THE Rt Revd Rob Saner-Haigh, Suffragan Bishop of Penrith, in the diocese of Carlisle, since 2022, is to be its next diocesan Bishop, Downing Street announced on Friday.
Bishop Saner-Haigh, who is 52, has been the Acting Bishop of Carlisle since September 2023, after the see became vacant on the retirement of the Rt Revd James Newcome (News, 14 July 2023).
It was announced in December 2023 that the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) had not been able to agree who should be the diocesan bishop (News, 22 December 2023). No reason was given for the CNC’s inability to reach a consensus about whom to appoint.
Seven months later, it was announced that the CNC, considering the nomination of the next Bishop of Ely, had not been able reach a consensus (News, 19 July 2024).
Because of the failure to appoint in Carlisle and Ely, people were “openly questioning the integrity of the process”, the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, who chairs the Advisory Group for Appointments and Vocation, told the General Synod (News, 13 September 2024).
A paper that she presented proposed ending the secret ballot by which diocesan bishops are nominated and changing the threshold required for a nomination from two-thirds to 60 per cent of CNC members. In February, the Synod voted against these specific proposals, while approving other changes to the process (Synod, 28 February).
Bishop Saner-Haigh was trained for the ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and was ordained deacon in 2005, and priest in 2006. Most of his ministry has been spent in the diocese of Carlisle: he served his title at St Lawrence’s, Appleby; from 2007 to 2010, he served in the Dalston Benefice, south of Carlisle, and was chaplain to Bishop Newcome. He also spent two years during this period as Director of Ordinands. From 2010 to 2020, he was Priest-in-Charge of Holy Trinity, Kendal, before being appointed director of mission in the diocese of Newcastle, a post that he held for two years until he became Bishop of Penrith.
Before his ordination training, he was a project manager for an IT firm, having worked as an archaeologist. He studied ancient history and archaeology at Birmingham University, and later completed an M.Phil. in archaeology. He was born and raised in Birkenhead, on Merseyside.
Bishop Saner-Haigh said on Friday that it was an honour “to be able to continue to serve this county that I love”.
“This will be a time of both continuity and change for the diocese of Carlisle,” he continued. “I’m a local vicar at heart and love the local church. It’s where we learn together about who God is, and what that means for our lives and the place where we can best serve our local communities.
“There is a rich variety of churches across the county, from those which have stood as a sign of God’s love at the heart of their communities for a thousand years, to those starting new today in village halls or on fellsides. I will do all I can to help each flourish as, together, we seek to share the good news of Jesus. As Bishop of Carlisle, I will also seek to highlight this wonderful county and to do all I can for the people of Cumbria.”
Welcoming the nomination, the Archbishop of York said that Bishop Saner-Haigh’s “deep love of the gospel combines with a deep love for Cumbria, a heart for service, and a genuine affection for the people and communities he will serve”.
Bishop Saner-Haigh is married to Emma, with whom he has three adult children.
The date of his installation is yet to be confirmed.
