The process to appoint a new Bishop is formed of many parts. Here we document that journey, from May 2025 to the present day, as The Rt Revd Rob Saner-Haigh becomes the 68th Bishop of Carlisle.
Announcement
In May 2025, Downing Street announced that His Majesty The King has approved the nomination of the Rt Rev Rob Saner-Haigh as the 68th Bishop of Carlisle. Bishop Rob said: “It is such an honour to have been nominated as the next Bishop of Carlisle and to be able to continue to serve this county that I love.”
Election by the College of Canons
The College of Canons gathered for their Annual Meeting in July 2025, at which they also formally ‘elected’ Bishop Rob as our next diocesan bishop. As governed by the Appointment of Bishops Act 1533, only members of Chapter and Honorary Canons formally participated in the Election itself.
The College of Canons, do not ‘elect’ a bishop in the modern sense, but confirm that through the process of prayerful discernment the Church has followed, Bishop Rob is ‘elect’ in his calling to be the 68th Bishop of Carlisle.
Confirmation
The election of the Rt Rev Rob Saner-Haigh as the Bishop of Carlisle was formally confirmed at York Minster in September 2025, completing the legal process by which he assumes spiritual oversight of the diocese.
The service was both worshipful and solemn, combining prayer, readings, and intercessions led by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, with a formal court process presided over by the Commissary, Morag Ellis KC. The court received the required legal documents, noted that opportunities for objections had been available, but none were raised, and then issued its decree. As the service expressed, the bishop is entrusted with the “care, government and administration of the spiritualities” of the See of Carlisle. This moment — known as the confirmation of election — is the act by which a bishop lawfully takes office.
Autumn Deanery Tours
Bishop Rob will be touring the diocese’s deaneries in the run up to his enthronement as Bishop of Carlisle. These days will provide an opportunity to pray together and for Bishop Rob to listen to people locally, as well as share his thoughts on where we are as a diocese and our ministry together over the coming years.
Each deanery will host an open deanery synod meeting and all are welcome to attend. Please look at the next square for dates.
Deanery Tour Dates
- Penrith Deanery: Wednesday 29th October, 7.30pm – Church House, Penrith
- Appleby Deanery: Thursday 30th October, 7pm – Sands Methodist Church, Appleby
- Windermere Deanery: Monday 3rd November, 7pm – St Mary’s, Windermere
- Solway Deanery: Tuesday 4th November, 7pm – St Mary’s, Wigton
- Furness Deanery: Wednesday 5th November, 7pm – St. Mary’s, Dalton
- Derwent Deanery: Thursday 6th November, 7pm – Christ Church, Cockermouth
- Barrow Deanery: Monday 10th November, 7.30pm – St Mary’s Centre, Walney
- Kendal Deanery: Tuesday 11th November, 7.30pm – St Thomas’s, Kendal
- Calder Deanery: Wednesday 12th November, 7pm – St Bee’s Priory, St Bees
- Carlisle Deanery: Thursday 13th November, 7.30pm – St Elisabeth’s, Harraby
Brampton’s meeting will take place in the new year, and the date and venue will be confirmed shortly.
Enthronement
The Enthronement of the 68th Bishop of Carlisle, The Rt Revd Robert Saner-Haigh, will take place at Carlisle Cathedral on Saturday 29 November 2025 at 2pm.
Live Streaming
The Bishop’s Enthronement Service will be live streamed on the Cathedral Facebook page and the Diocese of Carlisle Facebook page. Please join us online if you are able to.
Kendal Parish Church will be showing the live stream.
Service Details
As we get closer to the Enthronement, we will start to share some details about the service. We hope you enjoy learning more about the traditions, arrangements and artefacts that will form parts of the day.
Psalm 21 in Cumbria Dialect
Jean Scott-Smith, President Lakeland Dialect Society will be reading Psalm 21 in Cumbrian dialect during the Enthronement, and the NRSV version will be shared in the Order of Service on the day.
Samuel and Karla Coswig
Many people will take part in the Enthronement. Samuel and Karla Coswig, Missionaries for Carlisle Netwrok Youth Church and West Carlisle Church Plant, speak to Rob Humphreys from the Diocese of Carlisle, in their new Podcast, Seat to the Street. They talk about their work within the Diocese, after moving here from Brazil, and their involvement in the Enthronement.
The Netherby Bible
Two Bibles are involved in the Enthronement service.
The Netherby Bible, kindly lent by the Graham family at Carlisle enthronements, is traditionally used for the Bishop to lay his hand on while he takes the oaths of allegiance, obedience and fidelity. This Bible is kindly lent by the Graham family at Carlisle enthronements, it having been given to Sir Richard Graham by King Charles I before his execution on 30 January 1649.
Click here to find out more!
Order of Service
Here is the Order of Service for the Enthronement Service. Please feel free to use this if you are watching the live stream.
The Bishops' Bible
The second Bible used in the service is the Bishops’ Bible.
It is used for the Bishop to lay his hand on while he takes the oath to keep watch over the Diocese of Carlisle. This is a first edition, published in 1568, and given to the Cathedral by the Machell family, who formerly lived at Crackenthorpe, Appleby. It is known as the Bishops’ Bible because different bishops translated various sections from the original Hebrew and Aramaic under the leadership of Archbishop Matthew Parker (1504-75). It was published during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, whom Parker had been charged to care for by Anne Boleyn shortly before her arrest in 1536. The Bible contains 124 woodcuts and was used as the basis for the 1611 King James Version. In the Cathedral’s copy, missing pages have been replaced with handwritten versions, probably dating from the 17th century.
Exhibition
In honour of the Bishop’s Enthronement, a special exhibition will be installed for 29 November, which explores the role of the Bishop of Carlisle and their relationship with Carlisle Cathedral. Please take a look at the glass case in the South Nave Aisle and at artefacts and interpretation around the Cathedral, as we celebrate this new chapter in the history of the Diocese.
Order of Service artwork
The artwork on the front of the Order of Service is by the British artist and illustrator, Francesca Ross. It is based on the outline of a traditional Celtic cross, featuring a central boss, arms with cut-out sections, and an encircling ring. The central boss has a classic motif taken from the Lindisfarne Gospels. This links Cumbrian Christianity with its roots in the historic Diocese of Lindisfarne, of which Carlisle was once a part.
The motif on the arms of the cross echoes the centre of the cross but flows and loops. This illustrates how, whilst the message of the Gospel remains the same, its proclamation changes with time and place. The sections of the ring represent four natural features of Cumbria: the
mountains, the forests, the coastline, and the rivers and the lakes. Read more on the back page of the Order of Service.
The Organist
The Father Willis organ will be played by Edward Taylor, Assistant Organist at Carlisle Cathedral, during the Enthronement Service.
Edward has been at Carlisle Cathedral since 2008. He previously held posts as Organ Scholar at Ely Cathedral, Leeds Parish Church, Wakefield Cathedral and Portsmouth Cathedral. Alongside his current position, Edward directs the Cathedral Youth Choir and Cantate Children’s Choir. He also plays a major role in the Cathedral’s Outreach scheme in local primary schools. Edward is in demand both as a solo recitalist and also as an accompanist and plays regularly for local choirs in this latter role.
The Choirs
At the Enthronement Service, the Girl and Boy Choristers and Lay Clerks will be singing. Carlisle Cathedral Choir dates back at least as far as the new foundation of the Cathedral in 1541. The Cathedral Statutes of 1545 provided for six choristers, ‘boys of tender age, and with sonorous voices and apt at chanting’.
Today, the choir comprises up to sixteen boy choristers, the same number of girl choristers, six regular lay clerks with additional choral scholars and deputy lay clerks. Until 1935 the choristers were educated at the Cathedral’s own choir school; today the children are recruited from local day schools, and each set of choristers attends the Cathedral on alternate Sundays and on two week nights in rotation. More information can be found here.
The Cathedra
The Cathedra is the Bishop’s Seat in the Cathedral, and where the building gets its name. Find out more about it here.
Information for 29 November
On Saturday 29 November, the Cathedral will be closed for visitors as we prepare for, and host, the Enthronement Service, which will begin at 2pm. Doors will open for ticket holders at 12.30pm. Please have your tickets ready for inspection and be seated by 1.30pm at the latest. Please note that there is no parking available on site for guests.
Unfortunately, there is no public ticketing for this service. The service will be live streamed and can be viewed on:
- The Cathedral Facebook page
- The Cathedral You Tube channel
- The Diocese of Carlisle Facebook page
- The Diocese of Carlisle You Tube channel
The Order of Service can be found here.
The Cathedral Café, Fratry Hall and Undercroft will be open all day. Toilets will be available in the Café and Undercroft, and behind the beech hedge at the end of the Dean’s Walk.
Photos from the Enthronement
To view photos from the Enthronement, please click here.
Thank you to everyone involved with the service.
New Bishop Installed!
Thank you to everyone involved with the Enthronement of the 68th Bishop of Carlisle.
Please click here to read the press release about the service.
Photos: The Diocese of Carlisle/Stuart Walker Photography
Flag raised
You may have noticed the flag flying from the top of the bell tower this week. The flag was raised to celebrate the Enthronement of the 68th Bishop of Carlisle, the Right Revd Rob Saner-Haigh last Saturday.
