The bishop of London is diocesan bishop of the diocese of London in the Church of England. The bishop's seat, or cathedra, is at St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. The diocese covers most of northern and western Greater London north of the River Thames and the district of Spelthorne in Surrey, an area approximately corresponding to the City and the historic county of Middlesex.

The bishop is third in seniority in the Church of England after the archbishops of Canterbury and York, and is one of five bishops who have an automatic right to sit as one of the 26 Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords.See Lords Spiritual, Wikipedia, and further see "Lords Spiritual and Temporal", www.ukparliament Since 1723 it has also been customary for the bishop to be appointed dean of the Chapel Royal. Historically, the bishop's residence was Fulham Palace. Since 1973, other residences in central London have been used, including The Old Deanery near St Paul's Cathedral. The bishop has had direct episcopal oversight in the Two Cities area (the City of London and the City of Westminster) since the institution of the London area scheme in 1979.

The bishopric is currently vacant after the 134th bishop, Sarah Mullally, was translated to Canterbury on 28 January 2026.

History

The first mention of Christianity in England comes from Tertullian, possibly writing in the early 200s,"...the haunts of the Britons – inaccessible to the Romans, but subjugated to Christ..." (ch. 7)., Tertullian, Adversus Judaeos Chapter 7, accessed 16 Sep 2022 but the first mention of an implied church in London relates to a Bishop of London, either Restitus or Aldephius, attending the Council of Arles in 314 AD.

The location of Londinium's original cathedral is uncertain. The present structure of St Peter upon Cornhill was designed by Christopher Wren following the Great Fire in 1666 and stands upon the highest point in the area of old Londinium, but possibly more significantly directly above the location of a pagan shrine room (aedes) within the great Roman London basilica.R.E.M. Wheeler, The Topography of Saxon London, p296, Antiquity, Volume 8, Issue 31, September 1934.King Lucius of Britain, David Knight, 2008 p98.

There is a medieval tradition which maintains that the church was founded by King Lucius in AD 199. If St Peter's was built in the Roman era, it would make the church contemporaneous to the Romano-British church at Silchester, similarly built adjacent to the Roman Basilica and most likely pre-Constantine in age.

Some caution may be exercised in this respect however, as other research suggests it very rare for early English Christian churches to be founded in pagan temples,Tyler W Bell, The Religious Reuse of Roman Structures in Anglo-Saxon England, 2001, p105 and p109 – only 2 churches have been found that are sited on a Roman temple, just 0.7% of the total, accessed 26 Sep 2022 and that when temples were turned into churches, this occurred later, in the late sixth century onwards.Tyler W Bell, The Religious Reuse of Roman Structures in Anglo-Saxon England, 2001, p108, accessed 26 September 2022The Conversion of Temples in Rome, Feyo L. Schuddeboom, Journal of Late Antiquity, 22 September 2017, p175. Historians seem to be more confident that early English Christian churches met in private homes, and that some Roman villas also installed places of Christian worship.Examining the evidence for churches in Roman Britain; is this a concrete indication of Romano-British churches? Nathan Day, The Post Hole, December 2019 , accessed 26 Sep 2022

Whether the Lucius story is a fiction, or whether there was actually a church deliberately erected over the shrine room is unclear and could only be settled by archaeological exploration under St Peter's. However, it is interesting that whilst four medieval churches were built around the same time on the foundations of the Roman Basilica and forum, the London city authorities in 1417 determined that St Peter's dated back to Roman times, and indeed was the original seat of English Christianity.The King Lucius Tabula, John Clark (2014), p7, accessed 17 January 2022 This suggests there may have been something extra in St Peter's location and longevity which justifies it predating the others.

In 1995, a large and ornate 4th-century church was discovered on Tower Hill, which seems to have mimicked St Ambrose's cathedral in the imperial capital at Milan on a still-larger scale. This possible cathedral was built between 350 and 400 out of stone taken from other buildings, including its veneer of black marble. It is perfectly possible that the stone came from the London basilica and forum, which was demolished and levelled around the same time. The 4th-century church was burnt down in the early 5th century.

According to a 12th-century list, which may be recorded by Jocelyne of Furness, there had been 14 "archbishops" of London, claiming London's Christian community was founded in the 2nd century under the legendary King Lucius and his missionary saints Fagan, Deruvian, Elvanus, and Medwin. None of that is considered credible by modern historians.

Following the establishment of the archdiocese of Canterbury by the Gregorian mission, its leader St Augustine consecrated Mellitus as the first bishop to the Saxon kingdom of Essex in 604. (The first bishop of Rochester was also consecrated the same year.) Bede records that Augustine's patron, King Æthelberht of Kent, built a cathedral for his nephew King Sæberht of Essex as part of this mission. This cathedral was constructed in "London" and dedicated to St Paul. Although it is not clear whether Lundenwic or Lundenburh was intended, it is generally assumed the church was located in the same place occupied by the present St Paul's Cathedral on Ludgate Hill in London. Renaissance rumours that the cathedral had been erected over a Roman temple of the goddess Diana are no longer credited: during his rebuilding of the cathedral following the Great Fire of 1666, Christopher Wren reported discovering no trace of such a structure. Surrey was at times a part of the Kingdom of Essex, and with it the Diocese of London, a situation that changed following a synod at Brentford around 705, reflecting the growing strength of Mercia at the expense of Essex.Yorke, Barbara. Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England, Routledge, 1990, p. 49

Because the bishop's diocese includes the royal palaces and the seat of government at Westminster, they have been regarded as the "King's bishop" and have historically had considerable influence with members of the Royal Family and leading politicians of the day. Since 1748 it has been customary to appoint the Bishop of London to the post of Dean of His Majesty's Chapels Royal, which has the effect of putting under the bishop's jurisdiction, as dean, several chapels (at the Tower of London and St. James's Palace, among others) which are geographically in the Diocese of London but, as royal peculiars, are officially outside the bishop's jurisdiction as bishop.

The Bishop of London originally had responsibility for the church in the British colonies in North America, although after the American Revolution of 1776, all that remained under his jurisdiction were the islands of the British West Indies. The diocese was further reduced in 1846, when the counties of Essex and Hertfordshire were ceded to the Diocese of Rochester.

The Report of the Commissioners appointed by his Majesty to inquire into the Ecclesiastical Revenues of England and Wales (1835), noted the annual net income for the London see was £13,929.The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Vol.III, London: Charles Knight, 1847, p. 362

List of bishops

Romano-British Bishops The dates and names of these early bishops are very uncertain. Romano-British Bishops or Archbishops of London – traditional list From Until Incumbent Notes 186 or unknown 193Parker, John. The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite, Now First Translated into English, From the Original Greek, Appendix: "List of Bishops". James Parker& Co. (London), 1897. or unknown Thean Also recorded as Theanus. Credited with foundation of St Peter upon Cornhill. unknown Elvanus Also recorded as Eluanus. A figure from the 12th-century King Lucius legends first attested in the Book of Llandaff; along with St Medwin, said to have been Lucius's messenger to Pope Eleutherius unknown Cadar Also recorded as Cadwr and Cadoc. unknown Obinus unknown Conan Also recorded as Conanus. unknown Palludius Also recorded as Palladius, "bishop of Britain". unknown Stephan Also recorded as Stephanus. unknown Iltuta Also recorded as Iltutus. Conflated with 5th-century St Illtud. unknown Dedwin Also recorded as Theodwin and Theodwinus. unknown Thedred Also recorded as Theodredus. unknown Hilary Also recorded as Hilarius. fl. 314 Restitutus Not included in Jocelyn's list, but one of three British bishops recorded attending the 314 Council of Arles. The text is corrupt, but either Restitutus or Adelphius seem to have come from London. None are listed as a metropolitan. unknown Guidelinus Also recorded as Guitelinus, mentioned in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain.Geoffrey of Monmouth. History of the Kings of Britain, Vol. VI, Ch. ii–vi. Fastidius Not included in Jocelyn's list; described as "bishop of the Britons" by Gennadius, who credits him with a work on Christian living (De Vita Christiana) and another on pious widowhood (De Virginitate);Gennadius of Marseilles De Viris Illustribus, Ch. lvii. Translated by Ernest Cushing Richardson in A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, 2nd Series, Translated into English with Prolegomena and Explanatory Notes, Vol. III, Lives of Illustrious Men, Ch. LVII: "Fastidius the bishop". T. & T. Clark (Edinburgh). Reprinted by Wm. B. Eerdman's Publishing (Grand Rapids). surviving texts by these namesPseudo-Fastidius. "On Virginity" and "On the Christian Life". Translated by B. R. Rees in The Letters of Pelagius and His Followers. 1991. Reprinted as Pelagius: Life and Letters, Vol. II, Pt. I, Ch. 2 & 4, pp. 71–87 & 105–126. The Boydell Press (Woodbridge), 1998. . do not match Gennadius's description and seem rather Pelagian, although Gildas apparently quoted them approvingly.Herren, Michael W. & al. Christ in Celtic Christianity, pp. 80–81. The Boydell Press (Woodbridge), 2002. . unknown 453 or unknown Vodinus Also recorded as Wodinus, said to have been martyred by the SaxonsAccording to Hector Boethius, Scotorum Historia (1575 version) – A hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton – The University of California, Irvine – Posted February 26, 2010 – Book VIII Section 51 unknown or unknown Theanus (II.) Also recorded as Theonus. Fled into Wales.According to (in Latin) According to one source, the last bishop's episcopate ended in 586. But according to another, a century and a half had elapsed between the flight of the last British bishop and the coming of the first Post-Augustinian bishop. Source(s):

Post-Augustinian