Diocese of Birmingham Dioecesis Birminghamiensis
Coat of arms
Flag
Location
Ecclesiastical province	Canterbury
Archdeaconries	Aston, Birmingham
Statistics
Parishes	162
Churches	195
Information
Denomination	Church of England
Established	1905
Cathedral	Cathedral Church of Saint Philip
Language	English
Current leadership
Bishop	Michael Volland, Bishop of Birmingham
Suffragan	Anne Hollinghurst, Bishop of Aston
Archdeacons	Jenny Tomlinson, Archdeacon of Birmingham Archdeacon of Aston (vacant)
Website
birmingham.anglican.org

The Diocese of Birmingham is a diocese founded in 1905 in the Church of England's Province of Canterbury, covering the north-west of the traditional county of Warwickshire, the south-east of the traditional county of Staffordshire and the north-east of the traditional county of Worcestershire (now the central section of the West Midlands and small parts of south Staffordshire, north Warwickshire and north Worcestershire) in England.

Cathedral

The see is in the centre of the City of Birmingham, where the seat of the diocese is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Philip.

The 18th-century parish church of Saint Philip in Birmingham was elevated to cathedral status in 1905 when the see was founded, on 13 January 1905.^[1] Previously the area had been part of the Diocese of Worcester.

Bishops

Besides the diocesan Bishop of Birmingham (Michael Volland) and the Bishop suffragan of Aston (Anne Hollinghurst; which see was created in 1954), there are three retired bishops resident in (or near) the diocese who are licensed to serve as honorary assistant bishops:^[2]

• 2002–present: Maurice Sinclair is a retired Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone living in Selly Park.^[3]
• 2003–present: Mark Santer is a retired diocesan Bishop of Birmingham living in Moseley.^[4]
• 2005–present: Iraj Mottahedeh is a retired diocesan Bishop of Iran who lives in Church Aston, Shropshire, in the neighbouring Lichfield diocese.^[5]

Since 1994, alternative episcopal oversight (for parishes in the diocese who reject the ministry of women priests) is provided by the provincial episcopal visitor, the Bishop suffragan of Oswestry (since 2023 Paul Thomas), who is licensed as an honorary assistant bishop of the diocese in order to facilitate his work there.

Archdeaconries and deaneries

The former deaneries of Yardley and Bordesley were merged in 2000.^[6] Central Birmingham was known as Birmingham City until 1996 and then Birmingham City Centre until 2004.^[7]

*including Cathedral

Churches

Last fully updated 8 September 2018.

Safeguarding controversy

In December 2018 the diocese was criticised for its use of a Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA) in relation to an abuse case. The survivor described the ten-year process since her first complaint as "haphazard" and claimed she was warned by an unnamed bishop not to talk to the media as it wouldn't be "very godly". The diocese carried out an independent review which delivered damning findings about the handling of her case by the (then) Bishop of Birmingham, David Urquhart, and then forced the survivor to sign the NDA before she was permitted to see the review into her own case. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, had previously questioned the legitimacy of these agreements in March 2018 at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

A non-disclosure agreement seems to me to be dangerous because it creates suspicion, 'Why are you doing an NDA? Surely you're trying to cover something up'.

The Bishop of Buckingham, Alan Wilson, commenting on the scandal said it was the fourth "corrupt and destructive" non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that had come to his attention since September.

They seem inherently abusive, mainly used to provide a carpet under which to sweep abuse. If people really want them they should be time-limited with reasons.

He said he was unable to share details of the other cases but that some were "complete shockers". The Diocese of Birmingham said the NDA had been used to ensure that those who read the report did not share information provided by other contributors who wanted to remain anonymous. A Church of England spokesperson stated that guidance would be sent to all dioceses to discourage use of these agreements. The bishop and the diocese apologised to the survivor and her husband.^{[151][152][153][154]}

See also

• Religion in Birmingham

References

• Church of England statistics 2002 Archived 3 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
• Terry Slater, 2005, A Centenary History of the Diocese of Birmingham, Phillimore, Chichester

External links

• Diocesan website
• Churches in the Diocese of Birmingham ("A Church Near You")