List of bishops in the Church of England

As there are 42 dioceses of the Church of England, there are 42 bishops diocesan (including vacancies). Of the 42: both archbishops and the Bishops of London, of Durham and of Winchester, sit in the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual ex officio; a further 21 sit there by seniority (of whom six had their seniority accelerated); the Bishop of Sodor and Man sits ex officio in the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man and also in Tynwald Court; fourteen diocesans are not currently Lords Spiritual; and the Bishop in Europe is ineligible to be a Lord Spiritual. Lords Spiritual ex officio Lords Spiritual by virtue of seniority of service Until 2015, the 21 longest-serving among the remaining diocesan bishops were eligible to sit in the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual. Since women became eligible as bishops in 2015, female diocesan bishops take precedence over male ones whenever a new vacancy in the Lords arises, in accordance with the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (originally in force until 17 May 2025, extended in 2025 by five more years until 18 May 2030). Other diocesan bishops Acting diocesan bishops :Acting diocesan bishops, properly called episcopal commissaries, are referred to by a wide variety of informal titles. For simplicity, this article refers only to the Acting Bishop of Somewhere. ==Suffragan bishops==

, there are 73 bishops suffragan. Of the 73: one, the Bishop of Dover, acts as a diocesan bishop; one, the Bishop of Islington, has a national role (though often focused in London); five bishops provide Alternative Episcopal Oversight (to parishes who reject the presbyteral and/or episcopal ministry of women); 20 are area bishops; and the remaining 46 are deployed in suffragan roles across their diocese (or have informal portfolios or geographical responsibility). ==Other bishops==

, there are sixteen people in active ministry (i.e. not retired) in the Church of England who are in episcopal orders but not in episcopal posts in the Church of England. • Jonathan Ruhumuliza, former Bishop of Cameroon (Church of the Province of West Africa) and of Kigali (Anglican Church of Rwanda; consecrated 1991), has been in parish ministry in England since 2005 • Pete Broadbent, former Bishop of Willesden (consecrated 2001), has been Bishop's Adviser (2030 Vision) in the Diocese of London since 1 October 2021. • Saulo Barros, former Bishop of The Amazon (Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil; consecrated 2006) is Priest-in-Charge of St Martin's Church, Plaistow. • Humphrey Southern, former Bishop of Repton (consecrated 2007) has been Principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon since 2015 • Anthony Poggo, former Bishop of Kajo-Keji (Episcopal Church of South Sudan; consecrated 2007), has been based at Lambeth Palace since 2016: as the Archbishop of Canterbury's Advisor on Anglican Communion Affairs until 2022 and as Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council since • Christopher Cocksworth, former Bishop of Coventry (consecrated 2008), has been Dean of Windsor since 2023 • Mark Sowerby, former Bishop of Horsham (consecrated 2009), has been Principal of the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield, since 2019 • Mark Rylands, former Bishop of Shrewsbury (consecrated 2009), has been a parish priest in Devon since 2018 • Chris Goldsmith, former Bishop of St Germans (consecrated 2013), has been based at Church House, Westminster as national Director of Ministry since 2019 • Rob Gillion, former Bishop of Riverina (Anglican Church of Australia; consecrated 2014), has been Vicar of Streatham Christ Church and Associate Bishop for the Arts in the Diocese of Southwark since 2020 • Graham Tomlin, former area Bishop of Kensington (consecrated 2015), has been leading the Centre for Cultural Witness since 2022 • Rob Wickham, former area Bishop of Edmonton (consecrated 2015), has been the CEO of Church Urban Fund since July 2023. • Anne Hollinghurst, former Bishop of Aston (consecrated 2015), has been Principal of The Queen's Foundation, Edgbaston, and an honorary assistant bishop in the neighbouring Diocese of Lichfield (and member of that diocese's House of Bishops) since September 2024. • Jan McFarlane, former Bishop of Repton (consecrated 2016), has been Dean of Lichfield since 2024. • Jo Bailey Wells, former Bishop of Dorking (consecrated 2016), has been "Bishop for Episcopal Ministry" at the Anglican Communion Office since January 2023. • Anthony Ball, part-time bishop (consecrated 2021) in the Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria. is a Canon of Westminster and has been Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative to the Holy See since 2025. ==House of Bishops==

The membership of the General Synod's House of Bishops is: • All 42 bishops diocesan (or as many as are in post) • The Bishop suffragan of Dover (as a quasi-diocesan bishop; Rose Hudson-Wilkin, since 2019) and the Bishop to the Forces (Hugh Nelson, Bishop of Worcester; since 2021) • 9 bishops suffragan (5 from Canterbury province; 4 from York) elected by and from among all the bishops suffragan. :The following have been elected to serve in the Convocations for 2021–2026: • Martin Gorick, Bishop suffragan of Dudley (since 2021) • Jill Duff, Bishop suffragan of Lancaster (since 2022) • Julie Conalty, Bishop suffragan of Birkenhead (since 2023) • Stephen Race, Bishop suffragan of Beverley (since 2023) • Robert Springett, Bishop suffragan of Tewkesbury (since 2026) • Karen Gorham, Bishop suffragan of Sherborne (since 2026) • one southern vacancy vice Hollinghurst • one northern vacancy vice Mason Acting diocesan bishops (commissaries) also attend but do not vote (unless they happen to hold a vote as an elected representative suffragan) at meetings of the House. The four "provincial episcopal visitors" (the Bishops suffragan of Richborough, of Ebbsfleet, of Oswestry and of Beverley) may attend and speak, but are not members and may not vote — unless they are elected as representative suffragans (as Beverley is). Since 1 December 2016 six female bishops suffragan are "[given] rights of attendance". They are: • Alison White, Bishop suffragan of Hull • Ruth Worsley, Bishop suffragan of Wigan • Karen Gorham, Bishop suffragan of Sherborne • one vacancy vice Hartley • one vacancy vice Bailey Wells • one vacancy vice Hollinghurst ==Scheduled Crown Nominations Committee (CNC) meetings==

The following meetings of the Crown Nominations Commission have been held since 2020, with the outcomes listed: ==See also==

==Resignations and retirements==

Bishops are generally required to retire at age 70, but may continue in office for longer (up to a maximum of 75) by direction of their superior (the archbishop for diocesan bishops, the diocesan bishop for suffragan bishops). ==Notes==