The Bishop of Coventry is the ordinary of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

Diocese of Coventry in the

Province of Canterbury The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses). Overview The Province consist ...

. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

was a title used by the bishops known today as the

Bishop of Lichfield The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and W ...

. The present diocese covers most of the County of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...

. The see is in the

City of Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Michael. The Bishop's residence is Bishop's House, Coventry.

History

From 1102 to 1238, the former

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Priory and Cathedral of St Mary in the city was the seat of the early Bishops of Coventry (previously known as Bishops of Chester or of Lichfield). It was, afterwards, one of the two seats of the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield until the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

of the 1530s when Coventry (St Mary's) Cathedral was demolished and the bishop's seat moved to

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

, though the title remained as Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry until 1837, when Coventry was united with the Diocese of Worcester.

Bishops of the modern diocese

The diocese was revived in 1918 under

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

when the parish church of Saint Michael was elevated to cathedral status. The cathedral suffered under fire-bombing by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

on the night of 14 November 1940 and remains today as a dignified ruin adjacent to the new cathedral building consecrated on 25 May 1962. The 8th Bishop of Coventry was

Colin Bennetts Colin James Bennetts (9 September 1940 – 10 July 2013) was a British Anglican bishop. He was the 8th Bishop of Coventry from 1998 to 2008. The son of James Thomas Bennetts and Winifred Couldrey, he was educated at Battersea Grammar School ...

, who retired on 31 January 2008.

Christopher Cocksworth Christopher John Cocksworth (born 12 January 1959) is a Church of England bishop in the open evangelical tradition. He is the current Bishop of Coventry; prior to becoming bishop he was the Principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge. Early life and ...

was ordained and consecrated as the 9th Bishop of Coventry on 3 July 2008 at

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark ...

. He was enthroned and received into the diocese during a service at

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The cur ...

on 1 November 2008. Cocksworth was previously Principal of

Ridley Hall Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and member ...

, part of the Cambridge Federation of Theological Colleges.

Assistant bishops

Among those who have served as assistant bishops of the diocese have been: *1937–1952: Richard Heywood, retired

Bishop of Mombasa The Anglican dioceses of Mombasa are the Anglican presence in and around Mombasa and south-east Kenya; they are part of the Anglican Church of Kenya. The remaining dioceses of the Church are in the areas of Maseno, of Mount Kenya, and of Nakuru. ...

*1952–1959: Nathaniel Newnham Davis, Rector of Ladbroke and former

Bishop of Antigua The Anglican Diocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba was originally established in 1842 as the Diocese of Antigua and the Leeward Islands when the Anglican Diocese of Barbados, then with the Diocese of Jamaica, one of the two dioceses covering ...

*1960–1980: John McKie, Rector of

Berkswell Berkswell ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, county of West Midlands, England. Historically in Warwickshire, Berkswell is situated in the rural east of the borough, approximately 2 miles (3.25 k ...

(until 1966), Vicar of

Great Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

and Little Packington (from 1966) and former Bishop of Geelong *1968–1975 (ret.): John Daly, Priest-in-charge of Honington with

Idlicote Idlicote is a small settlement and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire, about north-east of Shipston-on-Stour and south-east of Stratford-upon-Avon. Population details can be found under Honington. The best known feature is Idl ...

and

Whatcote Whatcote is a village and civil parish in Warwickshire, England, about northeast of Shipston on Stour in the Vale of the Red Horse.Edwards, 1950, p.51 The population at the 2011 census was 143. Manor The Domesday Book records that in 1086 ...

(until 1970), Vicar of

Bishop's Tachbrook Bishop's Tachbrook is a village and civil parish in the Warwick District of Warwickshire, England. The village is about south of Warwick and Leamington Spa. A church at Bishop's Tachbrook is mentioned in the ''Domesday Book''. The village conta ...

thereafter; former Bishop of Gambia and the Rio Pongas, of Accra, in Korea and of Taejon

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Crockford's Clerical Directory: Historical successions
{{Anglican Bishops & Archbishops - Great Britain

Bishops of Coventry A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Diocese of Coventry