THE Bishop of Hertford, the Rt Revd Christopher Foster, was announced as the new Bishop of Portsmouth on Tuesday morning. He will succeed Dr Kenneth Stevenson, who retired last September after 14 years in the post.
Bishop Foster said he was “excited” to be the new Bishop of Portsmouth. He recognised that the diocese faced challenges for its future mission and ministry, but said it was “well-resourced by God’s people” in both ordained and lay ministry.
Bishop Foster has been a long-time supporter of women’s ministry and “looks forward to the first woman bishop” in the Church of England. He acknowledged that there was a feeling of “untidiness” in the Anglican Communion at the moment, but hoped that “with generosity and a time of reflection” it could hold together.
Bishop Foster, who recently suspended a priest in the diocese of St Albans for “inappropriate conduct”, said that disciplining clergy was “one of the particular callings of a bishop”.
Bishop Foster, 56 is married to the Revd Sally Davenport, with two children, and is originally from the West Midlands.
He trained for ordination at Westcott House, Cambridge, and was ordained in 1980. He was chaplain at Wadham College, Oxford, for four years, and has been Bishop of Hertford in the diocese of St Albans since 2001.
Bishop Foster is an avid football fan, and supports Wolverhampton Wanderers. He is looking forward to his team playing Portsmouth at Fratton Park in May, but hopes the game will not be a “relegation decider” between the two clubs.
After the announcement on Tuesday, Bishop Foster was joined by new colleagues and members of the public at Portsmouth Cathedral for a short service to pray for his future ministry.