Bishop of Penrith Appointed Bishop to the Archbishops
In a novel move, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have appointed the Bishop of Penrith as their personal bishop. The Rt Revd Dr Emma Ineson will commence her new role on 1 June.
The archbishops have delegated the responsibility for planning the programme of the next Lambeth Conference to Dr Ineson.
The joint statement making the appointment public said:
“Bishop Emma will work directly for both Archbishops and closely with the whole College of Bishops. As a senior member of the Archbishops’ teams, she will play a key role in work being done on the future of the Church of England, appointments and liaising with the House of Bishops.
“She will also have specific oversight of the programme for the 2022 Lambeth Conference, having been chair of the conference’s working group since last year. She will not be Bishop to the Forces or Episcopal Commissary to the Falkland Islands, roles currently performed by the Bishop at Lambeth.
“Bishop Emma has been the Bishop of Penrith in the Diocese of Carlisle since 2019. Prior to that she was Principal of Trinity College. She is author of two books – Busy Living: Blessing not burden (Continuum) and Ambition: What Jesus said about power, success and counting stuff (SPCK). She is married to Mat. They have two adult children and two black dogs.
“Bishop Emma said: “I am absolutely delighted to be taking up this new role at such a time of great opportunity and challenge for the Church of England, as we emerge from the Covid pandemic. I am very much looking forward to working with the Archbishops and their teams at Lambeth and Bishopthorpe to enable the work of healing, renewal and hope that will be needed in the Church, and in wider society, in the coming years. We have good news to share in Jesus, and it will be a privilege to play whatever part I can in ensuring that good news is heard and received by all.”
Dr Ineson is described as a conservative. One cleric said, “She is more theologically astute than either of the archbishops.”
Given that she will be in charge of planning the programme for the next Lambeth Conference it will take time to see how the appointment will play in the broader Anglican Communion. At press time, no response has been offered by those bishops representing the 70% of the Anglicans around the world which do not accept the ministry of women bishops. It is also unclear as to how her appointment better enables the “mutual flourishing” of conservatives within the Church of England who hold a complementarian view regarding women’s roles in ministry.
At present, there is no diocesan bishop within the Church of England who maintains the complementarian view.
