My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
As we begin the Church’s year and the wonderful season of Advent, so full of promise and hope, I share with you that His Majesty The King has graciously consented to my request to retire on my seventieth birthday in August next year. I have had the privilege of serving this Diocese for over twenty years in two episcopal roles, and of sharing the cure of souls with the many excellent clergy who hold my licence. I am mindful of all that you have given generously and sacrificially, as clergy and lay people, to strengthen partnerships in the Gospel in the parishes and ministries to which you have been called. I thank God for you daily, and ask for your prayers in these concluding months.
I shall be nominating Bishop Rosemarie as Acting Bishop of Southwark, to work with the Diocesan College of Bishops. A year ago when I was convalescing, greatly encouraged by your prayers and good will, Bishop Rosemarie convened the College of Bishops with authority and grace in an uncertain time. I ask for prayers for her during the Vacancy in See, and also for my esteemed colleagues Bishop Martin and Bishop Alastair. I shall hand the Diocesan crozier to Bishop Rosemarie at my final service at Southwark Cathedral on Saturday 18 July 2026 at 12 noon and I am confident that she will lead a senior team that is well prepared for this change – it is a brilliant and effective team.
During my time in Southwark I have very much enjoyed leading diocesan and co-leading ecumenical pilgrimages, particularly to the Holy Land. In recent years I have a very strong sense of how important the reality and metaphor of journey and pilgrimage is in the Christian Faith. It is the Way, as we seek together to understand God’s loving purposes for us, to speak well of each other, and to honour our Baptism and participation in Christ.
I have a heartfelt desire, God willing, to continue to serve Christ’s Church, but my own personal sense of pilgrimage is captured in Walter Raleigh’s poem, ‘The Passionate Man’s Pilgrimage’:
Give me my scallop shell of quiet,
My staff of faith to walk upon,
My scrip of joy, immortal diet,
My bottle of salvation,
My gown of glory, hope’s true gage,
And thus I’ll take my pilgrimage.
It has been a privilege to make my pilgrimage with you over these years. You have been hearty companions. I am confident that in God’s providence there will be joy and sustenance for each and every Southwark pilgrim in the faithful years to come, the Lord himself being our helper.
The Rt Revd Christopher Chessun
The Bishop of Southwark
