A prominent Church of England bishop has announced today that he is stepping down in five days to become a Catholic.
The Bishop of Ebbsfleet Jonathan Goodall, a suffragan in the Canterbury diocese, is resigning after what he described today as “one of the most testing periods of my life”.
His decision after eight years as Bishop of Ebbsfleet – one of the Anglican church’s provincial episcopal visitors, dubbed “flying bishops”, whose role was pastoral care of certain groups of traditionalist parishes – was announced in a statement by Lambeth Palace this morning.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said he had accepted his resignation “with regret”.
Archbishop Justin said, “I am deeply grateful to Bishop Jonathan for his ministry and many years of faithful service. My prayers are with him and Sarah, both for his future ministry and for the direction in which they are being called in their continuing journey of dedicated service to Christ.
“With regard to the see of Ebbsfleet, we will be starting a process of consultation with colleagues and others — including the parishes to whom Bishop Jonathan ministers — to determine what the next steps will be.”
Bishop Goodall said: “I have arrived at the decision to step down as Bishop of Ebbsfleet, in order to be received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, only after a long period of prayer, which has been among the most testing periods of my life.
He added: “Life in the communion of the Church of England has shaped and nourished my discipleship as a Catholic Christian for many decades. This is where I first received – and for half my life have ministered, as priest and bishop – the sacramental grace of Christian life and faith. I shall always treasure this and be thankful for it. I trust you all to believe that I have made my decision as a way of saying yes to God’s present call and invitation, and not of saying no to what I have known and experienced in the Church of England, to which I owe such a deep debt.”
Bishop Goodall is married to Sarah, a musician. They have two children, Thomas and AnnaMary. As an assistant bishop he has had the episcopal care of parishes the Dioceses of Bath and Wells, Birmingham, Bristol, Coventry, Exeter, Lichfield, Oxford, Truro and Worcester.
He said: “I am abidingly grateful to all who have so generously supported Sarah and me in these years, especially the laity and clergy of the See of Ebbsfleet – who have been the focus and joy of my ministry and devotion since becoming bishop in 2013. It has been an immense privilege. I look forward to serving the Church in the future in whatever way I may be called to do.
Bishop Jonathan’s ministry in the Church of England will cease on 8 September. Archbishop Welby will now seek a successor.
Bishop Goodall, 60, studied music at Royal Holloway College, University of London, and then, after some years working for Macmillan Publishers, trained for the ordained ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He served his curacy in the Bicester Team Ministry in Oxford Diocese from 1989 to 1992, and from 1990 to 1992 also as assistant chaplain, HM Prison Bullingdon. From 1992 to 1998 he was minor canon, chaplain and sacrist at Westminster Abbey.
From 1998 to 2005 he served successive Bishops of Gibraltar in Europe as chaplain and research assistant, and liturgical officer in the Diocese in Europe. Since 2004 he has been a priest vicar of Westminster Abbey, and since 2005 an honorary canon of the cathedral chapter of the Diocese in Europe. From 2005 he has been chaplain and ecumenical secretary to successive Archbishops of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace.
On Twitter, the Revd James Bradley counted 11 CofE bishops who had converted to Catholicism since 1992: Graham Leonard (London), Conrad Meyer John Klyberg (Fulham), Richard Rutt (Leicester), John Broadhurst (Fulham), Edwin Barnes (Richborough), Keith Newton (Richborough), Andrew Burnham (Ebbsfleet), David Silk, Paul Richardson, John Goddard (Burnley) and now Jonathan Goodall (Ebbsfleet).
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