Anglican Diocese of Birmingham


The Diocese of Birmingham is a diocese in the Church of England's Province of Canterbury, covering the north west of the traditional county of Warwickshire 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. Previously the area had been part of the Diocese of Worcester.

Bishops

Besides the diocesan Bishop of Birmingham, David Urquhart and the Bishop suffragan of Aston, there are four retired bishops resident in the diocese who are licensed to serve as honorary assistant bishops:
Since 1994, alternative episcopal oversight is provided by the provincial episcopal visitor, Jonathan Goodall, Bishop suffragan of Ebbsfleet since 2013, 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. Central Birmingham was known as Birmingham City until 1996 and then Birmingham City Centre until 2004.
*including Cathedral

Churches

Last fully updated 8 September 2018.

Not in a deanery

Deanery of Aston

Deanery of Coleshill

Deanery of Polesworth

Deanery of Solihull

Deanery of Sutton Coldfield

Deanery of Yardley and Bordesley

Deanery of Central Birmingham

Deanery of Edgbaston

Deanery of Handsworth

Deanery of King's Norton

Deanery of Moseley

Deanery of Shirley

Deanery of Warley http://www.warleydeanery.co.uk/

Safeguarding Controversy

In December 2018 the diocese was criticised for its use of a Non-disclosure Agreement 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 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 The Bishop of Buckingham, Alan Wilson, commenting on the scandal said it was the fourth "corrupt and destructive" non-disclosure agreement that had come to his attention since September.
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.