by Andrew Goddard, Psephizo
Sometime this week those tasked with nominating a new Archbishop of Canterbury will be meeting for the first of at least three scheduled meetings (the next are in July and September). It is most likely that the person chosen will be a current (likely diocesan) bishop serving in the Church of England although, as with Rowan Williams, this need not be the case. It is, therefore, interesting to stop and consider who our bishops are at present.
What follows offers an analysis of different aspects of the current episcopate drawing on a database I’ve been developing in recent months and with links to the key data provided which will be updated over time (the figures below are I believe correct as of the end of May 2025). A brief guide as to how to explore the database, make the most of those links, and offer feedback on the database appears at the end of this article.