The 210 Questions (and answers) for next week’s meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod were issued today. They can be found online here:
There is one session scheduled for Questions on Tuesday afternoon (not later than 5.45 pm until 7.00 pm), when Supplementary Questions will be taken.
0 CommentsWe reported last month that the Rt Rev Anne Dyer, Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, had been suspended following a complaint made against her. The Procurator, Paul Reid KC, has now decided to take that complaint to a hearing before the Clergy Discipline Tribunal. Details are in a press release, which is copied below.
Discipline Tribunal to hear complaint against Bishop
A complaint lodged against the Rt Rev Anne Dyer, Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, will be heard at a Clergy Discipline Tribunal in January 2027.
Last month, the Preliminary Proceedings Committee (PPC) of the Scottish Episcopal Church referred to the Church’s Procurator a complaint concerning an alleged breach of the Code of Canons relating to the designation of a pro-cathedral in the Diocese of Aberdeen & Orkney. A pro-cathedral is a church designated to serve temporarily as a cathedral.
The Procurator, Paul Reid KC, has now decided to take that complaint to a hearing before the Clergy Discipline Tribunal, and Bishop Dyer has been formally notified of this decision.
The Tribunal hearing will take place at the Mackenzie Building, Old Assembly Close, Edinburgh, commencing on 14 January 2027 and continuing the following day. Under the terms of Canon 54, hearings are held in public, unless determined otherwise by the Tribunal.
Bishop Dyer now has one month to enter a plea in respect of the accusations. She remains suspended during the Canon 54 process, and the Most Rev Mark Strange continues as Acting Bishop of the Diocese of Aberdeen & Orkney.
The Church will make no further comment at this stage.
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7 CommentsThe next Dean of Exeter is to be the Revd Arwen Folkes. The announcement is in this press release copied below) from the Prime Minister’s Office. There is more detail on the Exeter Cathedral website.
Appointment of Dean of Exeter: 10 November 2026
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Arwen Caroline Folkes, Vicar of St Mary the Virgin, Eastbourne, in the Diocese of Chichester, as Dean of Exeter, in succession to The Very Reverend Jonathan Desmond Francis Greener, following his resignation.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published: 10 November 2026
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Arwen Caroline Folkes, Vicar of St Mary the Virgin, Eastbourne, in the Diocese of Chichester, as Dean of Exeter, in succession to The Very Reverend Jonathan Desmond Francis Greener, following his resignation.
Background
Arwen trained for ministry at Westcott House, Cambridge, gaining a BA (Hons) and MA from Durham University. She served her title at St. Just in Roseland and St. Mawes, in the Diocese of Truro, and was ordained priest in 2017.
In 2019, Arwen was appointed Rector of St. Peter’s East Blatchington and St. Andrew’s, Bishopstone, in the Diocese of Chichester, before taking up her current role as Vicar of St Mary the Virgin, Eastbourne, in 2024.
23 CommentsTwo press releases today:
Archbishops’ Council appoints Felicity Mitchell to lead next phase of Church safeguarding reforms
Rollout of safeguarding complaints process underway full text of this is copied below the fold
From the first release:
15 CommentsThe Archbishops’ Council has appointed Felicity Mitchell as Interim Non-Executive Chair of the Safeguarding Structures Programme Board with immediate effect.
Felicity is a qualified barrister who has worked for many years in the ombuds sector. She has served on the Programme Board since September 2025, having joined the Programme in July 2025. She has played a central role in supporting the vision for safeguarding reform, and more recently the design of a new independent safeguarding authority. In addition, she has advised the programme on a new unified safeguarding complaints process featuring local resolution and access to an independent safeguarding complaints body…
…Felicity follows Dame Christine Ryan, whose strategic vision presented to General Synod in February 2026 formed the basis of the development work over the past 12 months. Drawing on proposals developed independently by the Safeguarding Structures Programme Board, the Archbishops’ Council has approved the national rollout of a new complaints process and a detailed operating design for new safeguarding structures, including plans for an independent safeguarding authority to oversee Church safeguarding.
This autumn stakeholders will have opportunities to consider aspects of the detailed operating design, engage with the programme team, and meet the new Interim Chair.
Implementation of new safeguarding arrangements will happen in phases and will prioritise stability over speed to protect frontline capacity. The practical changes will be evaluated in real-world conditions and are likely to inform further refinements to the design over time. This iterative process will help to ensure that future legislation to make the arrangements mandatory is built on proven, robust practice…
More about Felicity Mitchell
Felicity qualified as a barrister and is currently an independent consultant working mainly in the ombudsman sector. From 2018 to 2023, she was Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education at the OIA, the ombuds scheme for higher education students in England and Wales. As Independent Adjudicator, Felicity led the OIA’s case-handling and outreach functions, including the development of the Good Practice Framework. She worked at the OIA for 19 years in various case-handling roles.
Felicity joined the Church of England Safeguarding Structures Programme in July 2025, joining the Programme Board in October 2025. She has co-chaired the Programme’s Policy and Assurance Advisory Group.
Felicity sits on the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales’ Advisory Panel, a non-statutory forum whose main role is to support the Ombudsman in providing leadership and good governance. She is the Independent Reviewer of Service Complaints for the Housing Ombudsman. She is an external member of the Academic Board of the University of Law.
Felicity is an active member of her local parish church, a trustee of a charity supporting women to become entrepreneurs in Uganda, and she volunteers for a local debt counselling charity.
The Dean of Rochester, the Very Reverend Dr Philip Hesketh, is to retire early on medical advice. Details are on the cathedral and diocesan websites.
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73 CommentsThe Church of England’s General Synod will meet in London next month. The papers were released today along with the following press release.
His Majesty The King to inaugurate 12th General Synod of the Church of England
29/10/2026
His Majesty The King will inaugurate the newly-elected General Synod of the Church of England at a ceremony in London on Tuesday, November 17.
It will be the first inauguration of a new Synod in The King’s reign and first in the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally’s tenure.
His Majesty will attend a service at Westminster Abbey before moving to the adjoining Church House, Westminster, where he will address the inauguration ceremony in the Synod chamber. Archbishop Sarah and the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, will also give addresses.
A total of 487 members will serve on the new Synod for its five-year term – the 12th since the body was created in 1970.
Voting took place over a three-week period earlier this autumn to elect the members of the Houses of Clergy and Laity and the suffragan members of the House of Bishops.
Following the inauguration, Synod will hold a short group of sessions which will include an update on safeguarding and discussions on subjects including the challenges of maintaining church buildings; funding the church’s mission and clergy wellbeing.
The General Synod is the national assembly of the Church of England. Its role includes considering and approving legislation affecting the whole of the Church of England, formulating new forms of worship, debating matters of national and international importance, and approving the annual budget for the work of the Church at a national level.
It replaced an earlier body known as the Church Assembly under the Synodical Government Measure 1969.
Updated 5 November The Church of England relaunched its website on 3 November. This broke most of the links in this article (and undoubtedly many more elsewhere). I have updated those below.
Detailed results, including voting figures, are now available on the Church of England’s website for the recent elections to General Synod.
Diocesan Election Results
Special Constituencies – Suffragan Bishops
Special Constituencies – Deans
Special Constituencies – Religious Communities
Special Constituencies – Universities and Theological Education Institutions
Members of General Synod 2026-2031
The diocesan results are also available on the individual diocesan websites, along with the election addresses of the successful candidates.
4 CommentsUpdated 5 November The Church of England relaunched its website on 3 November. This broke all the links in this article (and undoubtedly many more elsewhere). I have updated those below.
The Church of England’s General Synod will meet in London from 17 to 18 November. The agenda and papers for the meeting were released today.
There are links to the papers below the fold, grouped by the day on which they are due to be debated. There are also a number of GS Misc papers. (more…)
5 CommentsUpdated Saturday 31 October to add some reactions to the report.
Robin Gill and John Craven of The Centre for Anglican History and Theology at the Universities of Kent and Christ Church Canterbury have published this report: Wasted Money in a Diminishing Church: A Report on the Church of England
Madeleine Davies of the Church Times has written about it here: C of E heading for ‘financial disaster’ warn two academics.
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115 CommentsThe next Bishop of Jarrow in the diocese of Durham is to be the Reverend Dr Jitesh Patel. The announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office is copied below. There is more information on the diocesan website.
Appointment of the Suffragan Bishop of Jarrow: 23 October 2026
The King has approved the nomination of the Reverend Dr Jitesh Krisnakant Patel, MA, MPhys, PhD, to the Suffragan See of Jarrow, in the Diocese of Durham.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published: 23 October 2026
The King has approved the nomination of the Reverend Dr Jitesh Krisnakant Patel, MA, MPhys, PhD, Acting Director of St Mellitus College East Midlands and Associate Vicar at Holy Trinity Church, in the Diocese of Leicester, to the Suffragan See of Jarrow, in the Diocese of Durham, in succession to the Right Reverend Sarah Clark, MA, following her translation to the See of Ely.
Jitesh was educated at Jesus College, University of Oxford, and obtained his PhD through the Lambeth Research Degrees in Theology. He trained for ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He served his title at Christ Church, Abingdon, in the Diocese of Oxford and, in 2011, he was ordained Priest. In 2015, Jitesh was appointed Associate Vicar at St Jude’s Church, Southsea, in the Diocese of Portsmouth. From 2018, Jitesh served as Diocesan Director of Contextual Training, additionally serving as Associate Vicar (Training & Development) at Holy Trinity Church, in the Diocese of Leicester.
In 2019, Jitesh was appointed as Assistant Director and Lecturer in Theology at St Mellitus College East Midlands, alongside his role as Associate Vicar at Holy Trinity Church. Additionally, Jitesh currently serves on bishop’s council, on a national patronage board, as a board member of the 30K Project, and is an author.
Jitesh is married to Bridget, and they have two daughters.
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65 CommentsChurch of England bishops met informally this week, and issued the following press release.
Bishops’ Meeting – Monday October 12 to Wednesday October 14
14/10/2026
Bishops spend time reflecting on interfaith relationships, safeguarding and increasing vocations to ordained ministry among other topics at informal meeting of House members.
Following the dissolution of General Synod in July, the House of Bishops, as a house of the General Synod, is dissolved until November 17. In its absence a ‘Bishops’ Meeting’, at the invitation of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, took place in person from Monday October 12 to Wednesday October 14.
The meeting did not handle any of the formal business which has to be dealt with by the synodical House, such as approving formal guidance, but focussed on discussion of emerging work and matters of common concern across the Church.
(more…)
The Scottish Episcopal Church yesterday issued a statement, copied below, regarding the Diocese of Aberdeen & Orkney and its bishop
Statement regarding the Diocese of Aberdeen & Orkney
The Preliminary Proceedings Committee of the Scottish Episcopal Church has referred a complaint concerning the Rt Rev Anne Dyer, Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, to the Church’s Procurator under Canon 54, the Church’s clergy discipline canon.
The complaint concerns an alleged breach of the Code of Canons relating to the designation of a pro-cathedral in the Diocese of Aberdeen & Orkney. A pro-cathedral is a church designated to serve temporarily as a cathedral. The complaint is separate to those in the earlier Canon 54 process which concluded in 2024.
Under the Canons, Bishop Anne is automatically suspended from office, without loss of emoluments, pending the outcome of the proceedings. Suspension is an automatic procedural requirement at this stage and does not imply any finding of fault. Bishop Anne has been formally notified.
In accordance with Canon 6, Section 11, during the period of suspension the Primus shall act as Bishop of the Diocese, with full powers. The Primus has spoken with Bishop Anne, and arrangements for his episcopal oversight of the Diocese are currently being finalised.
Bishop Anne announced on 27 August that she will retire in February 2027, upon reaching the Church’s mandatory retirement age of 70.
The matter is now in the hands of the independent Procurator, and there is no fixed timescale for the process. As proceedings under Canon 54 are confidential and ongoing, the Church will be making no further comment at this stage.
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39 CommentsIn a statement, copied below, the diocese of Coventry has announced that the consecration of Canon Tim Lomax as the next Suffragan Bishop of Warwick has been postponed. Canon Lomax’s appointment was announced on 11 September.
60 CommentsBishop of Warwick — Important Update
The consecration of the Revd Canon Tim Lomax as Bishop of Warwick, previously scheduled for 6 November, has been postponed.
This follows advice that further enquiries should be undertaken following complaints which were received after the announcement. It should be stressed that at this early stage no findings have been made and no conclusions have been reached. Sufficient time will now be given for this assessment to be conducted. We are committed to taking seriously the experiences of all those involved, and I want to assure you that all concerned are receiving appropriate support.
We recognise that this will be disappointing news for many people across the Diocese of Coventry and beyond, particularly those who have been looking forward to welcoming Canon Lomax into this ministry.
We will share further news as soon as we are able, and ask that you keep this in your prayers.
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95 Comments