The Bishop of Loughborough is an episcopal title used by the sole suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Leicester in the Province of Canterbury, England.[1]

From 1987 to 2017, the Assistant Bishop of Leicester was an episcopal title used by the sole stipendiary assistant bishop (effectively suffragan bishop) of the Diocese of Leicester. The title took its name as the bishop who assisted the diocesan Bishop of Leicester. The role was created following the 1986 refusal of a request to create a suffragan bishop for the diocese, and was filled from then only with ad hoc funding arrangements for four bishops already in episcopal orders.[2] Boyle was the only incumbent to serve on a full-time basis.[3]

On 26 November 2016, Leicester Diocesan Synod approved a proposal to replace the Assistant Bishop post with a new suffragan bishop role of Bishop suffragan of Loughborough, following Boyle's retirement in 2017, with the expectation that this could be completed by the end of that year.[4][5] The proposal was accepted by General Synod in February 2017 and the See was erected by Order of the Privy Council on 12 April 2017.[6]

The bishop's residence is Bishop's House, Rothley, in Charnwood.[7]

List of bishops

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Assistant Bishops of Leicester
From Until Incumbent Notes
1987 1995 Godfrey Ashby
1995 2001 Bill Down Formerly Bishop of Bermuda[8]
2001 2005 vacant [2]
2005 2007 John Austin Retired Bishop of Aston
2007 2009 vacant [2]
2009 2017 Christopher Boyle Formerly the last British bishop of Northern Malawi;[9][10] from 6 September 2009;[3] retired 31 May 2017.[11]
Bishops of Loughborough
2017 2021 Guli Francis-Dehqani Consecrated 30 November 2017; translated to Chelmsford 11 March 2021[12]
2022 present Saju Muthalaly Consecrated 25 January 2022;[13] also part-time Assistant Bishop of Coventry during vacancy-in-see, since November 2023[14]

Other assistant bishops

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References

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  1. ^ Anglican Communion – Leicester
  2. ^ a b c "GS 2052 – Creation of suffragan see for the Diocese of Leicester p. 8, paragraphs 3 and 4" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  3. ^ a b "News: Bishop moves from Malawi to Leicester". Church Times. No. 7643. 11 September 2009. p. 6. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 1 February 2016 – via UK Press Online archives.
  4. ^ Diocese of Leicester – Synod supports creation of Suffragan Bishop (Accessed 19 December 2016)
  5. ^ David Pocklington, "A new suffragan see for Loughborough" in Law & Religion UK, 30 November 2016, [1]
  6. ^ Privy Council Office – Orders, 12 April 2017 (Accessed 27 April 2017)
  7. ^ "Anglican Communion: Position".
  8. ^ The Memoir Club – Bill Down
  9. ^ Conger – First African bishop of Northern Malawi consecrated
  10. ^ "Diocese of Leicester – Asst Bishop". Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  11. ^ Diocese of Leicester – Christopher announces retirement (Accessed 20 January 2017)
  12. ^ "Diocese of Leicester – Persian woman appointed as first Bishop of Loughborough". Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  13. ^ "Bells ring out as Saju and Lusa are consecrated bishops at St Paul's Cathedral". Diocese of Leicester. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Bishop Saju to support Coventry Diocese during Vacancy-in-See". Diocese of Leicester. 13 September 2023. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.