(Church Times) C of E House of Bishops meets with its own vacancies on the agenda

The cost of long vacancies in sees was among the issues discussed by the House of Bishops at its meeting this week.

The meeting, held from Monday to Wednesday, focused on “discussion of emerging work and matters of common concern across the Church”, a summary provided by Church House, Westminster, said.

This included work being done on episcopal appointments. Bishops noted “the cost of long vacancies and shared experiences of identifying and encouraging candidates for episcopal ministry”. Nine sees are currently vacant, and, in recent years, the failure of the Crown Nominations Commission to appoint, the withdrawal of candidates, and suspension of bishops have resulted in suffragan bishops’ serving as acting bishops for longer periods of time.

In the General Synod, members have been raising concerns about the functioning of the system, and the backlog. In 2024, Archbishop Welby spoke of “unprecedented demand in the senior appointments system”.

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The cost of long vacancies in sees was among the issues discussed by the House of Bishops at its meeting this week #ChurchTimes #ChurchNews https://t.co/WfrWu2brU0

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 15, 2026