Will there be a new 'headship' bishop?

On the 23rd September 2015, the Rt Revd Rod Thomas was consecrated as the Bishop of Maidstone. Unusually, his consecration was not at the whim of a single diocesan bishop or the Crown Nominations Commission, but instead it was a requirement of the 2014 House of Bishops' Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests. This declaration represented the 'settlement' that enabled women bishops to be introduced into the Church of England, but it also said:

"The House also accepts that the presence in the College of Bishops of at least one bishop who takes the Conservative Evangelical view on headship is important for sustaining the necessary climate of trust." (GS Misc 1077 Paragraph 30).

Bishop Rod was consecrated to fulfil this promise. Of course, the 'declaration' also set out more widely how the bishops intended to ensure that the 'Five Guiding Principles' enabled the 'mutual flourishing' of those in favour of admitting women to the episcopate and those who in conscience could not accept their ministry.

The Rt Revd Rod Thomas retired in 2022. He was succeeded by the Rt Revd Rob Munro, although, due to further episcopal reorganisation, Bishop Rob was made the Bishop of Ebbsfleet rather than Maidstone.

This week, exactly ten years on from that first consecration, the Independent Reviewer, Canon Maggie Swinson, recommended that extra support be given to those providing extended episcopal oversight to conservative parishes. Her report investigated the Bishop of Ebbsfleet's workload and that of the Provincial Episcopal Visitors (PEVs), who serve the traditional catholic congregations.

The report reveals that in 2024, Bishop Rob served about 152 parishes, almost 50% more parishes than the average bishop in the Church of England. But what is more, those 152 parishes are unusually 'succesful'. They have an average electoral roll of 165 and a Usual Sunday Attendance (USA) of 158, with many more children attending than the average parish. To focus on just one of these metrics, the only dioceses with anything like that kind of USA are London, Oxford, Southwark and Chichester.

The table below shows some of the relevant statistics for comparison, alongside those for Bath and Wells, which has an 'average' USA for dioceses in the Church of England.

In effect, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet is offering pastoral and sacramental episcopal ministry to one of the largest dioceses in the Church of England, with nothing like the same levels of episcopal support. It should, of course, be recognised that Bishop Rob is not a 'diocesan bishop' but neither is he merely a suffragan' - in a sense he falls between the gaps. As the report says "these roles do not fit neatly into the role of suffragan, having aspects of the diocesan bishop’s role but generally without the ultimate safeguarding and governance responsibilities which are carried by Diocesan Bishops."

To make this more complicated, the parishes he cares for are widely scattered across the country, from Plymouth to Newcastle (not forgetting the occasional visit to Leipzig, in the Diocese of Europe). So, it is perhaps unsurprising that Canon Swinson concluded that, "this ministry is, in its current form, unsustainable in the medium and long term."

In the same report, the Independent Reviewer found that provision for traditional catholic parishes in the Province of York was also, "potentially inadequate because of the increase in workload of the Bishop of Beverley following the retirement of the Bishop of Wakefield."

The good news for conservatives is that Canon Maggie Swinson has recommended that further epsicopal support be provided in both cases. She suggests a part-time bishop to help the Bishop of Beverley and "[S]ome deputisable support" for the Bishop of Ebbsfleet. Recognising that the appointment of such bishops are beyond her remit, she also proposes that in both cases additional interim support should be provided for, "those tasks not requiring episcopal ordination." It is unclear whether she had an archdeacon, chaplain or PA in mind.

Forward in Faith have welcomed the Report, saying that they are, "strongly of the view that it is vitally important for the Church of England’s future good health, including its standing within the universal church, that the full breadth of its Christian witness continues to flourish, and consequently that the additional resources required to conduct episcopal ministry under the Declaration are provided in full."

It is understood that the Bishop of Ebbsfleet would echo that view.

One fly in the ointment is, however, the Independent Reviewer's apparent belief that it will be sufficient for further episcopal support to come from, "a male bishop who is a member of a diocesan House of Bishops." She claims this is, "in line with paragraph 26 of the Declaration," but in doing so, appears to ignore the earlier part of the paragraph, where diocesan bishops are told to avoid, "conflict with the theological conviction on this issue," underlying a parish's resolution, when choosing who will provide episcopal ministry. Remember the original need for there to be, "at least one bishop who takes the Conservative Evangelical view on headship," to choose from.

The Independent Reviewer's report also notes that the Bishop of Ebbsfleet has seen his ministry impacted by the uncertainty caused by the two hot topics of the day - safeguarding and sexuality:

• The workload of the Bishop of Ebbsfleet is reported to have increased following "the Makin report and other recent safeguarding scandals," which led churches under his care to seek his advice as they "professionalise their staff teams."

• The introduction of the 'Prayers of Love and Faith' for use in regular services, "has had a noticeable effect on parish finances, and although the number is still relatively small, some congregations have either left or are considering leaving the Church of England."

• Congregations are looking at how they might remain within the Church of England, despite any change, so the Bishop of Ebbsfleet is seeing, "some churches with complementarian views which had not previously passed resolutions under the Declaration," now doing so.

The focus on LLF suggests that the timing of this Report may not just be significant because it coincides with the tenth anniversary of the consecration of the first 'headship' bishop. After all, it also comes just weeks before the bishops of the Church of England face 'key decisions' about the future of the 'Living in Love and Faith' project.

The Church of England's Autumn LLF Update says that the House of Bishops will meet next month to consider among other matters, "drafts of a Bishops’ Statement, Code of Practice, and Pastoral Guidelines for the use of the Prayers of Love and Faith". 

The Church of England Evangelical Council has said consistently that the use of the Prayers of Love and Faith in standalone services would require far greater episcopal differentiation than that which was provided for 'headship' conservatives and traditional catholics when women bishops were introduced. Until now, their focus has been on the insufficiency of the idea of stronger 'delegated episcopal ministry'. However, in May the "the mood" of the House of Bishops was that even delegated episcopal ministry "risked a structural change that fundamentally changed the nature of episcopacy to resolve a problem that could be dealt with in other ways."

These 'other ways' cannot therefore offer greater structural change, so a third province or non-geographical diocese are off the table, leaving 'other ways' which will not fundamentally change the nature of episcopacy. Some, like WATCH (Women and the Church), have argued that the 'women bishops' settlement was also damaging, but the majority of bishops may look at the fact some complementarian parishes have only recently sought the episcopal ministry of the Bishop of Ebbsfleet and think a similar approach could be the best solution to the LLF crisis.

Thus, contrary to popular belief, the promised 'Bishops' Statement' may just offer a 'settlement' akin to the 2014 'Bishops' Declaration.' It is even possible that the additional episcopal support, commended this week by the Independent Reviewer, will end up being tied in some way to accepting that deal.

It is a hard lesson to learn - but what the right hand gives, the left often takes away.

With thanks to the Church of England, Lichfield Diocese and Evangelicals Now for images

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