Provincial episcopal visitor

A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction,^[1]"are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests."^[2]

The system by which said bishops provide certain churches with oversight is referred to as Alternative Episcopal Oversight (AEO).^[3]

History

The Church of England ordained its first women priests in 1994. According to acts of the General Synod passed the previous year, if a parish does not accept the ministry of women priests it can formally request that none be appointed to minister to it. Likewise, if the local bishop has participated in the ordination of women as priests, a parish can request to be under the pastoral and sacramental care of another bishop who has not participated in such ordinations. In such a case the parish still remains in the diocese of the local diocesan bishop, at whose invitation the "flying bishop" makes his visitation.

On 4 December 2014, it was announced that the see of Maidstone would be filled again in order to provide a further provincial episcopal visitor for particular conservative evangelical members of the Church of England who take a minority view on "headship".^[4]

The act empowers the metropolitans of the Church of England's two provinces to appoint provincial episcopal visitors as suffragan bishops whose main purpose is to be available for such visits to parishes across the province. Accordingly, four PEV bishops have been appointed across the two provinces.

In December 2010, the then-bishops of Richborough and Ebbsfleet resigned to join the Roman Catholic Church. On 5 May 2011, their successors as PEVs were announced.^[5]

List of PEV bishops

Province of Canterbury

In the Province of Canterbury:

The Bishop suffragan of Richborough: Norman Banks^[6]
The Bishop suffragan of Ebbsfleet: Jonathan Goodall^[7]
The Bishop suffragan of Maidstone: Rod Thomas^[8]^[9]
Diocese of London: the bishop has designated the suffragan Bishop of Fulham (Jonathan Baker). Additionally, he performs a similar role as an assistant bishop licensed in the neighbouring diocese of Southwark. During the 2010–13 vacancy in the see of Fulham, those duties were temporarily assigned to then-Bishop of Edmonton Peter Wheatley.

Province of York

In the Province of York:

The Bishop suffragan of Beverley: Glyn Webster^[10]

As of 1 April 2015^[update], the Bishop of Beverley ministered in 10 of the 12 dioceses in the northern province. The other two dioceses use different suffragan bishops:

Leeds: the area Bishop of Wakefield (Tony Robinson)^[11]
Blackburn: the Bishop of Burnley (Philip North)^[12]

Oversight areas

Until the appointment of Paul Ferguson in 2014, the Bishop of Whitby provided AEO in York diocese; with Ferguson's appointment that oversight lapses to the Bishop of Beverley as PEV.^[13] Following the retirement of John Goddard, Bishop of Burnley, on 19 July 2014, it was announced that Philip North would be consecrated as the next Bishop of Burnley on 2 February 2015 and would have AEO in the dioceses of Blackburn and Carlisle; however, while North is now listed as the AEO bishop for Blackburn diocese, Webster is listed for Carlisle.^[14]

As of 2016^[update], in the southern province, the bishops of Ebbsfleet and of Richborough together minister in 27 of the 30 dioceses. Of the three remaining dioceses, London and Southwark are ministered to by the Bishop of Fulham and Chichester by its diocesan bishop. The Bishop of Ebbsfleet serves the western 13 dioceses (Bath and Wells, Birmingham, Bristol, Coventry, Derby, Exeter, Gloucester, Hereford, Lichfield, Oxford, Salisbury, Truro and Worcester)^[15] while the Bishop of Richborough serves the eastern half (Canterbury, Chelmsford, Ely, Europe, Guildford, St Edmundsbury & Ipswich, Leicester, Lincoln, Norwich, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Rochester, St Albans and Winchester).^[16]

As of 19 December 2016^[update], 71 parishes have passed resolutions for conservative evangelical reasons; 31 of these have requested AEO from the Bishop of Maidstone.^[17] Rod Thomas is an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Chelmsford.^[18]

Church in Wales

In the Church in Wales, David Thomas was appointed to the comparable office of Provincial Assistant Bishop in 1996 when the province voted to ordain women to the priesthood. No successor was appointed when Thomas retired in 2008.^[19]

References

^ "I think that the problem is for those who are not content with the idea that we should go forward along the line of ordaining women as bishops, the problem is not one of opinion, it's rather of obedience. It's one of obedience to scripture, or obedience to the consensus of the Church Catholic." Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury website., Accessed 7 June 2015.
^ "Since those within the Church of England who, on grounds of theological conviction, are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests continue to be within the spectrum of teaching and tradition of the Anglican Communion, the Church of England remains committed to enabling them to flourish within its life and structures;" the fourth of the Guiding Principles [1] (Accessed 7 June 2015)
^ Modern Church – When is a bishop not a bishop (Accessed 22 February 2013)
^ Thinking Anglicans – Appointment of a bishop who takes a conservative evangelical view on headship, Accessed 4 December 2014.
^ Diocese of Canterbury — New Provincial Episcopal Visitors
^ Number 10 — Suffragan See of Richborough
^ Bishop of Ebbsfleet (Accessed 2 August 2013)
^ Lambeth Palace – Suffragan Bishop of Maidstone announced (Accessed 5 May 2015)
^ Rod Thomas Consecrated as Bishop of Maidstone in Canterbury Cathedral (Accessed 27 October 2015)
^ Number 10 – Suffragan See of Beverley
^ [2]
^ [3]
^ [4]
^ [5]
^ See of Ebbsflett
^ Richborough Episcopal Area – Directory
^ "Christmas 2016 Newsletter" (pdf). bishopofmaidstone.org. December 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
^ "Bishops, Dean and Archdeacons". chelmsford.anglican.org. Diocese of Chelmsford. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
^ Church in Wales press release

External links

[1] "I think that the problem is for those who are not content with the idea that we should go forward along the line of ordaining women as bishops, the problem is not one of opinion, it's rather of obedience. It's one of obedience to scripture, or obedience to the consensus of the Church Catholic." Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury website., Accessed 7 June 2015.

[2] "Since those within the Church of England who, on grounds of theological conviction, are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests continue to be within the spectrum of teaching and tradition of the Anglican Communion, the Church of England remains committed to enabling them to flourish within its life and structures;" the fourth of the Guiding Principles [1] (Accessed 7 June 2015)

[3] Modern Church – When is a bishop not a bishop (Accessed 22 February 2013)

[maid-pev-4] Thinking Anglicans – Appointment of a bishop who takes a conservative evangelical view on headship, Accessed 4 December 2014.

[canpev-5] Diocese of Canterbury — New Provincial Episcopal Visitors

[rich-6] Number 10 — Suffragan See of Richborough

[7] Bishop of Ebbsfleet (Accessed 2 August 2013)

[thomas-8] Lambeth Palace – Suffragan Bishop of Maidstone announced (Accessed 5 May 2015)

[9] Rod Thomas Consecrated as Bishop of Maidstone in Canterbury Cathedral (Accessed 27 October 2015)

[10] Number 10 – Suffragan See of Beverley

[11] [2]

[12] [3]

[13] [4]

[14] [5]

[15] See of Ebbsflett

[16] Richborough Episcopal Area – Directory

[17] "Christmas 2016 Newsletter" (pdf). bishopofmaidstone.org. December 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2016.

[18] "Bishops, Dean and Archdeacons". chelmsford.anglican.org. Diocese of Chelmsford. Retrieved 24 November 2016.

[19] Church in Wales press release

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