The Bishop of Beverley is a Church of England suffragan bishop and takes its name after the town of Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
The suffragran bishop was originally to assist the Archbishop of York in overseeing the Diocese of York, but after 1923 the position fell into abeyance. The title was revived in 1994 as a Provincial Episcopal Visitor for the whole of the Province of York and has responsibility to visit parishes throughout the province who cannot in good conscience accept the ministry of bishops who have participated in the ordination of women.
The current Bishop is the Right Reverend Stephen Race SSC.
Race trained for Holy Orders at St Stephen's House, Oxford.[3] He was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 2002 and as a priest in 2003.[1] From 2002 to 2005, he served his curacy at St Mary's Parish Church, Wigton, in the Diocese of Carlisle.[1] In 2005, he was appointed vicar of the Church of St John the Baptist, Dodworth, in the Diocese of Wakefield.[1] He was additionally assistant diocesan director of ordinands from 2005 and then diocesan director of ordinands from 2009.[1][4] He was made area dean of Barnsley in 2009 and an honorary canon of Wakefield Cathedral in 2011.[3] In 2014, he moved parishes and became priest-in-charge of St Mary's Church, Barnsley in the newly created Diocese of Leeds.[1] He additionally became priest-in-charge of the Church of St Edward the Confessor, Barnsley and St Thomas' Church, Gawber in 2017.[3] In 2018, he became Rector of Central Barnsley, a newly created benefice consisting of the three churches he led.[1] St George's Church, Barnsley, was added to the benefice in 2018.[1]
On 12 October 2022, he was announced as the next Bishop of Beverley, in succession to Glyn Webster.[3] On 30 November 2022, he was consecrated a bishop during a service at York Minster: the principal consecrator was Tony Robinson, assisted by Philip North and Glyn Webster.[5][6] In addition, he was made an honorary assistant bishop of the Diocese of Sheffield in 2023, and an assistant bishop of the Diocese of Liverpool and of the Diocese of Sodor and Man in 2023.
As Bishop of Beverley, two primary tasks are entrusted to him. He is to be a spokesperson for all those in the Northern Province opposed to the ordination of women to the priesthood, monitoring their treatment and speaking out, as necessary, on their behalf. Additionally, a number of parishes have petitioned their diocesan bishop to receive from him, extended episcopal care. In practice, this means that, as required, he ordains clergy for such parishes and celebrate confirmation in them. He seeks to pastor both clergy and people, helping to build the parishes up in the mission to which God has called them. At present, there are some eighty parishes in his care.
There is a danger that Anglicans of my persuasion can be seen as those just against something. On the contrary, we are for the Universal Faith of the Church and seek to recall folk to the Church's undivided teaching. We include within our ranks Anglo-Catholics and Evangelicals as well as many who would not naturally use either of these labels.