Rev Canon Dr Anderson Jeremiah will represent the London boroughs of Camden, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey within the Church of England

A new Bishop of Edmonton has been announced.

The Rev Canon Dr Anderson Jeremiah, an associate dean in the arts and sciences at Lancaster University, was appointed by the Diocese of London to represent the London boroughs of Camden, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey within the Church of England.

Rev Anderson is currently the associate priest at St Paul’s Scotforth, in the Diocese of Blackburn, Lancashire. He grew up in Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state in India, as a Dalit Christian. He is the first Dalit, and the first clergyperson ordained in the Church of Southern India (CSI), to be appointed as a bishop in the Church of England.

The official announcement came from Downing Street last week while the bishop-designate visited Wren Academy Finchley, a leading school co-sponsored by the London Diocesan Board of Schools (LDBS). As part of his introduction to the Edmonton area, Rev Anderson visited a number of local churches, including St Barnabas Finchley, St Francis at the Engine Room, St Aldhelm and Old St Pancras Church, one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in the capital.

Rev Anderson was previously asked by the archbishops of York and Canterbury to play a role in an anti-racism taskforce, as well as being the first Bishop’s adviser for black, Asian and minority ethnic affairs in the Diocese of Blackburn. He will take responsibility for the racial justice portfolio in the London College of Bishops.

The Rev Anderson said: “I am humbled to be called to be the next Bishop of Edmonton.

“I am particularly excited to take responsibility for racial justice as a portfolio amongst the bishops in London. My personal experiences of exclusion and discrimination have formed my life, research, and ministry.

“The Edmonton area is blessed by being a thriving diverse mixture of communities, whom I look forward to serving and shepherding. As an international family, we look forward to finding a home in the London diocesan family.” 

Anderson will formally take up his post in spring 2024 and will join the College of Bishops in the Diocese of London. He succeeds Rev Rob Wickham as Bishop of Edmonton, who stepped down in August to become chief executive of the Church Urban Fund. 

Bishop of London, Rev Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, added: “Today’s announcement is a blessing for the church in North London, which I am sure will thrive under Anderson’s leadership and ministry. He brings a combination of experience – pastoral, academic, theological and strategic – which is a great gift to the Diocese of London as a whole.”

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