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John Perumbalath

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The Right Reverend

John Perumbalath
Bishop of Liverpool (on leave)
Perumbalath in 2018
ChurchChurch of England
DioceseDiocese of Liverpool
In office2023–present (on leave)
PredecessorPaul Bayes
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination1994 (deacon)
1995 (priest)
by Dinesh Chandra Gorai
Consecration3 July 2018
by Justin Welby
Personal details
Born (1966-05-23) 23 May 1966 (age 58)
Kerala, India
DenominationAnglican
ResidenceWoolton Park, Liverpool

John Perumbalath (born 23 May 1966) is a bishop in the Church of England who has served as Bishop of Liverpool since July 2023. He had previously served as Archdeacon of Barking (2013–2018) and the area Bishop of Bradwell (2018–2023), both in the Diocese of Chelmsford. In January 2025, he was accused by two women of sexual assault and harassment, and he subsequently announced that he would step back as Bishop of Liverpool immediately and retire (i.e. legally resign his See) soon after, stepping back with immediate effect whilst resigning his See at a later date.[1]

Early life and education

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Perumbalath was born on 23 May 1966, in Mananthavady in the south Indian state of Kerala.[2][3] He obtained his first university degree from Calicut University, studying at St Mary's College, Sulthan Bathery. He was a seminarian at the Union Biblical Seminary,[4] Pune (Maharashtra)[5] and later at the North India Institute of Post Graduate Theological Studies, Calcutta/Serampore (West Bengal) where he pursued specialized postgraduate research in New Testament. He also pursued doctoral studies in hermeneutics at King's College London and North-West University.[6]

Career

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Perumbalath worked among university students as a staff worker of the Evangelical Union for two years in his home state Kerala before training for ordination. He did his post-graduate research in theology at the North India Institute of Post Graduate Theological Studies, Calcutta / Serampore specializing in New Testament. Then he joined the faculty of Serampore College as Lecturer in New Testament. He was ordained deacon in 1994 and priest in 1995 in the Diocese of Calcutta (Church of North India). After a short curacy at St John's Church, Calcutta, in 1995 he was appointed Vicar of St James' Church, Calcutta.

After moving to the UK in 2001, he served at St George's Church, Beckenham as Associate Rector, at St Mark's, Rosherville as Priest-in-Charge/Team Vicar and at All Saints', Northfleet (all in the Diocese of Rochester) as Vicar before his appointment[7] as Archdeacon of Barking, a newly created post.[8] He was the chair of North Kent Council for Inter-faith Relations from 2008 to 2013. From 2008 to 2013, he was also the Diocese of Rochester's Urban Adviser and Link Officer for the Church Urban Fund.

He was collated as Archdeacon of Barking on 15 September 2013 with the oversight of the Anglican churches in the London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham and Havering.[9][10] During this time he also served as the Chair of Church of England's Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (CMEC), Chair of London Churches Refugee Network and as a member of Mission and Public Affairs Council of the Church of England.

Episcopal ministry

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On 9 March 2018, Perumbalath was announced as the next Bishop of Bradwell, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Chelmsford.[11][12] He was consecrated as bishop by Archbishop Justin Welby on 3 July 2018 at St Paul's Cathedral,[12][13] and was installed at Chelmsford Cathedral on 22 July.

On 18 October 2022, the Prime Minister's Office announced that Queen Elizabeth II had accepted Perumbalath's nomination as the next Bishop of Liverpool.[14] On 25 November 2022, he was elected by the College of Canons of Liverpool Cathedral to become the next Bishop of Liverpool.[15] The confirmation of his election – by which he legally took up the See of Liverpool – was on 20 January 2023 at York Minster.[16] He was enthroned in the Liverpool Cathedral on 22 April 2023.[17]

Perumbalath chairs the Council of the College of Resurrection, Mirfield, and serves on the Clergy Discipline Commission of the Church of England. He also chairs the Churches Refugee Network for Britain and Ireland, CTBI. He is the Church of England's Lead Bishop for Porvoo Communion of Churches (group of Lutheran Churches in Europe), and serves on the Communion-Wide Advisory Group of the USPG, an Anglican mission society.

Allegations and resignation

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In January 2025, it became public that he had been accused by two women of sexual assault,[18][19] following a broadcast by Channel 4 News.[20] One woman alleged that he had forcibly kissed her and groped her while they were on a diocesan away day in 2019, which she then reported to an archdeacon.[21] He had been interviewed under caution by police in March 2024 in relation to this accusation,[20] but no further action was taken.[1] The other woman, later revealed to be Bev Mason, the Bishop of Warrington in the diocese of Liverpool, reported to senior clergy and the Archbishop of York in 2023 that she had been sexually harassed by Perumbalath; as this was outside the 12-month limitation period under the Clergy Conduct Measure, it was not taken further.[21][22]

Perumbalath publicly denied the allegations on 28 January, saying "I don't believe I have done anything wrong".[23] The following day, senior members of the Diocese of Liverpool publicly called for him to "step aside from all ministry in the Diocese of Liverpool" until the allegations made by the female bishop had been fully investigated.[24] On 30 January, he announced that he would "retire from active ministry in the Church of England"[25][26] – in practice, he would "step back" with immediate effect, but resign his See at a later date.[1] He claimed that this was caused by the "rush to judgment and my trial by media (be that social or broadcast) has made my position untenable" and that it "is not a resignation occasioned by fault or by any admission of liability".[1]

Theological positions

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Perumbalath is influenced by Oriental Orthodox, evangelical and Anglo-Catholic traditions, and follows a Benedictine framework for spirituality. He was born in the ancient Syrian Christian community in Kerala and trained for ordination at Union Biblical Seminary, a leading evangelical training college in India.

Perumbalath affirms the ordained ministry of women in the Church. In November 2023, he was one of 44 Church of England bishops who signed an open letter supporting the use of the Prayers of Love and Faith (i.e. blessings for same-sex couples) and called for "Guidance being issued without delay that includes the removal of all restrictions on clergy entering same-sex civil marriages, and on bishops ordaining and licensing such clergy".[27]

Personal life

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Perumbalath is married to Jessy, a teacher of Mathematics, and they have one daughter.

Styles and titles

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Abbott, Ryan (30 January 2025). "Retirement of the Bishop of Liverpool". Diocese of Liverpool. Archived from the original on 30 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  2. ^ "John Perumbalath". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  3. ^ "First Indian to Hold a Senior Post in Church of England |". www.britishsouthindians.co.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  4. ^ Daily Pioneer, Indian-origin archdeacon appointed Bishop of Bradwell in UK, 11 March 2018 | PTI | London [1]
  5. ^ ‘PERUMBALATH, John’, Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, Nov 2014 accessed 30 May 2015
  6. ^ John Perumbalath, Confident and imaginative : scripture & hermeneutic in the Johannine passion narrative and today, NWU, 2007. [2]
  7. ^ "Sermon for the Collation of Robin King, Mina Smallman and John Perumbalath as Archdeacons | Bishop Stephen". www.stephencottrell.org. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Three new Archdeacons appointed - St John's Church". www.stjohnsparishchurch.org. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  9. ^ Alwakeel, Ramzy. "Rev Dr John Perumbalath appointed first Archdeacon of Barking, covering Havering and Barking and Dagenham". Romford Recorder. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  10. ^ Diocese of Chelmsford web-site Archived 2015-06-01 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Nomination of Suffragan Bishop of Bradwell: 9 March 2018". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  12. ^ a b "New Bishop of Bradwell: 'God wants Essex to flourish'". www.chelmsford.anglican.org. The Diocese of Chelmsford. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  13. ^ Mark Davies [@BishMiddleton] (3 July 2018). "Overjoyed to be at St Paul's Cathedral this morning for the Ordination & Consecration of the Bishops of Bradwell, Bristol & Tonbridge. +John Bradwell has been a great Chair of CMEAC & it was good to be with #CMEAC colleagues to share in the joy of today" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "Appointment of Bishop of Liverpool: 18 October 2022". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 18 October 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  15. ^ Liverpool Cathedral [@LivCathedral] (25 November 2022). "he College of Canons met tonight to formally elect..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "Diary (January 2023)". Archbishop of York. 1 December 2022. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Installation of Bishop John Perumbalath". Liverpool Cathedral. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  18. ^ Whittingham, Stewart; Mullen, Tom (28 January 2025). "Bishop of Liverpool denies sex assault allegations". BBC News. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  19. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jan/29/bishop-of-liverpool-under-pressure-to-quit-over-sexual-misconduct-allegations
  20. ^ a b Newman, Cathy (29 January 2025). "Exclusive: Church Abuse Scandal: Bishop accuses bishop of sexual harassment". Channel 4 News. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  21. ^ a b Davies, Madeleine (28 January 2025). "Bishop of Liverpool denies allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault". Church Times. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  22. ^ Eastham, Janet (30 January 2025). "Bishop of Warrington made sexual harassment claim against Bishop of Liverpool". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  23. ^ Abbott, Ryan (28 January 2025). "Statement from the Bishop of Liverpool". Diocese of Liverpool. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  24. ^ "A statement from Senior Leadership of the Diocese of Liverpool". Diocese of Liverpool. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  25. ^ Eastham, Janet (30 January 2025). "Bishop of Liverpool quits over sex harassment claims". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  26. ^ "Bishop of Liverpool retires after sexual assault allegations". BBC News. 30 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  27. ^ Martin, Francis (1 November 2023). "Don't delay guidance allowing priests to be in same-sex marriages, say 44 bishops". Church Times. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
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