The Archdeacon of Bradford, the Ven. Dr David Lee, has described press reports saying that the diocese of Bradford is to be merged with neighbouring Ripon & Leeds as “premature speculation”.
A report in The Mail on Sunday alleged that the diocese was “facing the axe” and was to be “scrapped”. It cited the rise in the Muslim popÂulation of the city as a factor behind declining congregations, which meant that the Church was “strugÂgling to maintain a foothold”.
Archdeacon Lee said that the diocese was currently being exÂamined by the Dioceses ComÂmisÂsion, which last year set up a review of the bounÂdaries of the five Yorkshire dioceses (Bradford, Ripon & Leeds, Sheffield, Wakefield, and York).