Stephen Cottrell


Stephen Geoffrey Cottrell is a Church of England bishop. Since 9 July 2020, he has been the Archbishop of York and Primate of England — the second most senior bishop of the church and the most senior in northern England. He previously served as Bishop of Reading, 2004–2010; and as Bishop of Chelmsford, 2010–2020.

Early life

Cottrell was born on 31 August 1958 in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. His brother, Professor David Cottrell, is a psychiatrist and academic. He was educated at Belfairs High School. He studied at the Polytechnic of Central London, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in media studies in 1979. In 1981, he entered St Stephen's House, Oxford to train for ordination.

Ordained ministry

Cottrell was made a deacon at Petertide 1984 and ordained a priest the next Petertide — both times by Ronald Bowlby, Bishop of Southwark, at Southwark Cathedral. His ordained ministry began as a curate at Christ Church, Forest Hill in the Diocese of Southwark. From 1988 to 1993, he was priest in charge of St Wilfrid's Church, Chichester, and also assistant director of pastoral studies at Chichester Theological College. He was then diocesan missioner for the Diocese of Wakefield and finally, canon pastor at Peterborough Cathedral.

Episcopal ministry

Cottrell was nominated area Bishop of Reading on 6 January 2004, after Jeffrey John controversially withdrew his nomination to the post in 2003. He had been a supporter of John's original appointment. He said of his nomination: "I am looking forward to becoming the next Bishop of Reading with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. I believe my work in mission and evangelism has prepared me well for the challenges facing the church in this new century. I hope and pray that my love for and understanding of the different traditions of the Church of England will enable me to be a focus for unity in the Reading Episcopal area." He was consecrated on 4 May 2004 by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, at St Paul's Cathedral, following confirmation of the appointment by letters patent.
Following his nomination as bishop of Chelmsford on 22 March 2010, he was translated to the see of Chelmsford on 6 October 2010. He was installed at Chelmsford Cathedral on 27 November 2010.
On 17 December 2019, he was announced as the next Archbishop of York, Metropolitan of York and Primate of England, when John Sentamu retires in June 2020. The position is the second most senior clerical position in the Church of England after that of the archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England. His canonical election to York took place by video conference on 11 June. The confirmation of his election as Archbishop of York took place on 9 July 2020. As a matter of course, Cottrell was appointed a Privy Counsellor on 21 July 2020.

Views

He is a member of the Society of Catholic Priests, and a member of Affirming Catholicism. In December 2014, he was selected as president of the movement, taking up the appointment at the start of 2015.
In 2007, Cottrell publicly opposed the renewal of Britain's Trident missile systems. The same year, his support for church celebrations of same-sex relationships was widely reported.

Personal life

Cottrell is married to Rebecca and they have three children.

Styles

Cottrell has written several books on the subject of evangelism among his 38 published titles.