Bishop of Coventry
Encyclopedia
Ordinary
In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...
of the England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
Diocese of Coventry
Diocese of Coventry
The Diocese of Coventry is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Coventry, who sits at Coventry Cathedral in Coventry, and is assisted by one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Warwick. The diocese covers Coventry and Warwickshire.The diocese is...
in the Province of Canterbury
Province of Canterbury
The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England...
. In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichfield
Bishop of Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 4,516 km² of the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed...
.
The present diocese covers most of the County of Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. The see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
is in the City of Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Michael
Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Christopher Cocksworth....
. The Bishop's residence is The Bishop's House, Coventry.
History
From 1102 to 1238, the former BenedictineBenedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
in the city was the seat of the early Bishops of Coventry (previously known as Bishops of Chester
Bishop of Chester
The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.The diocese expands across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the City of Chester where the seat is located at the Cathedral...
or of Lichfield
Bishop of Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 4,516 km² of the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed...
). It was, afterwards, one of the two seats of the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield until the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
of the 1530s when Coventry Cathedral was demolished and the bishop's seat moved to Lichfield
Diocese of Lichfield
The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers 4,516 km² The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England...
, though the title remained as Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry until 1837, when Coventry was united with the Diocese of Worcester
Anglican Diocese of Worcester
The Diocese of Worcester forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.The diocese was founded in around 679 by St Theodore of Canterbury at Worcester to minister to the kingdom of the Hwicce, one of the many Anglo Saxon petty-kingdoms of that time...
.
Suffragan Bishops
In the late nineteenth century there were two Suffragan BishopSuffragan bishop
A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. He or she may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own.-Anglican Communion:...
s to the Bishop of Worcester
John James Stewart Perowne
John James Stewart Perowne was an English bishop. Born in Burdwan, Bengal, Perowne was a member of a notable clerical family, whose origins were Hugenot....
who took the title Bishop of Coventry
| List of Suffragan Bishops of Coventry | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Incumbent | From | Until | Notes |
| 1 | Henry Bowlby | 1891 | 1894 | (1823–1894) |
| 2 | Edmund Knox | 1894 | 1903 | (1847–1937). Translated Translation (ecclesiastical) Translation is the technical term when a Bishop is transferred from one diocese to another.This can be* From Suffragan Bishop status to Diocesan Bishop*From Coadjutor bishop to Diocesan Bishop*From one country's Episcopate to another... to Manchester Bishop of Manchester The Bishop of Manchester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester in the Province of York.The current bishop is the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, the 11th Lord Bishop of Manchester, who signs Nigel Manchester. The bishop's official residence is Bishopscourt, Bury New Road,... |
| – | no appointment | 1903 | 1918 | |
| In 1918, the see of Coventry was revivied | ||||
Bishops of the modern Diocese
The diocese was revived in 1918 under King George VGeorge V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
when the parish church of Saint Michael was elevated to cathedral status. The cathedral suffered under fire-bombing by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
on the night of 14 November 1940 and remains today as a dignified ruin adjacent to the new cathedral building consecrated on 25 May 1962. The 8th Lord Bishop of Coventry was the Right Reverend Colin James Bennetts, who retired on 31 January 2008.
The Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth
Christopher Cocksworth
Christopher John Cocksworth is a Church of England cleric in the open evangelical tradition. He is the current Bishop of Coventry. He is the youngest serving diocesan bishop in the Church of England. He was consecrated as bishop in Southwark Cathedral, London on 3 July 2008 and was enthroned on...
was ordained and consecrated as the 9th Lord Bishop of Coventry on 3 July 2008 at Southwark Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge....
. He was enthroned and received into the diocese during a service at Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Christopher Cocksworth....
on 1 November 2008. Dr Cocksworth was previously Principal of Ridley Hall, part of the Cambridge Federation of Theological Colleges.
| List of Bishops of the modern Diocese of Coventry | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Incumbent | From | Until | Notes |
| 1 | Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs | 1918 | 1922 | (1845–1922). Translated from Worcester Bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury... |
| 2 | Charles Carre | 1922 | 1931 | (1871–1942). Translated to Hereford Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is... |
| 3 | Mervyn Haigh | 1931 | 1943 | (1887–1962). Translated to Winchester Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and... |
| 4 | Neville Gorton | 1943 | 1952 | (1888–1955) |
| 5 | Cuthbert Bardsley Cuthbert Bardsley Cuthbert Killick Norman Bardsley CBE was the Anglican Bishop of Coventry from 1956 to 1976.- Early life :He was born on 28 March 1907, the younger son of a Church of England Canon. He was educated at Eton and New College, Oxford. He died in 1991.... |
1952 | 1976 | (1907–1991). Translated from Croydon Bishop of Croydon The Bishop of Croydon is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Southwark, in the Province of Canterbury, England.... |
| 6 | John Gibbs John Gibbs (Bishop) John Gibbs was an Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Coventry in the Church of England from 1976 until 1985. He was the first Church of England bishop in modern times to have started his ministry in the nonconformist tradition.... |
1976 | 1985 | (1917–2007). Translated from Bradwell Bishop of Bradwell The Bishop of Bradwell is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford, in the Province of Canterbury, England... |
| 7 | Simon Barrington-Ward Simon Barrington-Ward Simon Barrington-Ward KCMG is a Church of England bishop.Barrington-Ward is the son of a former editor of The Times, Robert McGowan Barrington-Ward and Margaret Adele Barrington-Ward. He was educated at Eton College and Magdalene College, Cambridge, from which he graduated Bachelor of Arts and... |
1985 | 1998 | (b.1930) |
| 8 | Colin Bennetts Colin Bennetts Colin James Bennetts is a British Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Coventry.The son of James Thomas Bennetts and Winifred Couldrey, he was educated at Battersea Grammar School, at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in modern and medieval languages and... |
1998 | 2008 | (b.1940). Translated from Buckingham Bishop of Buckingham The Bishop of Buckingham is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name from the historic county town of Buckingham.... |
| 9 | Christopher Cocksworth Christopher Cocksworth Christopher John Cocksworth is a Church of England cleric in the open evangelical tradition. He is the current Bishop of Coventry. He is the youngest serving diocesan bishop in the Church of England. He was consecrated as bishop in Southwark Cathedral, London on 3 July 2008 and was enthroned on... |
2008 | present | (b.1959) |
External links
- Listings—Crockford's Clerical DirectoryCrockford's Clerical DirectoryCrockford's Clerical Directory is the authoritative directory of the Anglican Communion in the UK, containing details of English, Welsh and Irish benefices and churches, and biographies of around 26,000 clergy...
----