The Archbishop of Canterbury along with the Bishop of London and the Bishop of the Lusitanian Church in Portugal, have appointed the Right Revd Geoffrey Rowell to be the next Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe.

The Archbishop said: "Dr Rowell is a well known scholar, teacher and pastor and he has much to offer the many and scattered congregations in the diocese in Europe. I know they will receive him with warmth".

Bishop Rowell is currently Suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke in the Diocese of Winchester.

Note for editors:

The Constitution of the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe states that the Bishop of the Diocese shall be appointed by a panel made up of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London and an Episcopal member of the Anglican Consultative Council.

The Crown Appointments Commission sits as a Special Appointments Commission to recommend candidates to the panel, after consultation.

The Diocese in Europe's press release follows:

New Bishop for Europe

The Rt Revd Dr Geoffrey Rowell (58), Suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke, is to be the next Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe. He succeeds the Rt.Revd John Hind who has been appointed Bishop of Chichester and will take up his new post in the autumn.

Bishop Geoffrey's ministry to date has been characterised by pastoral care, theology and teaching (he is a distinguished church historian) and contributions to improving relations between the Churches.

As Chaplain, Fellow and Tutor at Keble College Oxford from 1972 - 1994, he had pastoral responsibility not only for the students and staff but also for clergy in the 67 parishes for which the college is the patron. As Bishop of Basingstoke, he has pastoral care of 125 clergy and their families in North Hampshire. From 1997 he has chaired the Churches Group on Funeral Services at Cemeteries and Crematoria.

Bishop Geoffrey is a major player in building relations with other Churches. He has been a member of the Anglo-Oriental Orthodox International Forum since 1985 and co-chairman since 1996. He is also a member of the newly constituted Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations. His present Diocese of Winchester has historic links with Stavanger in Norway and he was instrumental with others in creating a twinning link with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Florence in Italy.

As a theologian Bishop Geoffrey served on the Liturgical Commission from 1981-91 and became a member of the Doctrine Commission in 1991. He is also a member of the House of Bishops' Theological Group and the Working Party on Women and the Episcopate.

He said of his appointment "It is an honour and a privilege to have been asked to become the new Bishop in Europe. I look forward to building strong pastoral links with the many chaplaincies spread over the enormous area which makes up the Diocese, and to the many opportunities to work with our ecumenical partners of many different Christian traditions. I am both humbled and excited by the prospect of this new ministry, and hope that I will be able to bring to it the fruits of many years of teaching, of work with young people, of ecumenical friendship and more recently of the many aspects of a bishop's work in my native North Hampshire. I know that in being asked to succeed John Hind I will be able to build on the firm foundation he has laid in many areas, and I ask the prayers of the Diocese as I begin my ministry in the autumn."

An ardent traveller he claims to have visited most European countries. He is off to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang for his holidays. He also relaxes by listening to music, reading poetry and is a prolific writer.

Note to editors

The Diocese

In 1633 the English congregations on the Continent were placed under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London. The Diocese of Gibraltar was formed subsequently in 1842, and in 1883 the Bishop of London appointed a Suffragan Bishop, the Bishop of Fulham, to care for the chaplaincies and congregations in Northern and Central Europe.

From 1970 the Diocese of Gibraltar and the Northern and Central parts of Europe were cared for by a single bishop, designated the Bishop of Fulham and Gibraltar. In 1980, a single diocese was created called the Diocese in Europe.

The Diocese covers the whole of continental Europe and includes Morocco. The 288 congregations are cared for by 135 clergy, some of whom are full-time, others part-time and some retired.