The Rt Rev Stephen Conway has resigned as Bishop of Lincoln. The news comes in a press release from the Church of England which is copied below. There is also a Pastoral Letter to the Diocese of Lincoln from the bishops of Grantham and Grimsby.
Bishop of Lincoln resigns
21/09/2026
The Rt Rev Stephen Conway has resigned as Bishop of Lincoln. The See will become vacant on October 1.
Bishop Nick Chamberlain will continue as Acting Bishop of Lincoln. A Crown Nominations Commission will be convened in due course to discern the next Bishop of Lincoln.
Bishop Stephen Conway was suspended from ministry in February 2026 while a complaint made to the National Safeguarding Team was responded to according to House of Bishops Code of Practice. This included referring the complaint to the police.
The complaint process is ongoing. Clergy remain subject to church disciplinary procedures following resignation or retirement.
Support
If this statement causes distress, support is available through the independent Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056 or visit safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk.
Alternatively, you may wish to contact the diocesan safeguarding team in your area or the National Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@churchofengland.org.
they also remain subject to clergy discipline after their death…
I heard it was even to the third generation, unless, that is, you happen to come up with an original sin…
Or had something to do, in a remote way, with slavery, in which case it’s 300 years.
I find it deeply unhealthy that the Crown or the Prime Minister should have any involvement in the appointment of Christian Bishops even if their involvement is purely notional. A Christian Church should not be an arm of the state, bishops should not sit by right in the House of Lords and bishops should not crown our Head of State. For a whole host of reasons Establishment is a very bad idea and I’m amazed that it isn’t a live issue. The early Church held goods in common. What a contrast to an established Church headed by a monarch with… Read more »
“Honi soit qui mal y pense”
“Nul n’est bons does Du sol“
David. I do not understand the relevance of your post to the sad news in Lincolnshire. You obviously feel very strongly about Church v State relationships. However perhaps better shared elsewhere!
Alastair- I agree with you.This thread is about the (present?) Bishop of Lincoln.
A different thread for discussion about Disestablishment etc
Lots to agree with, coming from a part of the world where the Anglican Church was never established in law.
Look, people say this and it’s just poor history. Arguably the English reformation goes back to the murder of Thomas a’Beckett and the standing conflict between the legal prerogatives of Crown and Church his time as chancellor brought into sharp relief. Henry and his marriage issues were flung into what was already a very contested set of issues that gave rise to the Act of Supremacy.
Annulment! Why does everyone say divorce???
Annulment: This ruling states a valid marriage never legally existed from the start. Henry claimed his marriage to Catherine of Aragon broke biblical law because she was his late brother’s wife. Legality is everything here.
Divorce ends a valid marriage that actually existed. The Roman Catholic Church in the 1500s did not allow divorce or remarriage. Henry had to ask for an annulment so he could marry again without committing a sin.
Would you be happier if the monarch were crowned by the archbishop of Wales?
The Moderator of the Kirk please? In St Giles.
There is no precedent for a coronation at St Giles — Scottish kings were traditionally, though not always, crowned at Scone. And since the arrival of Christianity only one coronation (in Scotland or England) has been administered by someone not a bishop — the Presbyterian coronation of Charles II at Scone in 1651, conducted by the Marquess of Argyll.
St Columba, who was not a bishop, is said to have blessed and ordained Aidan (not St Aidan) as king in 574 AD. There’s a tradition he crowned other kings during his lifetime.
“The Church of England was established to facilitate a King’s divorce.” Yes, but that wasn’t the Church of England, was it? It was a Roman Catholic offshoot headed by Henry. The first changes of significance came with Edward- at least according to my reading of history, but then I am not a professional historian.
But the contention is that this is all the same Church — the same people continuing to worship in the same buildings, mostly with the same clergy, with bishops in the same cathedrals. With reformed doctrine and worship.
Annulment! Why does everyone say divorce???
Annulment: This ruling states a valid marriage never legally existed from the start. Henry claimed his marriage to Catherine of Aragon broke biblical law because she was his late brother’s wife. Legality is everything here. Divorce ends a valid marriage that actually existed. The Roman Catholic Church in the 1500s did not allow divorce or remarriage. Henry had to ask for an annulment so he could marry again without committing a sin.
“The Church of England was established to facilitate a King’s divorce”. The Church of England is mentioned in Magna Carta, and was around long before that. In a sense it was “established” from very early days — established by custom. And the king had the primary say in the appointment of bishops long before Henry VIII, as did kings and emperors in other European countries, in some cases right up until the 20th century. (The Austrian Emperor and the kings of Spain and France had a veto on the election of the pope until the veto was abolished as recently… Read more »
I prefer to think of the C of E being refounded by Elizabeth 1 after Mary had reunited the English Church with the Roman Church.
It is not the most exciting foundation narrative. A women who did not wish to make windows into men’s souls founded a church as a political expedient to avoid the wars of religion that a few years later tore France apart. It sorted of worked at the time and ( up until recently) has sorted of worked ever since.
One of the interesting things (well, vaguely interesting anyway) is that under Mary, the Appointment of Bishops Act 1533 (passed under Henry VIII) was not repealed. The queen continued to appoint bishops, just as her predecessors had for centuries, and under the legal framework her father had put in place, and just as her half-sister and later monarchs did subsequently. When our 16th and 17th century predecessors went to church, they (the majority of them) kept going to their parish churches, regardless. We may laugh at the later Vicar of Bray, but I don’t think people considered that they were… Read more »
All of these comments are nothing to do with the Bishop of Lincoln. Keep to the point, please.
I’ve always admired the pastoral sensitivity of the Vicar of Morebath.
Indeed. Earlier, for example, before Magna Carta, St Anselm refers to ecclesia angliae (literally Church of England) and the name Chirche of Engelonde (spelling varied) was common from the 14th century. Of course, it was then in communion with Rome, but, according to English law, it did not become a new church under Henry nor Elizabeth (any more than Eastern Orthodox churches originated when they broke with Rome). However, our Church from the Elizabethan settlement and the final Caroline settlement, though still essentially Catholic, was also now Protestant, with its English Bible, a married clergy, services in the vernacular, and… Read more »
The contrast to Henry VIII is stark in modern times. The Church, in the person of Archbishop Lang was the driving force, with Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, in the abdication of Edward VIII; more recently (was it Archbishop Rowan Williams?), in denying a marriage service following divorce to our present King, son and heir to the Church’s Supreme Governor.
Not only that. The clergyman who officiated at the ex-king’s wedding at Monts, Robert Anderson Jardine (who had worked diligently amongst the poor), was effectively hounded from the Church of England, emigrated to California, and died in severe poverty in Bedford in 1950. The chief hound was Henson, who worked hard to smear Jardine. This was ironic and arguably hypocritical, given Henson’s long-standing antipathy towards the establishment of the Church in general, and to Lang in particular.
As from 1 October the following Diocesan sees will be vacant:
London
Chichester
Southwark
Oxford
Guildford
Bristol
Liverpool
Lincoln
Leeds remains technically vacant until the confirmation of election of the bishop designate.
Lichfield falls vacant later this autumn. Manchester will fall vacant on 1 August next year.
Lichfield is vacant from 30th September.
Perhaps the ‘King of the North’ might yet have a role- ‘Manchesterism’?
Manchester is not ‘the North’. I believe the correct term is ‘King in the North’. Burnham seems to be a good man, but it narks those of us in the rest of the North that being mayor of Manchester is thought to make someone King of the North.
Salisbury – Bishop suspended. Acting Bishop in charge,
Surely we must redouble our prayers and not only for Lincoln but also for Salisbury Diocese. Prayers needed too for ++Sarah as she faces the first crisis of her time as AB of C
Point of personal privilege, from a Yank observer: almost exactly 46 years ago, on my one (and so far only) trip to the UK, 18 year old me persuaded my parents to take the slow train to see (chosen from pictures) my FAVORITE CATHEDRAL: Lincoln Minster.
While no pain is greater than that of the survivors, I grieve for the CofE—and this holy place which inspired me so. Lots of 18 year olds lose their childhood faith, but I never did…
My first visit (of many) to Lincoln Cathedral was more than 70 years ago. My sister and I climbed to the very top of the central tower. When we came down back to ground level we witnessed the Bishop in procession, a splendid figure in gold cope and mitre, the choir singing unaccompanied, for a confirmation service. The memory has remained ever since.
Lovely picture. Black clouds/ storms over Lincoln?
Let’s hope and pray that +Salisbury is restored and that + Derby returns to work and that all shall be well !
Surely what we should pray for is that justice prevails, even if the outcome is unsettling.
Thank you Francis, I was searching for the right words when you phrased it perfectly.
And leaving aside the process around +Stephen, can I just comment that +Karen is gaining much respect and affection in her role as acting bishop.
Apart from Dean Nicholas we now seem to be in a diocese where the senior management team, both lay an ordained, is almost entirely women. Which I am enjoying.
Lincoln hasn’t had a very happy history in the last few decades, has it?
Alas no😕. A sadness as I trained at Lincoln Theological College ( now no more). I enjoyed my time there .
It was an excellent college in Alec Graham’s time.
This is a very. Very bizarre comments thread. The post is about the resignation of the Bishop of Lincoln, Stephen Conway but most of the comments avoid talking about Stephen’s resignation. Only two of the sixteen comments posted on this thread at the time of writing this refer to it. This morning I finished reading Stephen Kuhrt’s book ‘Safeguarding the Institution: How the Culture of the Church of England Facilitates Abuse. Stephen is the Vicar of the Parish of New Malden and Coombe in the Diocese of Southwark. I deliberately avoided looking at the end of the book to see… Read more »
Just been looking up Chrst Church at New Malden. It seems to cover an excellent range of styles of services. Have you ever visited?
Labels don’t matter, but are you saying he is still a conservative evangelical, or has over time distanced himself? Does he demonstrate that conservative evangelicals are a broader church than some might imagine from recent discourse?
Nigel, I’ve not visited. I only learnt about the book less than a week ago. I’m not saying he’s a conservative evangelical, no – I used the label to indicate his pedigree, and that’s probably not appropriate. Part of the problem is that we label people and another part of the problem is that the labels no longer fit. I learnt not to mis-label evangelicals a long time ago from Brenda Harrison. I assume that conservative evangelicals of the HTB/St Helen’s Bishopsgate variety would not see Stephen Kuhrt as being ‘one of them’, if he ever really was. I think… Read more »
I would always have described myself as an open evangelical, albeit with a conservative/non affirming position on homosexuality. I have now changed my mind on this because I believe that the biblical passages on same-sex sexual relationships are not addressing a situation or context comparable to our present one. And, long before I made this change, I have believed that the current fudge of the C of E on this issue (the conservatives holding the theory and the liberals, the practice) is a crucial ingredient in creating an unsafe church. Other factors are also crucial and explored in my book… Read more »
Thank you. Open evangelical is a good term. Probably more of them around than one might imagine, getting on with life and ministry.
I have mentioned him before, but there are those like Henry Corbett (Everton), David Sheppard and many others who are/were open evangelicals. I did a bit of googling with ai. I asked Gemini ‘henry corbett everton evangelical’ i then asked ‘what kind of evangelical is he?’ and it responded sayng he was an open evangelical. We were in the same small college CU, and he was the one encouraging us to read all kinds of evangelical books. He was also an excellent football and cricket player (minor counties). He also got a starred first in theology tripos. I mention him… Read more »
Do not trust AI.
On further examnation, Gemini AI used something I wrote on TA about Henry as a source of truth, particularly his CU leadership role. In fact, I do not remember him having any leadership role outside of our small college CU, and he was just somebody respected and who would lead bible studies.
Do not trust me either.
Of course Wales has an Archbishop in a same-sex civil partnership. I was at the Enthronement and her partner was publicly acknowledged by the congregation (well, most of them: when I came out I found that the cars parked around the Cathedral had been leafletted by a conservative group).
Married gay clergy are no more unlikely to make a pass at a handsome young man than a heterosexual married bishop is to an attractive young woman. After almost thirty years in the Church of England I can attest that the list is endless on both counts. The only difference now is that it is treated as a safeguarding issue
Hi Colin, Thanks for trying, but it seems from the evidence here that people are simply not willing to discuss the real issues of sex and sexuality facing us in the church, but divert into safer topics. I can understand that people might feel uncomfortable discussing issues like the existence of closeted gay bishops, but these are real issues and problems, and we need to lean how to discuss the subject with maturity. On a recent thread when I explored how same sex sexuality was portrayed in the Hebrew scriptures I was compared to Sid James looking for double entendres… Read more »
Hi Mark, The majority who comment on TA feel much happier and safer pursuing all too familiar old tropes, sadly. On this thread, people are gripped by the way bishops are appointed and by how dioceses might be and can’t be reorganised, combined, etc. etc. What people are unable to do is identify that the present bishops are the problem, all but one for certain and a few others possibly, lacking vision, courage and an awareness of the sacred essence and presence of love, goodness, wisdom, truth and justice in our (and their lives) that fuels visionary courage. Isn’t the… Read more »
Thanks Colin, I agree with you. People may wonder why closeted gay bishops is an issue, but I would argue that it is a symptom of a wider malaise with the House of Bishops. There is the issue of courage. Down here in Salisbury I am involved in organising the lecture tour by Canon Sarah Jones – which has Salisbury Cathedral as one of the venues. “Join us for a thought-provoking evening with Sarah Jones, exploring the human experience of being transgender, faith, identity, and belonging in today’s society. Drawing on her own personal journey, Sarah will share her experiences… Read more »
This feels unsatisfactory – the bishop and the diocese have been in limbo for 7 months while the police decide whether to pursue the accusation. Perhaps something has happened that makes the bishop feel the outcome is now inevitable – but perhaps he’s just worn down by the process. The diocese now gets the opportunity to move on (though noting the large backlog facing the CNC) but the bishop – who may after all be innocent of any wrong-doing – is still facing serious uncertainty, and now even more isolated from any support.
Indeed, and the chronology is important. We never really know what happens under the umbrella of the CDM. One hopes that the replacement Clergy Conduct Measure, when it comes fully into force, will be much more informative – and just. But, unless I am mistaken, a bishop can only be suspended under the CDM after information has been provided by the police that he/ she is a potential safeguarding risk. Of course the announcement may not be entirely clear, or even accurate about this, in suggesting that suspension happened first and reporting to the police followed later. Happy to be… Read more »
I find this very sad, as I do with any clergy failings – however, they get publicised whereas others in our congregations who are more anonymous, can ‘get away’ with the same things. The hymn in NEH 216 ‘Disposer Supreme’ which we always sing on Saints Days has these lines which for me encapsulate our feeble witness: ‘To frail earthen vessels and things of no worth, entrusting thy riches which aye shall endure.’ I commend these words (and the whole hymn) as we seek to witness to the gospel. John Bradford’s 17th century words ring true for me: ‘There but… Read more »
Perhaps it’s just become clear that the process, whatever the outcome, will take too long for any fruitful return to work – he turns 70 next year, retirement age for clergy and bishops – so best for everyone to finish now.
Lord have mercy. Let us pray for all concerned.
The backlog of vacant diocesan sees is now at an all time high, not helped by the CNCs that have failed, most recently Bristol. The Bishop of Grantham would be an excellent candidate to be the next Bishop of Lincoln. Just get on with it.
Au contraire, Anthony? The number of vacancies may suggest this is as good a time as any for the number of diocesans to be considered (work for the Dioceses Commission?).
On the other hand, the duration of ‘reign’ of any diocesan, and the time taken to fill a vacancy, may mean that several posts must be vacant at any one time.
As history suggests maybe opportunity to be rid of several troublesome prelates?
Some of the current (or soon to be) vacant sees are not perhaps the most obvious candidates for merger. London, Southwark and Oxford are among the most populous dioceses. Lincoln is one of the largest geographically.
I’ve expressed the following opinion before, apologies. I don’t believe that merging two or more dioceses is the best way forward. Each diocese would then retain its identity, with an expectation of retaining an identifiable bishop, cathedral, dean, board of education, etc. You don’t get rid of very much but you end up creating a new layer on top. See the Leeds example. If the objective is to save resources by having fewer diocesan structures across the country, I suggest a better way to do it is to take a diocese, carve it up into several pieces, and distribute the… Read more »
Given that dioceses broadly follow county boundaries, this has the potential to be an absolute dog’s breakfast. Would you give Grimsby to Sheffield, central Lincolnshire to Southwell, and Spalding to Ely? The importing dioceses would have a whole bunch of new civic structures to deal with, and the civil authorities would have to deal with multiple bishops – for example, Lincolnshire would end up dealing with three different CofE education departments. Granted, if LGR ever happens then county structures may be atomised, but you’d end up with dioceses that had no natural community or identity, with people in the dismembered… Read more »
This has happened before when Lincoln lost Buckinghamshire to Oxford. The sitting Bishop of Oxford didn’t want Bucks so they had to wait until he retired before the move could take place thus creating a very large diocese of three counties. As a former incumbent for 14 happy years in the far south east of the diocese, bordering on London, we welcomed the Bishop of Oxford only once to visit the parish. There was a much closer connection with the Area Bishop of Buckingham. The issue of dividing the diocese into three (Bucks, Berks and Oxon) keeps rising again on… Read more »
Absolutely. I am not sure on the law here, but I don’t there is any ready machinery to merge dioceses. Once a see is declared vacant, the process to fill it starts inexorably. Worth reviewing the West Yorkshire process (which is unlikely to be repeated in that form). There are the obvious mergers to contemplate, Exeter and Truro (both with new bishops); Durham and Newcastle; Portsmouth and Winchester; maybe Birmingham and Coventry. But why not go for something more radical? The Diocese of Eastern England, with Norwich, St Eds and Ips, Ely, Peterborough, Chelmsford, and St Albans? Just a thought!
Another thought may be to read Justin Pottinger’s, The Bishop and the Baptized, in which he argues for smaller dioceses to allow bishops to become more relational. A bishop’s relationship with the rest of the Church the author argues, should be primarily pastoral, theological and spiritual – not institutional. Reviewing the book, John Inge felt that it should be compulsory reading for all serving bishops.
This has always been my feeling.
Could we not have larger regional hubs, perhaps under predominantly secular leadership, to manage the functions of finance, HR, property, safeguarding and so on.
And then have a much larger number of significantly smaller dioceses, with much, much, reduced staff, which can have that relational, spiritual and pastoral focus that Allan describes. (And see Jeremy Pemberton’s post below on the same theme).
This is a very interesting discussion and merits an article on a site like Via Media, and its own page here – exploring the concept and its pros and cons. I believe the critical quality of a bishop is pastoral. I am always mindful of John Taylor of St Albans, who was a recognised scholar, but whose standout gift (in my experience) was pastoral. As a younger person I once wrote and sought advice, and he replied to me in a lengthy, hand-written letter. Meeting him socially in the years after, I was moved by his humility and loving kindness,… Read more »
Thank you for that recollection. I remember him being exactly like that when he was assisting during a sabbatical, over 20 years ago. A wonderful man, generous, hospitable and kind.
It’s ridiculous that the C of E cannot handle multiple diocesan appointments at once, whether for generational reasons or unexpected crises. Why not have a large pool of CNC members and the ability to rotate people on centrally? Why should dioceses be considered in turn, instead of all at once? It’s the equivalent of a government only considering one cabinet appointment at a time.
I advocated back-to-back CNCs some years ago. But it needs central members, including the archbishops, to carve out more time in their calendars. And the first meeting (the one which decides/elects the shortlist) should be online. CNCs often have a pre-meeting to get to know each other. Given the tribal nature of central members these days, the quality of discernment has become low. Just send it fewer names upfront and conduct shorter interviews. Whether candidates will find this process reasonable is another matter, and whether it will serve the Church well I am unsure.
I think perhaps you underestimate the amount of pleasure gained from all the horse trading that goes on with these appointments. I think a lot of people enjoy the protracted process and the opportunities it gives for a quiet word here and a nod there.
Well, you could ask more fundamental questions about the appointment of bishops – such as whether it should be in the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury – or of the relevant province – with non-binding advice from a smaller panel, rather than a 14 member bunfight.
Well, it used to be in the gift of the Prime Minister but currently with a sitting Roman Catholic Premier that is no longer possible. Fisher wanted Coggan to succeed him but Prime Minister Harold Macmillan thought otherwise and quickly appointed Michael Ramsey to Canterbury.
Many thanks, Fr. David. You have reminded me of the famous exchange between Fisher and Macmillan, where Fisher tried to persuade Macmillan that Ramsey would not be the right choice for Lambeth, noting that he had been Ramsey’s headmaster at Repton. This provoked the crushing retort: “Thank you, Your Grace, for your kind advice. You may have been Dr Ramsey’s headmaster, but you were not mine!” Macmillan usually relished the job of prime minister, but found exchanges with Fisher about patronage to be disagreeable, noting that he – Macmillan – usually wanted to talk about religion, but Fisher usually wanted… Read more »
That’s an anomaly as well, as a Hindu Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak) had not impediment to appointing Bishops.
Mind you if you see “Yes Prime Minister” – The Bishop’s Gambit – you will see that it is “recommend to the monarch”, and the name(s) then, single name now, is given to them to approve. I doubt if any Prime Minister today would dare turn down a recommendation except on the grounds that it might cause embarrassment to the monarch.
There are a number of reasons why this happens I think. They’re not insuperable, perhaps. One is confidentiality. Each CNC consists of the two archbishops (or an episcopal substitute), six central members (from a panel of 12 elected by the General Synod) and six diocesan members (elected from the relevant diocese’s vacancy-in-see committee). The six diocesan members are only involved in discussions relevant to their own diocese. So they are unaware of who might be being considered for other diocesan vacancies, because that is confidential to each process. The central members do have some awareness of this — but they… Read more »
You do have to wonder whether the archbishops are prioritising their time appropriately – the cost of having lengthy diocesan vacancies is presumably substantial (though having a bit of a gap between post-holders isn’t necessarily unhelpful). And I really don’t see why both need to be involved in every appointment.
In Scotland when names were made public. sometimes if a candidate was unsuccessful in one diocese their name would be considered for the next see vacancy. This is a known thing as the same name would be published
In England can names be offered for several posts at once?
Are CNCs governed by legislation. If they are does it set out. How much time a CNC member is expected to commit to the role per year. If so given the back log this commitment may cause CNC members to stand down due to them not having the time any more
The CNC is underpinned by standing orders of the General Synod, which I always considered somewhat flimsy. In normal times central members might expect to do, say, four vacancies in a year. Under new arrangements they are elected in pairs for five years (2022-2027) and decide themselves who does which CNC. The system was devised to make the time commitment more manageable but also in a vain attempt to drive out the tribalism. A current central member would need to comment. At least two have ‘lost their pair’ having left the Synod or otherwise been unavailable. There has been constant… Read more »
Did the Bristol CNC ‘fail’?
Well, they failed to discern a candidate who could take up the post. That may or may not have been foreseeable.
And they failed to agree a reserve candidate — or just possibly they did agree a reserve candidate and that person also chose not to accept (which could occur for a number of perfectly good reasons). The suspicion must be that they could only agree on one candidate, which is only supposition, but it is something of a failure.
Maybe, but we don’t know the calibre of any of the people interviewed, so it’s entirely possible that the CNC acted with perfect wisdom in coming to it’s decision, which can’t be described as failing.
But it is the CNC itself that puts people into the process.Their job includes discerning who they should consider. So if they discerned that no interviewee was worth appointing they only have themselves to blame. They should have found some better candidates to interview. It’s still their failure.
The scheme to identify and train candidates for senior posts doesn’t seem to be working well.
You assume that there were in fact better candidates somewhere out there who would have been happy to be interviewed for that post, at that time, and not withdraw candidacy during the process. That’s not transparently true to me, given the state of today’s C of E. The Bristol CNC wasn’t perfect, nothing is. But it’s not obvious to me to say that they failed. We don’t know what they were up against.
Alright, let’s just say that the outcome was unsuccessful. The experience of other failing CNCs in recent times (I’m thinking Carlisle, Ely, and particularly Durham — where similarly one candidate was chosen and no reserve, and the chosen candidate then dropped out) is that they have been “successful” when they tried again. The second time around, when required to look at (presumably) different potential candidates they have managed to discern their way to an appointment. So, yes, there have indeed been other candidates out there, though possibly those candidates might not have been ready to allow themselves into the process… Read more »
Was there a different membership of CNC second time round?
Good question. I think that in all three cases it was basically the same membership the second time. Maybe one or two changes in the central membership, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, who resigned between the first and second attempts at Ely (I think he wasn’t involved in the first attempts at Carlisle and Durham anyway).
The idea is put about that God has already made His choice, and the role of the CNC is merely to discern what it is.
Re “all time high”, by the end of the English Republic almost all Sees were vacant IIRC 😉
They didn’t have to calendarize CNCs back then, though.
As Archdeacon Chris Lawrence commented a few years ago about another serious difficulty in the Diocese of Lincoln – the people who bear the brunt of all this are the Anglcan Christians in Lincolnshire who worship, work and contribute to the life of their Church. Members to TA .might like to reflect that after a large number of posts not one has reflected on the impact that such news will have had on parish priests and their communities who once again face a long vacancy with all the lengthy rigmarole that accompanies such an appointment. I wonder if its too… Read more »
I get David James point, but I feel we should reflect on the fact that behind this lies at least one person who has been interviewed by the police, investigated and as a result a bishop has been arrested for sexual assault. Please can we carefully, prayerfully and pastorally give thought to victims of sexual abuse by clergy who will be triggered by this news item. Whose trauma will resurface. They will know that prominent figures like bishops are virtually unaccoutable for their actions – except perhaps though police and criminal courts. They have experienced the church trying hard to… Read more »
Thank you, Dave. I have had my own trauma with Lincoln Diocese, though not with Bp Conway, and I’m mindful of any other survivors who might be affected by by this announcement – particularly any complainant/s there might be. Lincoln has a very poor record.
In my experience a vacancy in see does not have much effect on day to day life in the parishes. What makes a huge difference is a prolonged gap between the parish priest departing and their successor arriving.
I’d agree. Jersey went through political turmoil when Bishop Tim Dakin and Dean Bob Key had an acrimonious spat about a safeguarding report, and politicians took sides. Jersey moved from Winchester to oversight by Canterbury (Dover) then permanently to Salisbury and both Dakin and Key left. But to the average churchgoer, holy communion continued much as normal, if the name of the Bishop in the prayers changed from time to time. If they’d both resigned earlier (as neither would give way! Wonderful example of Christian behaviour!!), we would have just had a new Bishop and Dean and not changed Diocese.… Read more »
As a former parish priest in Lincoln diocese and with family and friends still living there i can’t see how the procession of events over the past several years could have anything but a profound effect on morale. Which lin turn has consequences on attendance, availability of senior Diocesan staff who can only bd stretched so far in a vast and complex Diocese, financial stability. Recruitment of clergy and so on This latest saga follows the unfortunate example of Bishop Lowson who was so unwisely and indiscretely called a ‘danger” ++ Welby . If you’re trying to tell me that… Read more »
In the early 1980s Simon Phipps was telling the diocese that it had about another decade to turn things around before everything went to the wall.
It would be interesting to have the views of informed people like David Rowett on the current state of morale in the diocese, as the Time to Change Together programme has evolved.
It may be that my church is full of Congregationalists masquerading as Anglicans. I am sometimes surprised by the lack of interest that my fellow worshippers take in the wider church. After one confirmation service, a regular member of the congregation asked the Bishop “What do you do?” He genuinely had no idea. Another regular was surprised to learn that the C of E does not solemnise same sex marriages. The entire Shared Conversations/PLF/LLF business had passed her by. I entirely accept that my experience may be atypical. Equally, the situation in Lincoln is different to a Bishop retiring after… Read more »
With Stephen Conway’s departure, and the extraordinarily long CNC backlog, could this the moment of the kind of circuit break that Stephen Kuhrt is calling for? Could we look again at what we want of our bishops? I remind TA readers of the charge in the Common Worship consecration service: Bishops are called to serve and care for the flock of Christ. Mindful of the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for his sheep, they are to love and pray for those committed to their charge, knowing their people and being known by them. As principal ministers of word… Read more »
Praise God for someone who knows the Ordinal! All I would add is that moment – freighted with meaning – when the new bishop is given his/her pastoral staff, “Keep watch over the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit has appointed you shepherd.” When the Church finally recognises its grave error and makes me ABC, I’ll refuse to consecrate any bishop not willing to make most suffragans area bishops and give them full pastoral, theological and spiritual responsibility for their flocks in order that they can know and be known. Admin, including safeguarding, could be mostly done regionally. For… Read more »
Management and strategy does have its limitations when there are few levers to pull that have any effect. Under a favourable wind, the low hanging fruit has been grabbed (to mix metaphors) but with the culture wars now in full force, any sense of collaborative mission has all but been lost. So what is the point of the C of E in its current predicament? The answer to the question ‘What is the truth?’ is both the beginning of the end of the narrative wars and start of something new. Both Jesus (in response to John the Baptist) and the… Read more »
The facts on the ground? Yes, of course. But let’s not discount the difference a good bishop can make – one who knows the deep things of God and also his/her flock.
May I just say that I recently emailed my Bishop/Archbishop (Monmouth/Wales) and received a personal reply very speedily. This has happened before – and (as I made clear) I’m not even an Anglican!
That’s impressive. In my diocese I’ve been waiting more than a year for either the bishop or PA to respond to a complaint. Opposite of pastoral.
The regularly expressed dissatisfaction with Church of England bishops often seems to have a reasonable basis. In more than thirty years since ordination, some of my own encounters with bishops have been unimpressive, and at times troubling. But the wholesale criticism of bishops as a class disturbs me. I have held what would be regarded as senior roles in public bodies. One of the things I remember most clearly from those experiences is discovering how little change I could actually effect, and how limited was my capacity to achieve the good I hoped for. That was partly the result… Read more »
Thank you for this helpful and constructive post. As mentioned by Alan Sheath and Simon Dawson (above) the very issue of scale and overwhelming demands may come into the equation. I know from leadership experience in the past, that every colleague and service user will see their own complaint and problem as an absolute priority to be dealt with, without recognising there may be 50 other people also bringing their problems to be addressed just as urgently. If we want pastoral and personal bishops, there surely needs to be space for real human engagement, and bishops themselves need to be… Read more »
Something that has come to mind when I have reflected as a Christian on the role, Ministry and Office of a Bishop, whether it is an Anglican, Roman Catholic or an Orthodox Bishop, the question that will come to some Bishops as they prepare to embark on an Episcopal Ministry, once they have received the call, is what sort of Spirituality would be helpful to this ministry, should they adopt a Benedictine, Franciscan, Carmelite or Jesuit Spirituality for example? Yet, when they really get into Episcopacy, they may discover that the whole Episcopal ministry takes on a whole Spirituality of… Read more »
I think that’s very insightful. I think people grow as they open to their vocation and give themselves in compassion and service. Your observation about sacraments, I believe, is absolutely central. God calls us all in different ways, to be more of the whole of who God made us to be. Your point about spirituality forged in the practice and experience of episcopacy seems very likely, if the person follows the way of the cross from day to day. That daily devotion must surely be framed in being drawn into, and sharing, the sacrifice and devotion of Jesus Christ. In… Read more »
It is curious neither of the statements gives any details at all about the safeguarding issue, and yet this is reported by the BBC: “The Bishop of Lincoln, the Right Reverend Stephen Conway, has resigned amid an ongoing investigation into an allegation of sexual assault.”. ITV news was even more detailed. It is almost as if the press release wants to hide the nature of the alleged offense which I find disturbing.
Or they are just being careful not to breach the rules. If there is a case to answer it will all come out in gory detail in time, no doubt.
The difficulty of discussing Stephen Conway’s resignation is that we still do not know if the CPS will bring charges against him, and if that does occur then discussion would need to be even more curtailed until after any trial. However, I might venture: This is a sad day for the Diocese of Lincoln. The previous diocesan bishop was also suspended, in his case for two years, before the police and the Church clearly established there was no case to answer. One can only imagine the pain felt by him and across the diocese. Archbishop Justin later apologised. Bishop Stephen’s… Read more »
Id like to hope who’m ever is appointed to the office of Bishop of lincoln is more open minded to allowing members of the LGBTQ community to play more of an active role in the church rather than being left on the side lines and smiled at every now and again.
With many Churches and parishes now struggling to hold on to priests it would be an option to allow for a more wider debate on the same sex debate in moving forward.
If the CNC timetable follows its normal pattern ( one meeting a month, two meetings per vacancy), Lincoln will be decided in November and December next year. The central members will be chosen from members of the General Synod currently being elected. Hopefully Lincoln won’t have the problems Canterbury experienced with its Vacancy in See Committee and the diocesan members will be chosen without difficulty. I suspect that most of the more obvious candidates will already have been appointed to other dioceses. Some might say that is no bad thing and a non-obvious candidate is what Lincoln (and the wider… Read more »