The Bishop of Ebbsfleet is a suffragan bishop who fulfils the role of a provincial episcopal visitor in the Church of England.[1] From its creation in 1994 to 2022, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet served traditionalist Anglo-Catholic parishes that reject the ordination of women as priests and bishops. Since 2023, the bishop has served conservative evangelical parishes that reject the ordination and/or leadership of women due to complementarian beliefs.
Jonathan Goodall was announced as the fifth Bishop of Ebbsfleet on 2 August 2013.[4] His episcopal consecration took place on 25 September 2013 at Westminster Abbey. He had been the chaplain and ecumenical secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was the fourth of the five bishops to be affiliated with the Society of the Holy Cross. On 3 September 2021 he resigned his episcopacy in order to be received into the Roman Catholic Church.[5]
Conservative evangelical bishop
In June 2022, it was announced that, from January 2023, oversight of traditionalist Anglo-Catholics in the west of Canterbury province (formerly the Bishop of Ebbsfleet's area) would be taken by a new Bishop of Oswestry, suffragan to the Bishop of Lichfield. Oversight of conservative evangelicals would be taken by the next Bishop of Ebbsfleet; the See of Maidstone (the original conservative evangelical flying bishop) would be left vacant, available for other uses.[6] As such, from 2023, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet will provide alternative episcopal oversight to parishes who have passed resolutions that reject the ordination and/or leadership of women due to complementarian beliefs.[7] On 9 December 2022 the appointment was announced of Rob Munro as the next Bishop of Ebbsfleet[8][9] and he was consecrated bishop on 2 February 2023.[10]
List of bishops
Bishops of Ebbsfleet (Traditionalist Anglo-Catholics)