THE first consecrations in the Northern Province since the recent announcement from Lambeth Palace about the Archbishops as consecrators have been announced (News, 17 July).

The new Suffragan Bishops of Doncaster and Sherwood will be consecrated in separate services at York Minster on 21 September. Canon Sophie Jelley (News, 6 December 2019) will be consecrated for Doncaster by the Archbishop of York, the Most Revd Stephen Cottrell.

It will be the latter’s first archiepiscopal consecration, assisted by the Bishops of Durham and Sheffield. Later, the Revd Dr Andrew Emerton (News, 13 March) will be consecrated for Sherwood by the Bishops of Durham, London, and Southwell & Nottingham. The Archbishop of York will preside at both services.

York MinsterCanon Sophie Jelley, and the Revd Dr Andrew Emerton

Last month, the Archbishops announced that, from then on, the post of chief consecrator would “normally” be delegated to other bishops in line with the Five Guiding Principles. The new arrangements were “made in the awareness of the sad reality that not all in the Church of England agree on issues of ordination”.

A spokeswoman for Archbishop Cottrell explained this week: “Under the new arrangements for the consecration of bishops, the Metropolitans may ask another bishop to be the chief consecrator. . . The principle we are establishing is that this ministry is shared, the Archbishop is always present and presides ‘from the chair’, but it doesn’t mean that the Archbishop will never be the main consecrating bishop.”