role as Dean and CEO of Emmanuel Theological College.
16 CommentsThe Prime Minister’s Office issued the press release below this morning. There is more information on the Truro diocesan website.
Suffragan Bishop of St. Germans: 9 March 2026
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend James Treasure BSc, to the Suffragan See of St. Germans, in the Diocese of Truro.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 9 March 2026
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend James Treasure BSc, Vicar and Resource Church Leader at St. Thomas and St. Luke’s and Team Rector for Dudley, in the Diocese of Worcester, for appointment as Suffragan Bishop of St. Germans in the Diocese of Truro, in succession to The Right Reverend Hugh Edmund Nelson BA, following his translation to the See of Worcester.
Background
James was educated at the Roehampton Institute, University of Surrey. He trained for ministry at Ripon College, Cuddesdon and served his title in the Kidderminster West Team Ministry, in the Diocese of Worcester. He was ordained Priest in 2017 and was previously a leader in a free church before his move back to the Church of England. He brings with him a wealth of experience in community engagement and growing congregations.
From 2018, James served as Vicar and Resource Church Leader at St. Thomas and St. Luke’s (commonly known as “Top Church”) in Dudley. In this capacity, he spearheaded a major redevelopment and mission project, supported by significant grant funding, to revitalise the historic Grade II* listed building and expand its community outreach.
In 2023, James was also appointed Team Rector for the wider Dudley parish. In this role, he maintained responsibility for four additional churches while continuing his leadership at St. Thomas and St. Luke’s.
49 CommentsThe Nairobi-Cairo Proposals is a theological paper, published by the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity Faith and Order, IASCUFO, in 2024. The paper makes recommendations for updating how the Anglican Communion describes itself to account for changes of the last century and to encourage a maximal sharing in leadership.
There is a more detailed explanation at this page on the Anglican Communion Office website: The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals.
Two Anglican provinces had published responses to the original 2024 paper.
IASCUFO itself has now published a Supplementary paper, making some changes to its original proposals. And there is also a FAQ document.
Papers from IASCUFO
The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals: Renewing the Instruments of the Anglican Communion
Frequently asked questions about The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals
Responses from Provinces
Theo Hobson Liberal Anglicans must focus
[also in The Spectator The real problem facing Church of England liberals]
Mark Clavier Well-Tempered Formed for Faithfulness (8): Learning to Speak Again
Jenny Sinclair Together for the Common Good Whose Side is the Church On?
Felicity Cooke ViaMedia.News All About LLF: the February Synod Debate
26 CommentsThe Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Revd Dr David Walker, has announced that he will retire in the summer of 2027. He has been given a short extension in office beyond his 70th birthday, and the see will become vacant as from 31 July 2027.
41 CommentsColin Coward Unadulterated Love Time to redraw our God-map
Gavin Drake Church Abuse Safeguarding “direction of travel” is not a destination
Neil Patterson ViaMedia.News Sex and the Homilies
26 CommentsThe death has been announced this evening of the Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Revd Andrew Watson.
A post on the Guildford diocesan website says
Bishop Andrew died peacefully on Tuesday 3 March surrounded by family, less than a month after he received a terminal diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
In a letter to the diocese, the Rt Revd Paul Davies, Bishop of Dorking and Acting Bishop of Guildford, commended the following prayer to be used by parishes on Sunday.
Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for Andrew,
our brother and bishop:
for his faith and faithfulness to you
in life and in leadership.
As we mourn his death
and commend him to your everlasting arms,
give us the same faith, hope and love,
rooted in the death and resurrection of your son, Jesus.We pray especially for Beverly,
Hannah, Sam, Joe, Lydia and the whole family.
Comfort them with your Holy Spirit and protect them in their grief.
And bring us, at the last, with Andrew and all your children,
to that eternal joy where you live and reign in glory forever,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
3 Comments
The Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Dr Michael Ipgrave, has today written to clergy and readers in the diocese to announce that he will retire at the end of September 2026. His last day of active ministry in the diocese will be Sunday 27 September.
Updated (Wednesday) Lichfield diocesan website has this story: Bishop Michael to retire in September 2026. Bishop Michael’s letter can be read here.
3 CommentsAnthony Pierce was Bishop of Swansea & Brecon between 1999 and 2008. He was jailed for four years in March last year after admitting separate sexual offences against a boy aged under 16, committed between 1985 and 1990, when he was a parish priest in the West Cross area of Swansea. The Church in Wales has published the findings of a detailed review into the way in which he was appointed to senior church roles in the 1990s despite senior clergy knowing of sexual abuse allegations against him.
There is a press release.
The full text of the review is here.
There was also a Disciplinary Tribunal: its Decision is available here.
There has been some coverage of this in the media:
BBC: Child sex abuse allegations covered up by Church in Wales for decades, report reveals
Church Times: Review confirms first episcopal deposition in Church in Wales
26 CommentsMark Clavier Well-Tempered Formed for Faithfulness (7): Learning to Worship Again
Sally Hope Church Times Online misogyny has no place in the Church
Michelle Burns Guarding the Flock One of the Lads: Auditing the Boys in Church of England Safeguarding
37 CommentsThe Archbishop of Wales issued the message below to the diocese of Bangor on 20 February 2026. I wrote about the proposal to appoint an interim bishop here and here.
Interim Bishop of Bangor: Message from the Archbishop of Wales
Dear friends,
Today, we have held interviews of an Interim Bishop of Bangor. I am very grateful for all those, from the diocese and the province, who have been involved in this discernment process.
Any process of discernment has to be open to an outcome that it is not right to proceed in the way we hoped. This is what has happened on this occasion and so we will not be proceeding with the appointment of an interim bishop.
Instead, I am going to ask the Governing Body’s Standing Committee to recommence the electoral college process.
The diocese remains in my prayers.
Archbishop Cherry
10 CommentsAlan Rusbridger Prospect The Church of England is still treating gay people as second-class citizens
Chantal Noppen ViaMedia.News The Cost of Calling: Then and Now
17 CommentsThe electronic voting results from this month’s meeting of General Synod are now available online. These contain the names of voting members and how they voted.
The full text of motions can be found in the official record of Business Done.