Bishop of Chester to retire

THE Bishop of Chester, Dr Peter Forster, will retire on 30 September, after more than 22 years in the post, he announced last week. In a letter to clergy, he explained that, at 69, he would have had to retire by next March, but that the appointment of the Bishop of Stockport, the Rt Revd Libby Lane, as Bishop of Derby, had “concentrated my mind. . . I found myself reluctant to select a suffragan Bishop with whom my successor, but not I, would need to work.” In addition, the Dioceses Commission had announced its intention to review episcopal provision in the diocese, with the possibility of moving to a single suffragan. “It has been a huge privilege to serve in this diocese,” Dr Forster wrote. A farewell service is planned for 20 July. The Bishop of Birkenhead, the Rt Revd Keith Sinclair, will become Acting Bishop from 1 October.

Bishop of Monmouth to retire

THE Bishop of Monmouth since 2013, the Rt Revd Richard Pain, retired at the end of April, owing to ill health, it is announced. In January, it was reported that Bishop Pain’s absence might be due to a complaint brought against him through the clergy disciplinary procedure of the Church in Wales by a member of senior staff, of which it was believed he was cleared. A formal mediation process was then carried out (News, 11 January). The Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd John Davies, said on Tuesday that Bishop Pain had been a “faithful and much-loved priest”.