THE next Bishop of Edinburgh, elected on Sunday, is to be Dr Dagmar Winter. She has been the Bishop of Huntingdon, in the diocese of Ely, since 2019, and was Acting Bishop of Ely from May 2023 until last month. She will take up her new post later in the year.
Dr Winter said: “I am hugely honoured to have been elected as the next Bishop of Edinburgh and would like to thank most warmly all those involved in the thorough process in electing me.
“I rejoice in the diversity and inclusivity of the diocese of Edinburgh and can’t wait to get to know all the clergy and people in the charges from the Tweed to the Firth of Forth. I firmly believe that the Scottish Episcopal Church [SEC] has a unique voice to share in today’s world, and I am committed to supporting and encouraging all who contribute to its mission and ministry and to raising its profile further.”
Dr Winter is of British and Swiss-German descent, and studied at the universities of Erlangen, Aberdeen, and Heidelberg. She was ordained priest in 1997, serving in the dioceses of Rochester and Newcastle, and was appointed an honorary canon of Newcastle Cathedral in 2011.
Dr Winter is Vice-President of the Conference of European Churches, which runs “Pathways to Peace”, a coordinated response of the European Church to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
She is the first bishop to be elected under the SEC’s Canon C4 as amended last year (News, 19 September 2025). She will succeed Dr John Armes, who served the diocese for 13 years until his retirement last August (News, 24 January 2025).
The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Revd Mark Strange, said: “I am delighted to welcome Bishop Dagmar as Bishop-Elect into this new season of ministry in the Scottish Episcopal Church, and I am looking forward to welcoming her to the College of Bishops. The gifts she brings will enhance the life and mission of the Church.
“Please keep Bishop Dagmar in your prayers as we plan her installation and new beginnings in Scotland.”
In November 2023, Dr Winter was one of 44 Church of England bishops who signed an open letter supporting the use of Prayers of Love and Faith — blessings for same-sex couples — and calling for guidance to be issued to remove all restrictions on clergy entering into same-sex civil marriages, and on bishops ordaining and licensing such clergy (News, 1 November 2023).
The diocese of Edinburgh has 54 churches.