The CNC’s nominated candidate for the vacant see of Bristol has withdrawn. The official Church of England announcement is copied below.
Update on Bristol Crown Nominations Commission process
27/05/2026The Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) for Bristol met in April and nominated a candidate for the See of Bristol. The individual has since decided, with regret, to withdraw from the nomination for family reasons.
The existing CNC for Bristol will reconvene as soon as possible to decide how to proceed.
The Bishop of Swindon, Bishop Neil Warwick, will continue to serve the diocese as Acting Bishop of Bristol.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, said: “I know many will be disappointed by this news and will appreciate how difficult the decision to withdraw was for the candidate.
“Please pray for them, their family and all those affected by this decision.
“I want to thank the Bishop of Swindon, Neil Warwick, for his ongoing service as Acting Bishop of Bristol, and everyone in the Diocese of Bristol who is working hard in this period of vacancy.
“Please also continue to pray for the Crown Nominations Commission as it reconvenes to seek God’s discernment for the next Bishop of Bristol.”
The Diocese of Bristol has issued this statement: Update regarding the appointment of the next Bishop of Bristol
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The Church of England’s House of Bishops met in York this week, and following the meeting issued a press release, which is copied below. The agenda of the meeting, but not the papers, is available online.
House of Bishops meeting May 2026
21/05/2026
The House of Bishops met in person from 19th to 21st May in York.
The House spent time discussing the Church of England’s Faith and Order Commission’s (FAOC) theological response to the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals.
Produced by the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith, and Order (IASCUFO), the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals make recommendations for updating the description and Instruments of the Anglican Communion.
The House commended FAOC’s response to the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals. The FAOC paper and an introductory reflection from the House of Bishops will be published in due course.
On the first proposal of the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals, regarding the description of the Anglican Communion, the House believed that FAOC’s language – which would continue to emphasise the significance of eucharistic communion – would be the basis for further reflection in this area.
On the second proposal, which considers the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury among the primates, the House supported FAOC’s judgment that an open dialogue process among the Primates that does not presume any specific outcome would be welcome.
The House received an update from the Bishops’ Working Group on ‘Promoting Unity in our Nation’. The group, chaired by Bishop Martyn Snow, has been convened to help equip the Church to understand and respond to political and social polarisation in our country. It is working on resources to support parishes wanting to respond to division pastorally, practically and theologically, as well as equipping church leaders to participate constructively in the national debate.
The Bishops agreed on the importance of this work and were keen to encourage local churches to offer spaces to listen, to be courageous in speaking truth to power and naming injustice, as well as actively seeking opportunities for community cohesion.
The House reflected on trends in Church of England attendance between and across dioceses in the light of five consecutive years of growth. The House welcomed the increased church attendance and paid tribute to the clergy, laity and volunteers across the country offering people a warm welcome and encouraging their faith.
The Bishops unanimously endorsed Hope for All Creation, produced by FAOC, as its teaching document on understanding and responding to the climate and environmental crises, drawing from the faith, life and worship of the Church. The document is expected to be published before the July Synod.
The House discussed the start of work on a review of the definition of safeguarding, to examine whether the Church’s structures and processes are established in a way that can best ensure everyone it comes into contact with is kept safe from harm.
Bishops heard an update on the evolution of the population of stipendiary and self-supporting clergy. They discussed ongoing work on clergy wellbeing and deployment as well as the significant work which is currently being undertaken to support the renewal of ministerial vocations across the church.
The House discussed ongoing research work nearing its conclusion on trust and trustworthiness in the Church of England alongside a separate item on strengthening accountability for Bishops and clergy. Bishop Debbie Sellin, the new Lead Bishop for Accountability, will be taking this work forward.
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95 CommentsThe Prime Minister’s Office has this morning announced that the next Bishop of Brizworth is to be the Ven Alex Hughes, currently Archdeacon of Cambridge. Further information is on the Peterborough diocesan website.
The King has approved the nomination of the Venerable Dr Alexander James Hughes, MA, MPhil, to the Suffragan See of Brixworth, in the Diocese of Peterborough.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 8 May 2026
The King has approved the nomination of the Venerable Dr Alexander James Hughes, Archdeacon of Cambridge, in the Diocese of Ely, to the Suffragan See of Brixworth, in the Diocese of Peterborough, in succession to the Right Reverend John Holbrook MA, following his retirement.
Alex was educated at Greyfriars Hall, Oxford and St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge and trained for ministry at Westcott House, Cambridge. He served his title at Holy Trinity, Headington Quarry, in the Diocese of Oxford, and was ordained priest in 2001. He was appointed Chaplain to the Bishop of Portsmouth in 2003.
From 2008, Alex served as Priest in charge and Vicar at St Luke & St Peter, Southsea, and was appointed to his current role of Archdeacon of Cambridge, in the Diocese of Ely, in 2014.
He was born in Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands, though grew up on the south coast of England. His hobbies include riding his Triumph Bonneville motorcycle and running half-marathons.
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5 May press release: Independent audit report of the National Safeguarding Team
The first independent audit of the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team (NST) has been published today.
The audit was carried out by the INEQE Safeguarding Group and commissioned by the Archbishops’ Council, following a recommendation from the National Director of Safeguarding. It assesses the work of the NST against the National Safeguarding Standards.
The report highlights areas of good practice as well as identifying 66 recommendations for further improvement. Some of these relate to the wider Church’s safeguarding structures, while others are specific to the NST….
You can read the full report here. It’s 142 pages long, and most of the 66 detailed recommendations relate specifically to the way the NST is currently organised (although that structure is not explained) and to the way it carries out its work.
There is a report in the Church Times: NST audit makes recommendations to expand Church’s national safeguarding capacity
…The audit has been conducted in parallel with work to establish, with the General Synod‘s backing, a new independent safeguarding authority into which the NST’s functions will be subsumed (News, 24 April). This evolution is one that INEQE “fully supports”, the audit says.
“The primary function of this new governance body must be to hold those operationally responsible for the delivery of safeguarding to account.”
Against this backdrop, a number of the audit’s recommendations are designed to deliver “immediate improvements as an interim measure under current structures”. These include a restructure to establish a secretariat, including a compliance unit; a “specialist safeguarding legal advisor to navigate the Church’s complex safeguarding landscape”; and an expanded data analysis, research, and evaluation unit (DARE). “Victim and survivor participation and engagement” would become a “dedicated service area”.
No costing or calculations on staffing are included…
See earlier TA article about the plans for the new independent safeguarding authority.
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