# Bishop of Chelmsford

The Bishop of Chelmsford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford in the Province of Canterbury.
The current bishop is Guli Francis-Dehqani, since the confirmation of her election on 11 March 2021.

## History

The diocese was founded in 1914 under George V from the Diocese of Saint Albans (of which it had been a part since 1877).
The present diocese covers the County of Essex including those parts of Essex added to Greater London on 1 April 1965 and Ballingdon-with-Brundon, transferred to Suffolk and Great/Little Chishill and Heydon, transferred to Cambridgeshire in 1894. The see is in the city of Chelmsford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary, Saint Peter and Saint Cedd which was elevated to cathedral status in 1914. The bishop's residence is Bishopscourt, Margaretting.

## List of bishops

Bishops of Chelmsford :
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 1914 | 1923 | John Watts Ditchfield | Nominated 18 February; consecrated 24 February 1914; died in office. |
| 1923 | 1929 | Guy Warman | Translated from Truro; nominated 10 September; invested 9 October 1923; translated to Manchester 21 January 1929. |
| 1929 | 1950 | Henry Wilson | Nominated 24 January; consecrated 25 January 1929; resigned 30 November 1950. |
| 1951 | 1961 | Falkner Allison | Nominated 19 December 1950; consecrated 2 February 1951; translated to Winchester 20 December 1961. |
| 1962 | 1971 | John Tiarks | Nominated 30 January; consecrated 24 February 1962; resigned 30 April 1971. |
| 1971 | 1985 | John Trillo | Translated from Hertford; nominated 10 May; confirmed 6 July 1971; resigned 30 September 1985. |
| 1986 | 1996 | John Waine | Translated from St Edmundsbury and Ipswich; nominated & confirmed 1986; resigned 30 April 1996. |
| 1996 | 2003 | John Perry | Translated from Southampton; nominated & confirmed 1996; resigned June 2003. |
| 2003 | 2009 | John Gladwin | Translated from Guildford; nominated 1 July 2003; confirmed later; resigned 31 August 2009. |
| 2010 | 2020 | Stephen Cottrell | Translated from Reading; nominated 22 March; confirmed 6 October 2010. Translated to York on 9 July 2020. |
| 12 April 2020 | 19 April 2021 | Peter Hill, Bishop of Barking | Acting diocesan bishop during vacancy in see |
| 2021 | present | Guli Francis-Dehqani | Translated 11 March 2021 |
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## Assistant bishops

Assistant bishops of the diocese have included:
* 1961 – 1966 (res.): Geoffrey Stuart Smith was an assistant bishop; he was also Rector of Danbury from 1960.
* 1972 – 1974: Br John-Charles SSF, former Assistant Bishop of Adelaide and Bishop of Polynesia
The appointment of Cecil de Carteret, Bishop of Jamaica, to be an assistant bishop was announced in 1931, but he died before he could take it up.
Saulo Mauricio de Barros has been Priest-in-Charge of St Martin's Church, Plaistow since 2024. Barros was born in Arcoverde, Brazil; he was made deacon in 1995 and ordained priest in 1996. Having served in the Diocese of Recife, he was sent to the then-Missionary District of the Amazon in 2002, becoming the bishop of the area as it became a full diocese. He was consecrated a bishop on 14 October 2006, the same day his diocese was inaugurated. Having resigned as bishop, Barros served for a few years in southwestern Brazil before moving to his wife's native Britain, arriving in Colchester in 2019. He became Associate Priest of the Luso-Hispanic Mission at St Martin's Plaistow and of East Ham Team Ministry in September 2022; in late 2023, he was also licensed as an honorary assistant bishop of the Diocese of Chelmsford. When he became Priest-in-Charge in 2024, he kept his licenses in East Ham and as assistant bishop.