Bishop of Coventry
{{Short description|Diocesan bishop in the Church of England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2017}}
{{about|the modern diocesan bishops|the ancient diocesan bishops|Bishop of Lichfield|the modern suffragan bishops|Bishop of Coventry (suffragan)}}
File:The bishop's house in coventry 19d07.JPG
The Bishop of Coventry is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Coventry in the Province of Canterbury. In the Middle Ages, the Bishop of Coventry was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichfield.
The present diocese covers most of the County of Warwickshire. The see is in the City of Coventry where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Michael. The Bishop's residence is Bishop's House, Coventry.
History
{{main|Bishop of Lichfield}}
From 1102 to 1238, the former Benedictine Priory and Cathedral of St Mary in the city was the seat of the early Bishops of Coventry (previously known as Bishops of Chester or of Lichfield). It was, afterwards, one of the two seats of the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield until the Reformation of the 1530s when Coventry (St Mary's) Cathedral was demolished and the bishop's seat moved to Lichfield, though the title remained as Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry until 1837, when Coventry was united with the Diocese of Worcester.{{Harvnb|Fryde|Greenway|Porter|Roy|1986}}, Handbook of British Chronology, pp. 253–255.
{{see|Bishop of Coventry (suffragan)}}
Bishops of the modern diocese
The diocese was revived in 1918 under King George V when the parish church of Saint Michael was elevated to cathedral status. The cathedral suffered under fire-bombing by the Luftwaffe on the night of 14 November 1940 and remains today as a dignified ruin adjacent to the new cathedral building consecrated on 25 May 1962. The 8th Bishop of Coventry was Colin Bennetts, who retired on 31 January 2008.{{cite web |url = http://www.coventry.anglican.org/news/pressreleases/opt/1/item/255 |title = New Bishop of Coventry |access-date = 2008-03-14 |date = 3 March 2008 |publisher = Coventry Diocese |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080316233334/http://www.coventry.anglican.org/news/pressreleases/opt/1/item/255 |archive-date = 16 March 2008 |df = dmy-all }}
Christopher Cocksworth resigned as Bishop of Coventry effective 5 November 2023, to become Dean of Windsor.{{cite web |website=Diocese of Coventry |title=Vacancy in See |url=https://www.coventry.anglican.org/about/vacancy-in-see/vacancy-in-see |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027195939/https://www.coventry.anglican.org/about/vacancy-in-see/vacancy-in-see |archive-date=27 October 2023 |access-date=27 October 2023 }} Because the suffragan See of Warwick is also vacant, so Ruth Worsley (Bishop of Taunton in the Diocese of Bath and Wells) has been seconded part-time as Acting Bishop of Coventry since 6 November.{{cite web |website=Diocese of Coventry |title=Acting Bishop of Coventry |url=https://coventry.anglican.org/bishop-of-coventry/bishop-of-coventry.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221205815/https://coventry.anglican.org/bishop-of-coventry/bishop-of-coventry.php |archive-date=21 December 2023 |access-date=21 December 2023 }}
On 4 November 2024, it was announced that Sophie Jelley, Bishop of Doncaster, had been appointed as the next Bishop of Coventry, to take up the position in spring 2025.{{cite news|url=https://www.stratford-herald.com/news/right-rev-sophie-jelley-will-become-coventry-and-warwickshir-9390309/|title=Right Rev Sophie Jelley will become Coventry and Warwickshire's first female bishop|date=4 November 2024|access-date=4 November 2024|newspaper=Stratford Herald|url-access=registration}} She legally became Bishop by the confirmation of her election on 14 February 2025.{{cite web |website=Diocese of Coventry |title=Bishop Sophie's welcome and installation date confirmed |date=10 February 2025 |url=https://www.coventry.anglican.org/news/bishop-sophie-welcome-and-installation-date-confirmed.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214194031/https://www.coventry.anglican.org/news/bishop-sophie-welcome-and-installation-date-confirmed.php |archive-date=14 February 2025 |access-date=17 February 2025 |last1=Coventry |first1=Diocese of }}
List of bishops
| class="wikitable" style="width:95%;" border="1" cellpadding="2" |
| colspan="4" style="background-color: #7F1734; color: white;" | Bishops of Coventry |
|---|
| style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 10%;" | From
! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 10%;" | Until ! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 33%;" | Incumbent ! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 42%;" | Notes |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1918 | style="text-align: center;" | 1922 | Translated from Worcester. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1922 | style="text-align: center;" | 1931 | Translated to Hereford. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1931 | style="text-align: center;" | 1943 | Translated to Winchester. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1943 | style="text-align: center;" | 1955 | |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1956 | style="text-align: center;" | 1976 | Translated from Croydon. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1976 | style="text-align: center;" | 1985 | Translated from Bradwell. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1985 | style="text-align: center;" | 1997 | |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1998 | style="text-align: center;" | 2008 | Translated from Buckingham. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 2008 | style="text-align: center;" | 2023 | Resigned in November 2023 to become Dean of Windsor{{cite web |website=Diocese of Coventry |title=Christopher Cocksworth to be appointed the Dean of Windsor |url=https://coventry.anglican.org/news/the-right-reverend-dr-christopher-cocksworth-to-be-appointed-the-dean-of-windsor.php |date=20 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230620140501/https://coventry.anglican.org/news/the-right-reverend-dr-christopher-cocksworth-to-be-appointed-the-dean-of-windsor.php |archive-date=20 June 2023 |access-date=20 June 2023 }} |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 2023 | style="text-align: center;" | 2024 | 60px Ruth Worsley, Acting Bishop | Also Bishop of Taunton; term to end 31 December 2024.{{cite web |website=Diocese of Coventry |date=5 November 2024 |title=An Update on Bishop Ruth and Future Plans |url=https://www.coventry.anglican.org/news/an-update-on-bishop-ruth-and-future-plans.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241124221016/https://www.coventry.anglican.org/news/an-update-on-bishop-ruth-and-future-plans.php |archive-date=24 November 2024 |access-date=25 November 2024 }} |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 2025 | style="text-align: center;" | 2025 | 60px Tim Thornton, Acting Bishop |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2"
| style="text-align: center;" | 14 February 2025 | style="text-align: center;" | present | Translated from Doncaster, 14 February 2025. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| colspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | Source(s): {{Harvnb|Fryde|Greenway|Porter|Roy|1986}}, Handbook of British Chronology, p. 241.{{cite web |url=http://www.crockford.org.uk/listing.asp?id=701 |title=Historical successions: Coventry |work=Crockford's Clerical Directory |access-date=6 January 2012}} |
Assistant bishops
Among those who have served as assistant bishops of the diocese have been:
- 1937–1952: Richard Heywood, retired Bishop of Mombasa{{Who's Who |id=U238552 |title=Heywood, Richard Stanley }}
- 1952–1959: Nathaniel Newnham Davis, Rector of Ladbroke and former Bishop of Antigua{{Who's Who |id=U51703 |title=Davis, Nathaniel William Newnham }}
- 1960–1980: John McKie, Rector of Berkswell (until 1966),{{Church Times | title = Obituaries: Bishop John David McKie | archive = 1994_04_15_006 | issue = 6844 | date = 15 April 1994 | page = 6 | accessed = 15 February 2021 }} Vicar of Great and Little Packington (from 1966) and former Bishop of Geelong{{Who's Who |id=U174208 |title=McKie, John David }}
- 1968–1975 (ret.): John Daly, Priest-in-charge of Honington with Idlicote and Whatcote (until 1970), Vicar of Bishop's Tachbrook thereafter; former Bishop of Gambia and the Rio Pongas, of Accra, in Korea and of Taejon{{Who's Who |id=U171965 |title=Daly, John Charles Sydney }}
- November 2023–present: Saju Muthalaly, Bishop of Loughborough, is also serving part-time as an Assistant Bishop supporting the Acting Bishop one day a week{{cite web |website=Diocese of Leicester |title=Bishop Saju to support Coventry Diocese during Vacancy-in-See |url=https://leicester.anglican.org/news/bishop-saju-to-support-coventry-diocese-during-vacancy-in-see |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116174744/https://leicester.anglican.org/news/bishop-saju-to-support-coventry-diocese-during-vacancy-in-see |date=13 September 2023 |archive-date=16 November 2023 |access-date=21 December 2023 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book |title=Crockford's Clerical Directory |edition=100th |publisher=Church House Publishing |location=London |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7151-1030-0 }}
- {{cite book |editor1-last=Fryde |editor1-first=E. B. |editor2-last=Greenway |editor2-first=D. E. |editor3-last=Porter |editor3-first=S. |editor4-last=Roy |editor4-first=I. |title=Handbook of British Chronology |edition=3rd, reprinted 2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=1986 |isbn=0-521-56350-X }}
{{refend}}
External links
- [https://www.crockford.org.uk/historical-successions/coventry Crockford's Clerical Directory: Historical successions]
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{{Bishops of Coventry}}
{{Anglican Bishops & Archbishops - Great Britain}}