Bishop of Hulme post to be axed

The Rt Revd Stephen Lowe retires on 31 August 2009

The post of Bishop of Hulme is to be axed after it was decided that Greater Manchester has too many bishops.

The Rt Reverend Stephen Lowe steps down from his post in August 2009.

But the Anglican Diocese of Manchester has confirmed that the post will not be filled after it was told to cut the number of senior clergy by 10%.

The Bishops of Middleton and Bolton will take over his workload.

The axing of the post was announced by the Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch who told the Church Times that he would not seek a reappointment after Stephen Lowe's retirement.

The Manchester diocese currently has three suffragan Bishops who support the Bishop of Manchester: Bishop of Bolton, the Rt Revd Chris Edmondson; Bishop of Middleton, the Rt Revd Mark Davies; and the Bishop of Hulme.

The move follows a recommendation of the Bishop of Manchester's Council Working Group to reduce the number of suffragan bishops from three to two as part of a cost-cutting drive.

Urban

Bishop Stephen has been in the Manchester Diocese for over 10 years.

ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF MANCHESTER represents the Church of England in Bolton, Bury, Leigh, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Rossendale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford. one of 14 dioceses in the Province of York which covers the North of England and the Isle of Man served by the Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Rev Nigel McCullough and the Suffragan bishops of Bolton, Middleton and Hulme. Suffragan (or assistant) Bishops are there to assist the Bishop of Manchester

However, for the past three years, the Rt Revd Stephen Lowe has been se­conded as the Church of England's first Bishop of Urban Faith and Life, his main role being to help the Church reach out to the poor in expanding urban areas.

Bishop Lowe said "I've enjoyed my time in Greater Manchester enormously and will leave many friends behind both in the church, local authorities, colleagues from the other faith communities and in broadcasting.

"It's also been a great privilege to serve the Church of England as its first bishop for Urban Life and Faith and I hope I have raised the profile of the urban church and the way it makes such an impact in the life of our nation through the dedicated commitment of so many clergy and lay people."

Bishop Lowe's retirement will be marked with a special service at William Temple Church in Wythenshawe on July 19th which will be attended by the Archbishop of York, the Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu.