Two years ago, Bishop Richard Frith started visiting the diocese of Winchester, shortly before his appointment as the Archbishop of Canterbury\u2019s Episcopal Commissary. The term that he uses to describe the people he met is \u201cshell-shocked\u201d.<\/p>\n
In September 2021, the month of the first visits, just two months had passed since the resignation of the Bishop of Winchester, Dr Tim Dakin (News, 23 July 2021). He had \u201cstepped back\u201d in the previous May (News, 20 May 2021), after the threat of a vote of no confidence in the diocesan synod. The motion referred to \u201callegations of poor behaviour and mistreatment on his part of a number of individuals\u201d, and described the governance and financial management of the diocese as \u201cunfit for purpose\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty unknown for such a thing to have happened,\u201d Bishop Frith recalls. \u201cWhat on earth was going to happen next? There was a lot of uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n
These were, indeed, unprecedented events. More than 40 members of the diocesan synod had supported the motion, while one of Dr Dakin\u2019s appointed suffragans, the Bishop of Basingstoke, the Rt Revd David Williams, had presented concerns to Lambeth Palace and the Bishop of London.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two years on from Bishop Tim Dakin\u2019s resignation & with a new Bishop appointed I\u2019ve got a long read in todays paper about the diocese of Winchester. As one person put it, there are many stories to be told https:\/\/t.co\/ZSspWN8XGh<\/a><\/p>\n — Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) September 8, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n