Flora Jane Louise Winfield (born 1964) is a British

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop, military chaplain, diplomat, and author. Since 2024, she has been Bishop of Selby. From 2022 to 2024, she was the

Third Church Estates Commissioner The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...

. She has worked in parish ministry, including as

priest-in-charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent; they will normally work on a short-term contract and have less freedom to act within the ...

St Mary-at-Hill St Mary-at-Hill is a Church of England parish church in the Ward of Billingsgate, City of London. It is situated on Lovat Lane, a cobbled street off Eastcheap. It was founded in the 12th century as "St Mary de Hull" or "St Mary de la Hulle". It ...

, City of London (2008–2014), and in academia as chaplain and

tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

Mansfield College, Oxford Mansfield College, Oxford is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The college was founded in Birmingham in 1838 as a college for Nonconformist students. It moved to Oxford in 1886 and was renamed Mansfield Coll ...

(1994–1997). Before taking up her current appointment, she held a number of diplomatic posts including

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

Permanent Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(2014–2017) and as Archbishop of Canterbury's Special Representative to the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

(2017–2019), and was then Archbishop of Canterbury's Advisor for Reconciliation (2019–2022).

Early life and education

Winfield was born in 1964. She was educated at Portsmouth High School, an all-girls

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...

, Portsmouth. She studied at St David's University College, Lampeter, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree in 1985.

Career

From 1986 to 1987, Winfield was a

lay worker In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. I ...

at Christchurch Abbeydale in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

. She then trained for ordination at

Ripon College Cuddesdon Ripon College Cuddesdon (RCC) is a Church of England seminary, theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local orda ...

between 1987 and 1989. She was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 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, ...

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1989. She was then parish deacon at Christ Church, Stantonbury in the

Diocese of Oxford The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, ...

for the next three years. From 1992 to 1994, she was "County Ecumenical Officer" for the county of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, supporting local

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

as part of

Churches Together in England Churches Together in England (CTE) is an ecumenical organisation and the national instrument for the Christian Churches in England. It helps its member churches work better together. Churches Together in England supports a network of Intermediat ...

. In 1994, Winfield was ordained as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

. She was then assistant chaplain and

, before becoming National Ecumenical Officer for the Church of England in 1997. She was installed as a

residentiary canon Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct of ...

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

in September 2002, serving the cathedral for the next three years as its canon pastor. In 2005, Winfield moved to New York, United States, having been appointed assistant secretary general of

Religions for Peace Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, tra ...

. She then returned to the United Kingdom and held a number of concurrent appointments: she was secretary for international affairs for

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) is an ecumenical organisation. The members include most of the major churches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. CTBI is registered at Companies House with number 05661787. Its office is in Ce ...

(2006–2009), Archbishop of Canterbury's secretary for Anglican relations (2007–2014), and a parish post as

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

(2008–2014). In 2014, Winfiled was appointed as the

's permanent representative to the

. She was also held

permission to officiate A permission to officiate (PTO), also known as a licence to officiate, is a concessionary ministry licence granted by an Anglican bishop. It is most commonly issued to a retired deacon, priest, or lay reader over the age of 70 years. It allows the ...

in the Diocese of London from 2015 to 2024. She became the Archbishop of Canterbury's special representative to the

in 2017. From 2019 to 2022, she was the Archbishop of Canterbury's adviser on reconciliation. From 2019 to 2024, she also held permission to officiate in the Diocese of Leeds. On 1 February 2022, she became the

. Since March 2011, she has been a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) to the Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London.

Military service

On 22 July 1997, Winfield was commissioned in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

as a chaplain to the forces 4th class (equivalent in rank to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

) in the

Royal Army Chaplains' Department The Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) is an all-officer department that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army. History The Army Chaplains' Department (AChD) was formed by Royal Warrant of 23 September 1796; until the ...

, Territorial Army. She was promoted to chaplain to the forces 3rd class (equivalent to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

) on 15 November 2005, and to chaplain to the forces 2nd class (equivalent to lieutenant colonel) on 5 October 2015. She attended the

Advanced Command and Staff Course The Advanced Command and Staff Course is a staff course for mid career military officers of the United Kingdom armed forces and allies. It is taught at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. The cours ...

at the

Defence Academy of the United Kingdom The Defence Academy of the United Kingdom provides higher education for personnel in the British Armed Forces, Civil Service (United Kingdom), Civil Service, other government departments and service personnel from other nations. Structure The ...

in 2016.

Episcopal ministry

On 31 July 2024, Winfield was announced as the next

Bishop of Selby The Bishop of Selby is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of York, in the Province of York, England. The title refers to the town of Selby in North Yorkshire; the See was erected under the Suffragans Nom ...

, a

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 ...

in the

Diocese of York The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The diocese is headed by the ar ...

. She was formally nominated in September 2024. On 10 October 2024, she was consecrated as a bishop by

Stephen Cottrell Stephen Geoffrey Cottrell (; born 31 August 1958) is a Church of England bishop. Since 9 July 2020, he has been the Archbishop of York and Primate of England; the second-most senior bishop of the church and the most senior in northern England ...

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

, during a service at

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

Personal life

Since 1985, she has been married to Jonathan Gough.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winfield, Flora Jane Louise 1964 births Living people 20th-century British Anglican priests 21st-century British Anglican priests Church Estates Commissioners Fellows of Mansfield College, Oxford British women diplomats 21st-century British diplomats Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers Deputy lieutenants of Greater London Bishops of Selby People educated at Portsmouth High School (Southsea) Alumni of the University of Wales, Lampeter