Bishop of London
The
Bishop of London is the
Ordinary of the
Church of England Diocese of London in the
Province of Canterbury. During the Middle Ages and the Tudor period, the bishop and the diocese were subject to Rome, but they ceased to be so at the English Reformation.
The diocese covers 458 km² (177 sq. mi.) of 17 boroughs of the former
Greater London north of the
River Thames (previously the County of
Middlesex) and a small part of the County of
Surrey. The
see is in the
City of London where the seat is located at the
Cathedral Church of Saint Paul which was founded as a cathedral in
604 and was rebuilt from
1675 following the
Great Fire of London (
1666).
The Bishop's residence is The Old Deanery, Dean's Court, London. Previously, for over a thousand years
Fulham Palace was the residence, although, from the
eighteenth century, London House, next to the Bishop's Chapel in
Aldersgate Street, was where he had his chambers, and was used as a more convenient place for the Bishop to conduct his affairs.
Third in importance in the Church of England after the Archdioceses of
Canterbury and
York, the Bishop is one of five senior bishops, alongside the
Archbishop of Canterbury, the
Archbishop of York, the
Bishop of Durham, and the
Bishop of Winchester, who sit as of right as one of the 26
Lords Spiritual in the
House of Lords, as opposed to the remaining diocesan bishops of lesser rank for whom elevation to one of the seats reserved is attained upon its vacancy and is determined by chronological seniority.
Because the Bishop's diocese includes the Royal palaces and the seat of government at
Westminster, he has been regarded as the 'King's bishop' and has historically had considerable influence with members of the Royal Family and leading politicians of the day. Since 1748 it has been customary to appoint the Bishop of London to the post of
Dean of the Chapel Royal, which has the amusing effect of putting under the bishop's jurisdiction
as dean several chapels (at the
Tower of London and
St. James's Palace, among others) which are geographically in the Diocese of London but as
royal peculiars are specifically outside the bishop's jurisdiction
as bishop.The recorded antiquity of the office dates back to
Celtic
Britain where sixteen named archbishops are listed by
Jocelyne of Furnes in his work
Bishops. Stowe noted that this was the sole available source of these names. However, the earlier of the two bishops named Restitutus in the list below fl 314 in which year he was named as attending the Council of Arles. The
Saxon bishopric of which the present diocese is the direct successor was established in 604 by
Mellitus, the same year as
St Paul's Cathedral (and also the Diocese of
Rochester) were founded. The last bishop of London to acknowledge the supremacy of Rome was deprived and imprisoned in 1559. Thereafter there followed a line of
Church of England bishops. The current Bishop of London is the Right Reverend and Right Honourable
Richard John Carew Chartres, the 132nd
Lord Bishop of London, who was installed on
26 January 1996 and who signs
Richard Londin.
List of the Bishops of the Diocese of London, England and its precursor offices
NB: See above for reference to the entries listed as
Archbishop of London| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|
??? to ???Thean, Archbishop of London??? to ???Elvanus, Archbishop of London??? to ???Cadar, Archbishop of London??? to ???Obinus, Archbishop of London??? to ???Paludius, Archbishop of London??? to ???Stephen, Archbishop of London??? to ???Iltute, Archbishop of London??? to ???Dedwin, Archbishop of London
(Theodwin) | ??? to ???Thedred, Archbishop of London??? to ???Hillary, Archbishop of London??? to ???Restitutus, Archbishop of London??? to ???Guidelium, Archbishop of London
(Guiteline) | ??? to ???Fastidius, Archbishop of London??? to ???Vodimus, Archbishop of LondonKilled by the Saxons??? to ???Theanus, Archbishop of LondonFled into Wales514 to 553| Restitutus | 553 to 604| Theonus | 604 to 658Miletus
(Mellitus) | Translated to Canterbury; Saint Miletus658 to 664| Ceadda | Died in office Saint Ceadda664 to 666| vacant | For 2 years666 to 675Wina
(Wine) | Translated from Winchester675 to 697| Erkenwald | Saint Erkenwald697 to 715Waldherus
(Waldhere) | 715 to 746Ingualdus
(Ingwald) | 746 to 754Egwolfus
(Eggwulf) | 754 to 761Wighedus
(Sighaeh) | 761 to 768Eadbrightus
(Eadbert) | 768 to 773Edgarus
(Eadgar) | 773 to 784Kenwalchus
(Coenwalh) | 784 to 795Eadbaldus
(Eadbald) | 795 to 802Hecbertus
(Heathobertus) | 802 to 816Osmundus
(Oswynus; Osmund) | 816 to 830Ethelnothus
(Æthilnoth) | 830 to 841| Ceolbertus | 841 to 851Renulphus
(Ceolnulfus) | 851 to 863| Suithulfus | 863 to 898| Eadstanus | 898 to ???Wulfius
(Walsius) | ??? to ???| Ethelwardus | 926 to 938| Elstanus | 938 to ???| Theodredus | ??? to ???| Wolstanus | 941 to 958| Brithelmus | 958 to 960 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
