TheBishop of Ebbsfleet is asuffragan bishop who fulfils the role of aprovincial episcopal visitor in theChurch of England.[1] From its creation in 1994 to 2022, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet served traditionalist Anglo-Catholic parishes that are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests. Since 2023, the bishop has servedconservative evangelical parishes that reject the ordination and/or leadership of women due tocomplementarian beliefs.
The see was erected under theSuffragans Nomination Act 1888 byOrder in Council dated 8 February 1994[2] and licensed by theArchbishop of Canterbury as a "flying bishop" to provide episcopal oversight for parishes throughout the province which do not accept the sacramental ministry of bishops who have participated in theordination of women. The position is named afterEbbsfleet inThanet,Kent. In the southern province, the bishops of Ebbsfleet and of Richborough each ministered in 13 of the 40 dioceses; the Bishop of Ebbsfleet served the western 13 dioceses:Bath and Wells,Birmingham,Bristol,Coventry,Derby,Exeter,Gloucester,Hereford,Lichfield,Oxford,Salisbury,Truro andWorcester.[3] Until the creation of the suffraganSee of Richborough in 1995, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet served the entire area of the Province of Canterbury with the exceptions of the dioceses of London, Rochester and Southwark which came under the oversight of theBishop of Fulham.
Jonathan Goodall was announced as the fifth Bishop of Ebbsfleet on 2 August 2013.[4] His episcopal consecration took place on 25 September 2013 at Westminster Abbey. He had been the chaplain and ecumenical secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was the fourth of the five bishops to be affiliated with theSociety of the Holy Cross. On 3 September 2021 he resigned his episcopacy in order to be received into theRoman Catholic Church.[5]
In June 2022, it was announced that, from January 2023, oversight of traditionalist Anglo-Catholics in the west of Canterbury province (formerly the Bishop of Ebbsfleet's area) would be taken by a newBishop of Oswestry, suffragan to the Bishop of Lichfield. Oversight ofconservative evangelicals would be taken by the next Bishop of Ebbsfleet; theSee of Maidstone (the original conservative evangelical flying bishop) would be left vacant, available for other uses.[6] As such, from 2023, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet will provide alternative episcopal oversight to parishes who have passed resolutions that reject the ordination and/or leadership of women due tocomplementarian beliefs.[7] On 9 December 2022 the appointment was announced ofRob Munro as the next Bishop of Ebbsfleet[8][9] and he was consecrated bishop on 2 February 2023.[10]
| Bishops of Ebbsfleet (Traditionalist Anglo-Catholics) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 29 April 1994 | 31 October 1998 | John Richards | Retired; died November 2003 |
| December 1998 | 18 December 1999 | Michael HoughtonSSC | Died in office |
| 30 November 2000 | 31 December 2010 | Andrew BurnhamSSC | Resigned to become a Roman Catholic[11] |
| 16 June 2011 | 13 February 2013 | Jonathan BakerSSC | Translated toFulham |
| 25 September 2013 | 8 September 2021 | Jonathan GoodallSSC | Resigned to become a Roman Catholic[12] |
| 8 September 2021 | 2023 | vacant | |
| Bishops of Ebbsfleet (Conservative Evangelicals) | |||
| 2023 | present | Rob Munro | [10] |
| Source(s):[1] | |||
