CAPTION: Bishop Mike will be enthroned at Exeter Cathedral in a service featuring people from across Devon
New Bishop of Exeter’s Service of Welcome and Installation on 2 November
The Rt. Rev’d Dr Mike Harrison will be installed as the new Bishop of Exeter at Exeter Cathedral on Saturday 2 November.
Bishop Mike will become the 72nd bishop in a service which has traditions stretching back hundreds of years.
They include the new diocesan bishop being required to knock on the great West Door before being permitted to enter for the 3pm ceremony.
He will also be officially enthroned upon the Cathedral’s medieval bishop’s throne, thought to be the tallest piece of medieval woodwork in Europe.
During the service Bishop Mike will be presented with the Bishop of Exeter’s staff
The service is also expected to have personal touches chosen by Bishop Mike, and will include representatives of Devon’s schools, uniformed organisations, community groups and charities, other Christian denominations and representatives from world faiths.
Bishop Mike, who is currently Bishop of Dunwich in the Suffolk Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, said: “I’m delighted to be called to this role and to have a date for the installation and can’t wait to get started as the next Bishop of Exeter; I’m very much looking forward to joining the people of Exeter diocese in worship, witness and service”
The Bishop of Crediton, the Rt. Rev’d Jackie Searle, who has been Acting Bishop of Exeter, said “I am really looking forward to this service and the chance it offers for the whole family of the diocese to come together from across Devon to welcome Bishop Mike and celebrate the start of his ministry with us.”
During the service the bishop will also be officially enthroned upon the Cathedral’s medieval bishop’s throne, thought to be the tallest piece of medieval woodwork in Europe.
The enthronement will take place on Exeter Cathedral’s medieval bishop’s throne
The Dean, the Very Rev’d Jonathan Greener, said “Exeter Cathedral is very much the bishop’s church, with the magnificent 60’ high throne at its heart. The installation of a new bishop is a critical moment in the life of the cathedral, offering a new start, refreshing our mission, reinvigorating our community, building on 1000 years of Christian life in this place. We greatly look forward to working with Bishop Mike, discovering afresh how best to serve the needs of people across our city and county.”
Bishop Mike’s arrival comes at a time of hope for the Church of England in Devon, with the numbers of people attending churches beginning to rise for the first time since the pandemic, and a wide variety of community outreach taking place.
However, there are also financial challenges and different views about the way forward for the Church of England, which still seeks to be a Christian presence in every parish in Devon.
Bishop Mike said “I pray that God gives us eyes to see and ears to hear what God is up to across Devon now and in the future, and hearts and minds to respond and share in His work. Please keep me in prayer too as I begin in this new role”
November’s Installation service will be a ticketed public event. Booking details will be available shortly through the Exeter Cathedral website.
Read more about Bishop Mike.