Conservative evangelicals in the Church of England are set to have a new ‘flying bishop’ for the constituency after Rod Thomas announced plans to retire.
Bishop Rod, who is Bishop of Maidstone – a role which provides alternative episcopal oversight for evangelicals committed to male headship – will step down in October. He will be 68.
The hunt for his successor comes at a crucial time for the Church of England: the ‘Living in Love and Faith’ (LLF) process on sexuality is moving towards whatever recommendations flow out of it. And in an extraordinary move, a married gay man, Stephen Knott, has just been appointed as the next Archbishops’ Secretary for Appointments – a key role managing the process for the appointment of bishops, deans and other senior posts in the CofE.
It also comes at a critical time for conservative evangelicals in the denomination following recent scandals and convulsions. Additionally, despite official promises of ‘mutual flourishing’ following the decision to allow women to become bishops, conservative evangelicals have been marginalised and excluded from top appointments.
Rod Thomas was the vicar of St Matthew’s, Elburton until 2015. Prior to that date he was chair of the conservative evangelical network Reform and a member for 15 years of the General Synod. He was actively involved in the discussions about the consecration of women bishops and helped forge the arrangements which are now in place under the House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests. He is a Vice-President of the Church Pastoral Aid Society and President of the Church Society.
He said: ‘It has been a real privilege to serve the cause of the gospel as a bishop. When I was first consecrated, there were only six evangelical churches which had passed resolutions asking for distinctive arrangements under the House of Bishops’ Declaration. That number has now grown to 146. Since 2015, I have sought to work in support of the Five Guiding Principles; I have conducted well over 100 confirmations and been appointed as an Assistant Bishop in 15 dioceses. I believe the progress we have made as a church in pursuing mutual flourishing has been encouraging and I am heartened by the good relationships which have developed with so many dioceses. That said, there is still much to do. We face big challenges in responding to the effects of the pandemic; in bringing the gospel to the nation; in continuing to embed the Five Guiding Principles; and in discerning a way forward in the light of the LLF conversations. My prayer is that the next Bishop of Maidstone will both promote faithfulness to God’s word and make a significant and positive contribution to meeting these challenges.’
After his date of retirement, Bishop Rod hopes to return to the Diocese of Exeter and says ‘he looks forward to renewing old friendships and sitting in a pew!’ He will continue as a member of the House of Bishops’ ‘LLF Next Steps Group’ until the conclusion of its work in 2023.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will be undertaking consultations both among Diocesan Bishops and conservative evangelical clergy before any future appointment to the See of Maidstone is made.
Last year Bishop Rod spoke of the ‘sense of betrayal and hurt’ that he and others felt as a result of revelations about former Emmanuel Wimbledon minister Jonathan Fletcher, and said he first knew of Fletcher’s ‘harmful activities’ in September 2018. He left a preaching group Fletcher was running in February 2019.
