THE next Archbishop of York is to be the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, at present Bishop of Chelmsford.

Bishop Cottrell, aged 62, has been Bishop of Chelmsford since 2010. Before that, he was Bishop of Reading. He succeeds Dr Sentamu, who retires on 7 July next year.

Bishop Cottrell is widely regarded as one of the most likeable of the present bench of bishops, and his tenure in the diocese of Chelmsford, which includes much of east London, has gone well. He heads to York with experience of parish, theological college, diocesan, and cathedral ministry.

He was a late developer, educated at the Polytechnic of Central London. He trained for ministry at St Stephen’s House, Oxford, and served his title at Christ Church and St Paul’s, Forest Hill, south London. He was priested in 1985. He has recently completed an MA with St Mellitus College, London.

He was appointed Priest-in-Charge of St Wilfrid’s, Chichester, in 1988, combining it was the posts of assistant director of pastoral studies and tutor in apologetics at Chichester Theological College. In 1993, he became Diocesan Missioner and Bishop’s Chaplain for Evangelism in the diocese of Wakefield; and in 1998 he took up the post of Springboard Missioner and Consultant in Evangelism.

In 2001, he became Vice-Dean and Canon Pastor of Peterborough Cathedral. He became Bishop of Reading three years later.

Bishop Cottrell has been the lead author of the C of E’s Pilgrim course for new Christians, as well as contributing to the Emmaus programme. He is the author of several books in his own right, including Do Nothing to Change Your Life, How to Pray, and Hit the Ground Kneeling.

He is married to Rebecca, a potter. They have three sons.

In a statement, Bishop Cottrell said: “Although I was born and grew up in Essex, I lived and served in Huddersfield for nine years. I know and love the north of England. Two of our children were born there.

“I now look forward to returning and being a voice for the North, sharing the liberating good news of the gospel and helping to address the discrepancies of wealth and opportunity that too often favour the South.”

Bishop Cottrell writes regularly for the Church Times. Read some of his articles here.