North turns down promotion after attacks

Church of England clergy have spoken of their disappointment at Anglo-Catholic Bishop Philip North’s decision to decline the See of Sheffield following a backlash over his position on the ordination of women, writes Carina Murphy.

Bishop North, suffragan bishop of Burnley and a leading member of conservative group The Society under the patronage of St Wilfrid and St Hilda, was publicly criticised by Professor Martyn Percy, dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and others, for his refusal to accept the ordination of women as priests.

He will now take a period of leave before returning to his current position in the Diocese of Blackburn. He was offered and turned down the role of Bishop of Whitby in 2012, for similar reasons. In a statement he said: “It is clear that the level of feeling is such that my arrival would be counter-productive in terms of the mission of the Church of South Yorkshire and that my leadership would not be acceptable to many.”

However, he continued: “The highly individualised nature of the attacks upon me have been extremely hard to bear.”

The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, said: “What has happened to Bishop Philip clearly does not reflect the settlement under which the Church of England joyfully … opened up all orders of ministry to men and women.” Julian Henderson, the Bishop of Blackburn, described Bishop North as “a fine episcopal colleague” whom the diocese of Sheffield could see “as an excellent next Bishop of Sheffield”. He said his “immediate response to the difficult decision he has made is one of overwhelming sadness”.

Colin Podmore, director of the  Anglo-Catholic group, Forward in Faith, said: “The amount of support [for North] across the board is a huge encouragement to us.”