How Will The Next Bishop Of London Be Chosen?
by Ruth Gledhill, Christian Today:
The Bishop of London Richard Chartres retires next month after 10 years. He is among the most charismatic as well as most orthodox of all the Bishops in the Church of England. Not only has he held together the Church’s most diverse diocese, he has led it to remarkable growth. Evangelical, Anglo-Catholic, even liberal – all have thrived on his watch. Not least, as Dean of the Chapels Royal, he has built an extraordinarily strong relationship with the Royal Family. His last public engagement as bishop will be Candlemas at St Paul’s Cathedral on February 2.
1. So Bishop Richard Chartres is retiring. Do we know who will succeed him?
As Christian Today reveals exclusively today, the favourite is the Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell, followed by the Bishop of Gloucester Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Stepney Adrian Newman, Bishop of Birmingham David Urquhart and Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, Rose Hudson-Wilkin.
2. Some of those are women. How likely is it a woman will be chosen?
No woman currently has the experience as a bishop that many in the diocese believe is needed to lead it, simply because they have not been consecrated for long enough. London is one of the top five dioceses – the order is Canterbury, York, London, Durham, Winchester. The next one of these to become vacant after London will be York, in three years when Archbishop John Sentamu turns 70. Church leaders certainly want a woman in one of the top jobs so if a woman does not get London, it is likely one will go to York. In a way that makes more sense because they will have more experience, although Archbishop Justin Welby went to Canterbury after just one year at Durham. Chartres did not himself ordain women priests and everyone knows God has a sense of humour. Under the Holy Spirit, anything is possible.
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