Diocese of Gloucester
Venerable Robert Springett with his wife Helen, who is a primary head teacher and their two daughters, Charlotte aged 22 and Alice aged 17.
The new Bishop of Tewkesbury has been announced as the Venerable Robert Springett, current Archdeacon of Cheltenham.
The promotion to suffragan bishop, a form of junior to the more senior diocesan bishops, will see Springett work alongside the Bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek.
The responsibilities of the Bishop of Tewkesbury cover the whole Diocese of Gloucester. So rather than having his own specific area, Springett will act as the assistant bishop for the Church of England in and around all of Gloucestershire.
His appointment means he will work alongside Treweek, the Church of England’s first female diocesan bishop, and a contender to succeed Richard Chartres as Bishop of London, who retires in early 2017.
He will be consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury on 30 November at Canterbury Cathedral and will have an official service of welcome in the Diocese on Sunday 11 December in Gloucester Cathedral.
Springett was ordained in 1990 and has served as Archdeacon of Cheltenham since 2010. The married father of two studied business before training for ministry at Lincoln Theological College and Nottingham University. He was awarded a Master’s degree in Theology from London University in 1992.
Springett said he was “deeply honoured and humbled” by the appointment.
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“This is such an exciting time for the Diocese of Gloucester as we renew our vision and focus our efforts afresh on sharing the good news of Jesus Christ through our parishes, schools, fresh expressions and chaplaincies,” he said.
“I am looking forward enormously to working with Bishop Rachel and with colleagues old and new in this new role and discovering more of this wonderful diocese, of which it is a privilege to be a part.”
Bishop Rachel said. “I am delighted that Robert has accepted the invitation to become the Bishop of Tewkesbury. Having gone through a thorough appointment process, it was clear that Robert is the person being called by God to be our next suffragan bishop. In a time of so much change, Robert’s gifts and wealth of experience will be richly used. He is passionate about sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people in and around Gloucestershire and I greatly look forward to working with him in a new capacity.”
