In March 2014, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Winchester, the Bishop of Dover and the then Deans of Jersey and Guernsey agreed arrangements for the Bishop of Dover to assume interim oversight of the Island parishes.
This temporary arrangement was made on the basis that an Archbishop’s Commission would look at the longer-term relationship between the Islands and the wider Church of England following a breakdown in the relationship between the Islands and the Diocese of Winchester.
The Archbishop’s Commission started its work last year and has recently visited both Guernsey and Jersey, during which it met a cross-section of civic and church representatives. The Commission wishes to express its thanks to all those who have been involved in the consultation on the Islands. It is also meeting with a range of other stakeholders including representatives from the Dioceses of Canterbury and Winchester.
The Commission intends to reflect on the views it has, or will have, received before submitting a report to the Archbishop of Canterbury later in the year.
The Commission is grateful to Bishop Trevor Willmott following his recent retirement as Bishop of Dover for agreeing to extend his episcopal oversight of the Islands as previously announced by the Diocese of Canterbury.
Lord Chartres, Chair of the Commission, said: “Our main task is to look forward and make recommendations for the future that will best enable the flourishing of the church on the Islands.”
More information
The Commission’s Chair is Lord Chartres (formerly Bishop of London), assisted by Sir Christopher Clarke, Baroness Wilcox, and two consultants from the Islands – Sir de Vic Carey, former Bailiff of Guernsey, and Mr Mark Temple QC, HM Solicitor General for Jersey
