The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is the Ordinary 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 ...

Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich The Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is a Church of England diocese based in Ipswich, covering Suffolk (excluding Lowestoft). The cathedral is St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and the bishop is the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. It is part ...

in the

Province of Canterbury The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses). Overview The Province consist ...

. The current bishop is

Martin Seeley Martin Alan Seeley (born 29 May 1954) is a British Church of England bishop. Since May 2015, he has been the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. From 2006 to 2015, he was the Principal of Westcott House, Cambridge. Early life and education S ...

. The Bishop's residence is the Bishop's House, Ipswich — a little to the north of the town centre.

History

Under the

Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in the d ...

, the title ''

Bishop of Ipswich The Bishop of Ipswich was an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich, in the Province of Canterbury, England.''Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). ...

'' was created in 1536, but it fell into

abeyance Abeyance (from the Old French ''abeance'' meaning "gaping") is a state of expectancy in respect of property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. ...

following the first holder surrendering the office in 1538.. In 1899, the title was revived with two suffragan bishops of Ipswich appointed to assist the diocesan

bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher. The see is in t ...

. Through reorganisation in the

, the Diocese of Saint Edmundsbury and Ipswich was established by

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...

in 1913 under

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

. The bishop's and the diocesan offices are located in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

, while the bishop's seat is located at St Edmundsbury Cathedral in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton ...

. Since 1934, the bishops of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich have been assisted by the suffragan

bishops of Dunwich A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in overseeing the diocese.

List of bishops

Assistant bishops

Among those who have served the diocese as assistant bishops have been: *in 1921, Cecil Wood, Rector of

Witnesham Witnesham is a village situated roughly to the north of Ipswich, Suffolk. The main road from Ipswich that links the village to the town is the B1077, Westerfield Road. History It is in the Domesday Book as 'Wytenesham’ (Witta's/Witten's meado ...

and former

Bishop of Melanesia The Archbishop of Melanesia is the spiritual head of the Church of the Province of Melanesia, which is a province of the Anglican Communion in the South Pacific region, covering the nations of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. From 1861 until the inaugu ...

, served as archbishop's commissary (i.e. acting diocesan bishop) *1931–1934:

Maxwell Maxwell-Gumbleton Maxwell Homfray Maxwell-Gumbleton (born Maxwell Homfray Smith; 17 June 1872 – 1 February 1952) was an Anglican bishop in the first half of the 20th century. Maxwell-Gumbleton was born into a legal family. His father was a Puisne Judge in Jam ...

Archdeacon of Sudbury The Archdeacon of Sudbury is a senior cleric in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy in its five rural deaneries; Clare, Ixworth, Lavenham, Sudbury and Thingoe. ...

from 1932 and former Bishop of Ballarat, became first Bishop suffragan of Dunwich

References

Bibliography

* * {{Anglican Bishops & Archbishops - Great Britain Saint Edmundsbury and Ipswich

Bishops of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich