The Rt. Rev. Jonathan Baker has announced he will not stand for re-election as chairman of Forward in Faith UK. In an interview with The Church of England Newspaper published today, Bishop Baker said: “Being nearly at the end of a four-year term as Chairman of Forward in Faith, I informed colleagues at our last council meeting on 19 October that I will not be putting my name forward for election again in November when my term comes to an end. I feel privileged to have led Forward in Faith and look forward to its continued achievement.” On 22 Oct 2014 Bishop Baker – the “Flying Bishop” for the Diocese of London and the southeast – wrote to his clergy to say he had received a faculty from the Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury to marry a second time, although his first wife was still living. A number of traditionalist clergy in London have expressed dismay over the news that Bishop Baker was remarrying after having been divorced, seeing his announcement as a betrayal of Catholic principles.
