The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is the

Ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (album) (2011), by Every Little Thing * "Ordinary" (Alex Warren song) (2025) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016 ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich The Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is a Church of England diocese based in Ipswich, covering Suffolk (excluding Lowestoft). The cathedral is St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and the bishop is the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. It is part ...

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 consi ...

. The See is vacant following the 2025 retirement of Martin Seeley;

Graeme Knowles Graeme Paul Knowles (born 25 September 1951) is a retired Anglican bishop who is serving as Acting Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. He served latterly as the Acting Dean of St Edmundsbury, having previously served as Bishop o ...

is acting bishop. The Bishop's residence is the Bishop's House, Ipswich — a little to the north of the town centre.

History

Under the

Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 ( 26 Hen. 8. c. 14) is an act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in ...

, the title ''

Bishop of Ipswich The Bishop of Ipswich was an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich, in the Province of Canterbury, England.''Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). ...

'' was created in 1536, but it fell into

abeyance Abeyance (from the Old French ' meaning "gaping") describes a state of temporary dormancy or suspension. In law, it can refer to a situation where the ownership of property, titles, or office is not currently Vesting, vested in any specific perso ...

following the first holder surrendering the office in 1538.. In 1899, the title was revived with two

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led b ...

s of Ipswich appointed to assist the diocesan

bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary (Catholic Church), ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Norwich, Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. Th ...

. Through reorganisation in the

, the Diocese of Saint Edmundsbury and Ipswich was established by Act of Parliament in 1913 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. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

. The bishop's and the diocesan offices are located in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, while the

bishop's seat A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principal c ...

is located at

St Edmundsbury Cathedral St Edmundsbury Cathedral (formally entitled the Cathedral Church of St James and St Edmund) is the cathedral for the Church of England's Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. It is the seat of the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and is in ...

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

. Since 1934, the bishops of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich have been assisted by the suffragan

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

in overseeing the diocese.

List of bishops

Assistant bishops

Among those who have served the diocese as assistant bishops have been: *in 1921, Cecil Wood, Rector of

Witnesham Witnesham is a village situated roughly to the north of Ipswich, Suffolk. The main road from Ipswich that links the village to the town is the B1077, Westerfield Road. History It appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Wytenesham’ (Witta's/ ...

and former

Bishop of Melanesia The Archbishop of Melanesia is the spiritual head of the Anglican Church of Melanesia, which is a province of the Anglican Communion in the South Pacific region, covering the nations of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. From 1861 until the inauguration ...

, served as archbishop's commissary (i.e. acting diocesan bishop) *1931–1934:

Maxwell Maxwell-Gumbleton Maxwell Homfray Maxwell-Gumbleton (born Maxwell Homfray Smith; 17 June 1872 – 1 February 1952) was an Anglican bishop in the first half of the 20th century. Maxwell-Gumbleton was born into a legal family. His father was a Puisne Judge in Jam ...

Archdeacon of Sudbury The Archdeacon of Sudbury is a senior cleric in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy in its five rural deaneries; Clare, Ixworth, Lavenham, Sudbury and Thing ...

from 1932 and former Bishop of Ballarat, became first Bishop suffragan of Dunwich

References

Bibliography

* * {{Anglican Bishops & Archbishops - Great Britain Saint Edmundsbury and Ipswich

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

Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich