Bishop of Gloucester to Stand down Immediately for "Personal Reasons"

Gloucestershire Echo
August 5, 2014

http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Bishop-Gloucester-stand-immediately-personal/story-22055032-detail/story.html

The Bishop of Gloucester Michael Perham

The Bishop of Gloucester has announced he will stand down from his role with immediate effect.

The Rt Revd Michael Perham has cited "personal reasons" prompting the fast-forwarding of his exit from the Church of England – he was due to retire in November after 10 years of service.

He was due to retire to Wells and announced earlier this year that he would also step down from his position in the House of Lords.

It is expected that the Bishop of Tewkesbury,Martyn Snow, will perform Bishop Michael's duties in his absence.

He was also due to attend First World War centenary commemoration services this weekend.

With the centenary of the start of the Great War on Monday, there will be services across the county this weekend and next week.

On Sunday Gloucester Cathedral will be packed as people pay their respects from 3pm onwards.

Bishop Michael has served in six full time posts in the Church of England, before taking up the post of Bishop of Gloucester in 2004.

He was Curate at St Mary’s Addington in Croydon from 1976 to 1981, Chaplain to Bishop John V Taylor in Winchester from 1981 to 1984, Rector of the Oakdale Team Ministry in Poole from 1984 to 1992, Precentor, Canon Residentiary and Vice Dean of Norwich Cathedral from 1992 to 1998, Provost and later Dean of Derby from 1998 to 2004.

Born in 1947, Bishop Michael grew up in Dorchester and read Theology at Keble College, Oxford.

He prepared for ordination at Cuddesdon College and was ordained deacon 1976 and priest in 1977.

The process for finding the next bishop will take just under a year with the announcement to take place in the late spring of 2015.

A new bishop was due to start the role around summer or early autumn of 2015.

The Bishop of Gloucester is a significant figure.

He is the Chief Pastor of the 600,000 inhabitants of his diocese, which runs from the Welsh border in the west to Lechlade in the east and from beyond Chipping Campden in the north to Chipping Sodbury in the south.

The diocese has 327 parishes, 390 churches and 116 church schools.