The Church of England is looking to appoint the next Bishop of Chester to lead the Diocese of Chester. We had created an online survey where people could participate in the consultation and anyone could contribute. The closing date for the online survey submissions (10 September) has now passed.
Hundreds of individuals have responded, which will be considered by the Vacancy in See Committee which is responsible, amongst other things, for producing our Statement of Needs, a document outlining the desired profile of the next bishop.
A public meeting hosted by the appointments secretaries for the Archbishops, and the Prime Minister, is to be held in the evening of Wednesday 25 September at St John's, Hartford. Anyone is welcome to attend.
See full details of public meeting
Anyone wishing to comment on the needs of the diocese or the wider church, or who wishes to propose candidates, can write to the appointments secretaries of the Archbishops, and the Prime Minister.
Writing to the appointments secretaries will feed directly into the wider consultation conducted by the Crown Nominations Commission, the body that will ultimately decide who will be the next Bishop of Chester. The deadline for submissions is 30 September.
Canon Caroline Boddington
Archbishops’ Secretary for Appointments
Second Floor
Church House
London
SW1P 3AZ
E: Caroline.Boddington@churchofengland.org
Mr Richard Tilbrook
Prime Minister’s Secretary for Appointments
c/o Honours & Appointments Secretariat
Room G37
Ground Floor
1 Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ
What is the Vacancy in See Committee
The Vacancy in See Committee is responsible for:
- preparing a brief description of the diocese and a statement setting out the desired profile of the next bishop; and
- electing the diocesan representatives to the Crown Nominations Commission.
A list of those people on the Vacancy in See Committee
Establishing the needs of the diocese is the first stage of the process. The consultation aims to identify what the challenges and priorities are for the ministry of the next diocesan bishop and, in the light of these, the skills and gifts that he or she is likely to need.
Because of the variety of roles which diocesan bishops have, not only within the Church of England but also in the local community and the nation at large, the choice of the next Bishop of Chester is not made by representatives of the diocese alone.
Six diocesan representatives will be elected to work with representatives of the Church of England as a whole, under the presidency of the Archbishops. They will form the Crown Nominations Commission, the body that will ultimately nominate someone to be the next Bishop of Chester.
An announcement is expected in Spring 2020.