Bishop John Perumbalath with Bishop Bev Mason

 

On Tuesday 18 October it was announced from Downing Street that the current Bishop of Bradwell in the Diocese of Chelmsford, Bishop John Perumbalath, is to be the ninth Bishop of Liverpool following Bishop Paul Bayes who retired last February.

Bishop John comes from the ancient Christian community in Kerala, South India, and was ordained into the Church of North India in 1994. He moved to the UK in 2001 taking up positions in the Diocese of Rochester. Bishop John then served as Archdeacon of Barking before becoming the Bishop of Bradwell in 2018. 

Amongst other roles, Bishop John is the Chair of Churches Refugee Network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. He is the Church of England’s Lead Bishop on Churches Together in Britain and Ireland relations and a trustee of CTBI. He chairs Christians Aware, an educational charity, and serves on the Anglican Communion-wide Advisory Group of USPG, an Anglican mission society. He also lectures widely on faith and social engagement and in Biblical theology. 

Bishop John is married with one adult daughter. He is a keen walker and enjoys reading poetry and novels from various parts of the world.

He says, ‘I am delighted and humbled to have received this call to be the next Bishop of Liverpool. I have come to love Liverpool through my numerous visits when my daughter was in university here for six years. I look forward to becoming part of the vibrant and diverse communities served by the Diocese of Liverpool and I want to proclaim and live out a message of hope, peace, and justice. I pray that I will lead a church that is faithful in offering our communities the hope that we have in God, serving the communities by working together well and in partnership with others.’ 
And he noted the sacrifice demanded as he cited Jesus’s line in the Gospel that ‘No one who sets a hand to the plough and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.’

Welcoming the appointment Bishop Bev Mason, Bishop of Warrington, said ‘Bishop John is an excellent appointment to our diocese and his wisdom and grace will help guide us as we continue to seek to be fit for mission asking God for a bigger church to make a bigger difference. I look forward to welcoming him and Jessy and working alongside him in our diocese.’ 

Bishop John is expected to be installed in Liverpool Cathedral in a special service early next year.