The Bishop to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York is a position within the hierarchy of 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 Brit ...

. It is a non-diocesan appointment in which a bishop acts as head of staff or general assistant to the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

and to the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers ...

. It was created in 2021 to replace the former role Bishop at Lambeth, who assisted only the Archbishops of Canterbury. On 19 April 2021, it was announced that

Emma Ineson Emma Gwynneth Ineson, (born 1969) is a British Anglican bishop and academic, specialising in practical theology. Since 2021, she has served as " Bishop to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York", i.e. assistant bishop on the staffs of both archbi ...

, then Bishop suffragan of Penrith, was to move to

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposit ...

, to become "Bishop to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York". She took up the appointment on 1 June 2021, and her new role replaces that of Bishop at Lambeth as episcopal assistant to

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for ...

. The new role also includes assisting

Stephen Cottrell Stephen Geoffrey Cottrell (born 31 August 1958) is a Church of England bishop. Since 9 July 2020, he has been the Archbishop of York and Primate of England; the second-most senior bishop of the church and the most senior in northern England. He ...

, coordinating between Lambeth and Bishopthorpe, and overseeing the

Lambeth Conference The Lambeth Conference is a decennial assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first such conference took place at Lambeth in 1867. As the Anglican Communion is an international association ...

2022 programme. On 15 December 2022, it was announced that Ineson is to become the next

Bishop of Kensington The Bishop of Kensington is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The Bishop of Kensington is responsible for a part of Greater London, including Kensington, ...

(an area bishop in the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames. For centuries the diocese covered a vast tract and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the nort ...

) in "spring 2023".

Past and present bishops

References

Church of England bishops Non-diocesan Anglican bishops Anglican episcopal offices {{Anglican-stub