Robert James Saner-Haigh (born 1973) 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. He has been the

Bishop of Penrith The Bishop of Penrith is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title named after the town of Penrith, Cumbria, Penrith in Cumbria. The title was first mentioned "as Pereth" in the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (alongside a see for Penreth – now called Bi ...

— the sole

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 ...

of the

Diocese of Carlisle In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

— since 2022; he was previously a residentiary canon of

Newcastle Cathedral Newcastle Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas, is a Church of England cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Newcastle (England), Bishop of Newcastle and is the mother church ...

and Director of Mission and Ministry for the

Diocese of Newcastle The Diocese of Newcastle is a Church of England diocese based in Newcastle upon Tyne, covering the historic county of Northumberland (and therefore including the part of Tyne and Wear north of the River Tyne), as well as the area of Alston Moo ...

since 2020.

Early life and education

He was educated at

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

, graduating with a BA in Ancient History and Archaeology in 1994 and an MPhil in Archaeology in 1998, followed by training for ministry at

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Wycliffe Hall () is a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford affiliated with the Church of England, specialising in philosophy, theology, and religion. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was mas ...

, receiving a BA in 2004, upgraded to an MA in 2008.

Ordained ministry

He was ordained deacon in 2005, and priest in 2006. He was curate of

Appleby-in-Westmorland Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby is the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. ...

in the

from 2005 to 2007, then from 2007 to 2010 held the joint post of bishop's domestic chaplain, and curate of

Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...

with Cumdivock, in the same diocese. From 2008 to 2010, he was also

director of ordinands Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vari ...

for the diocese. In 2010, he was appointed

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 ...

of Kendal Parish Church, and held that position until 2020 when he became a residentiary canon of

and Director of Mission and Ministry for the

. On 27 May 2022, it was announced that he was to become

in the Diocese of Carlisle. He 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 ...

, on 15 July 2022 during a service in

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 ...

. Since the retirement of

James Newcome James William Scobie Newcome (born 24 July 1953) is a retired English Anglican bishop and former Lord Spiritual. From 2009 until retirement, he was the Bishop of Carlisle, the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Carlisle; he was also a member of ...

as Bishop of Carlisle in August 2023, Saner-Haigh has been acting diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Carlisle. On 9 May 2025, it was announced that he will become the

Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The Episcop ...

following the retirement of James Newcome. The date of his installation has not yet been confirmed, however.

Views

He holds a "traditional view of Holy Matrimony" (i.e. one man and one woman).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saner-Haigh, Robert James Living people 21st-century English Anglican priests 1973 births Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford 21st-century Church of England bishops Bishops of Penrith