New Bishop of Ripon named as Rev Canon Anna Eltringham

Rev Canon Eltringham will join the Diocese of Leeds as Bishop of Ripon

The new Bishop of Ripon will be the Reverend Canon Anna Eltringham, the government has confirmed.

Rev Canon Eltringham will join the Diocese of Leeds after the King approved her nomination to the role.

She will succeed The Right Reverend Dr Helen-Ann Hartley who has been appointed as Bishop of Newcastle.

She said she had "felt drawn back to the north of England for a number of years and have a strong sense of God's call to this particular role".

Rev Canon Eltringham, who is married and has two daughters, previously studied business and anthropology at the University of Durham.

Before being ordained as a priest in 2009, she worked in strategic marketing, including in a role at Croydon Council.

'Vision for church'

She is currently the team rector for Oxted in Surrey, in the Diocese of Southwark.

As Bishop of Ripon, she will serve rural parishes including Ribblehead, Richmond and Wetherby.

Looking forward to her new role, she said: "God has laid a number of things on my heart in recent times, including a passion for climate care and justice; care for the wellbeing of clergy and all God's people; a vision for a church that serves as much beyond as within its buildings; and children and young people at the heart of it all."

Welcoming the new appointment, Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, said: "Rev Canon Anna's enthusiasm and love for parish ministry and her ability to connect, having been an advocate for clergy well-being and serving as Dean of Women's Ministry, will be a great blessing to the parishes and Diocese of Leeds."

The Right Reverend Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, said: "Our parishes and communities, big and small, will greet her with great warmth as her commitment to parish ministry and the environment will be evident from the word go."