Luke Thomas Irvine-Capel SSC (né Capel; born 1975) is a British

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, ...

bishop serving as

Bishop of Richborough The Bishop of Richborough is a suffragan bishop and provincial episcopal visitor for the whole of the Province of Canterbury in the Church of England. Since 2025, Luke Irvine-Capel has served as Bishop of Richborough. History The see was erec ...

since 2025 — as such he provides

alternative episcopal oversight A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction "are unable to receive the ministry of w ...

to Anglicans in the Eastern half of 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 ...

who reject the ministry of women. He previously served as

Archdeacon of Chichester The post of Archdeacon of Chichester was created in the 12th century, although the Diocese of Sussex was founded by St Wilfrid, the exiled Bishop of York, in AD 681. The original location of the see was in Selsey. The see was moved to Chicheste ...

in the

Diocese of Chichester The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was founded in 681 as the ancient Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey, until the see was translated to Chichester in 1075. The cathe ...

Education and family

Luke Irvine-Capel was educated at

Greyfriars, Oxford Greyfriars is a Roman Catholic friary and parish located in East Oxford, which until 2008 was also a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford. Situated on the Iffley Road in East Oxford, it was one of the smallest constituent halls ...

, 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 1997: as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA Oxon) in 2001. He trained for the priesthood at the

College of the Resurrection, Mirfield A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...

, and undertook further studies at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, graduating with a

(MA) degree. He is married to Ruth, a teacher. They have three children. His son was a chorister at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

in London. In the summer of 2002, his surname changed from Capel to Irvine-Capel, following his marriage to Ruth Irvine, who also uses the surname Irvine-Capel.

Ordained ministry

Irvine-Capel was ordained in the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...

by David Thomas, Provincial Assistant Bishop, the Church's bishop specially appointed to minister to those who cannot accept the ordination of women: he was made

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 ...

Petertide Petertide (also known as St Peter's Tide) refers to the Sunday nearest to St Peter's Day on 29 June and to the period around that day. In Anglicanism, Petertide is one of two major traditional periods for the ordination of new priests (the other ...

2000 (4 July) and ordained

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 ...

the Petertide next (2 July 2000). Both ordinations occurred at the Priory Church of St Mary, Abergavenny. He served his

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are ass ...

Abertillery Abertillery (; ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Blaenau Gwent County Borough, Wales. It is located in the Ebbw Fach Valley, Ebbw Fach valley, and the Monmouthshire (historic), historic county of Monmouthshire. The surrounding lan ...

Cwmtillery Cwmtillery (; ) (population 2011. 4800) is a ward of Abertillery. Located within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire, it is part of the administrative area of the county borough of Blaen ...

, and

Six Bells Six Bells () is an electoral ward and neighbourhood in Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent, Wales. It was originally a village that grew up around the local coal mines. The ward elects two county councillors to Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council. Histor ...

until 2001, then

Minor Canon A minor canon is a member of staff on the establishment of a cathedral or a collegiate church. In at least one foundation the post may be known as "priest-vicar". Minor canons are clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religi ...

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

Newport Cathedral Newport Cathedral (), also known as St Gwynllyw's or St Woolos' Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Monmouth within the Church in Wales, and the seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. Its official title is Newport Cathedral Church of St Woo ...

until 2003. In 2003, Irvine-Capel moved to become Rector of Cranford in the

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 ...

. He took up the post of

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

St Gabriel's, Warwick Square St Gabriel's, Pimlico, is an Anglo-Catholicism, Anglo-Catholic parish church of the Church of England located in Pimlico, London. It lies within the Deanery of Westminster (St Margaret) within the Diocese of London. Designed by Thomas Cundy (ju ...

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

in 2008. He moved to

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

in 2013, where he served as incumbent of Christ Church,

St Leonards-on-Sea St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origin ...

until 2019 (

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 ...

until 2014, Rector thereafter). He was additionally Priest-in-Charge of

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

(St Clement & All Saints) from 2017. Whilst serving as a parish priest in both the Diocese of London and the Diocese of Chichester, Irvine-Capel also served on many diocesan boards and committees. It was announced on 6 January 2019 that Irvine-Capel would become

in the

. He was collated as

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

and installed a canon at

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of th ...

on 9 May 2019. Irvine-Capel is a member of the

Society of the Holy Cross The Society of the Holy Cross (SSC; ) is an international Anglo-Catholicism, Anglo-Catholic society of male priests with members in the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican movement, who live under a common rule of life that informs t ...

(SSC), a society of male

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

priests who live under a common rule of life that informs their priestly ministry and charism.

Episcopal ministry

On 10 December 2024, the Church of England announced that Irvine-Capel had been appointed to be the next

, 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

, providing

Alternative Episcopal Oversight A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction "are unable to receive the ministry of w ...

to traditionalist Anglo-Catholic parishes in the eastern side of the province that reject the ordination of women. In that post, he is to be based in the Diocese of Portsmouth. On the afternoon of 27 February 2025, he was consecrated as a bishop at

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

. As with consecration of other traditionalist catholic bishops following the consecration of the first woman as a bishop in the Church of England, the act of consecration was delegated from the archbishop (in this case from Stephen Cotterell, Archbishop of York) to a traditional diocesan: Martin Warner, Bishop of Chichester, was the

principal consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

, assisted by Paul Thomas, Bishop of Oswestry, and Jonathan Baker, Bishop of Fulham.

Styles

* Luke Thomas Capel Esquire (1975–1999) * The Reverend Luke Thomas Capel SSC (1999–2002) * The Reverend Luke Thomas Irvine-Capel SSC (2002–2019) * The Venerable Luke Thomas Irvine-Capel SSC (2019–2025) * The Right Reverend Luke Thomas Irvine-Capel SSC (2025–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irvine-Capel, Luke Thomas 1975 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of Leeds Alumni of Greyfriars, Oxford Alumni of the College of the Resurrection 21st-century English Anglican priests British Anglo-Catholics Anglo-Catholic bishops 21st-century Welsh Anglican priests Bishops of Richborough