__NOTOC__ The Bishop of Oswestry is a suffragan bishop of the

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

who fulfils the role of a

provincial episcopal visitor A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction, "are unable to receive the ministry of ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Background

Following the first ordinations of women in 1993 to the priesthood in the Church of England, Bishops suffragan of Ebbsfleet and of Richborough were appointed "proverbial episcopal visitors" - known as "flying bishops" - to provide episcopal oversight for parishes throughout the province of Canterbury which reject the ministry of bishops who have participated in the ordination of women.

Creation of bishopric

In June 2022, it was announced that, from January 2023, oversight of traditional Catholics in the west of Canterbury province (formerly the Bishop of Ebbsfleet's area) would be taken by a new Bishop of Oswestry, suffragan to the Bishop of Lichfield; while oversight of conservative Evangelicals (formerly the duties of a Bishop suffragan of Maidstone) would be taken by the next Bishop of Ebbsfleet. The Bishop of Oswestry is to serve the western 13 dioceses of the southern province ( Bath and Wells,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, Exeter,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, Hereford,

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

, and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

). On 2 December 2022, it was announced that Paul Thomas, Vicar of

St James's Church, Paddington St James' Church Paddington, also known as St James' Church Sussex Gardens, is a Church of England parish church in Paddington, London, in the United Kingdom. It is the parish church of Paddington. It is located at the western end of Sussex Garde ...

, is to be the first Bishop of Oswestry; he will be consecrated in February 2023.

Controversy

The choice of Oswestry as name of the see was publicly criticised by Oswestry town councillor, Jonathon Upton, who in a letter to the Bishop of Lichfield, protested: "The response received to this announcement in Oswestry is one of upset and anger. The people of Oswestry feel deeply unhappy that our town's name is being used by the Anglican church as a tool of appeasing the opponents of gender equality and modern interpretation of the scripture." He reported St Oswald's Parish Church had declared it supported female clergy or clergy from the LGBT community working with it, and that apart from St Oswald's and the other parish church in the town, ordained women were serving the remainder of the area's rural parishes as vicars.Report by Sue Austin.

List of bishops

References

External links