Bishop announces plans to step down in 2025

The Right Reverend Jackie Searle has been the acting Bishop of Exeter for the past year

The Bishop of Crediton has announced she is planning to retire from the role at the beginning of 2025.

The Right Reverend Jackie Searle said she would step down from her current role, which she has held since 2018, in January.

The 63-year-old has also been the acting Bishop of Exeter for the past year ahead of the Right Reverend Dr Mike Harrison's "enthronement" on 2 November, the Diocese of Exeter said.

Bishop Searle, who was among the first women to be ordained as a priest by the Church of England in 1994, said serving Crediton and Exeter had been a "privilege".

Along with her time in Devon, Bishop Searle has also been a vicar in Derbyshire and an archdeacon in Gloucester.

"It has been the privilege of my life to be the Bishop of Crediton for the last six years, and to have been appointed acting Bishop of Exeter for the last year," she said.

"From the time of my interview onwards I fell in love with the Diocese of Exeter, Devon, and its wonderful people.

"We are blessed with fantastic church communities and congregations, schools, chaplaincies, clergy and lay people; followers of Jesus who live out day by day the diocesan vision to pray, grow and serve the people of Devon with joy."