Rt Rev Stephen Conway, Bishop of Lincoln, has resigned following his suspension from ministry after his arrest earlier this year on suspicion of sexual assault.
In February, Lincolnshire Police said a 68 year-old man was arrested in connection with an ongoing inquiry into an allegation between 2018 and 2025. He was released on conditional bail.
The Church of England said a complaint had been made to the National Safeguarding Team in the same month, which had been referred to the police.
The complaint process is still ongoing, as clergy remain subject to church disciplinary procedures following resignation or retirement.
Rt Rev Nick Chamberlain will continue as Acting Bishop of Lincoln. When the See becomes vacant on 1 October, a Crown Nominations Commission will be convened to discern a successor.
A pastoral letter from Bishop Nick and Bishop of Grimsby, Rt Rev Jean Burgess, was sent to the diocese on Monday.
The bishops said: “We recognise that this news may provoke a range of feelings. It may unsettle you and may have caught you as unexpected. Some may feel anxious about the future. Some may have very different responses. We share this range of reactions. However you respond, we encourage you to reach out to each other as Christians together. Support will be available from your church community, from diocesan colleagues, and from us.
“Over the coming months, there will be different opportunities to gather as a diocesan family to pray together and seek that ‘still small voice of calm’ which is the reassurance that God is at work even through moments of human frailty, along unexpected journeys, and during seasons of change.
“St Paul encourages us more than once to pray ceaselessly; to devote ourselves to prayer […] And so we invite you to join us in prayer for each other, for those in need or distress, for this diocese and our journey ahead, for those who report abuse or harm and those who respond and support them, for our colleagues who investigate concerns and oversee safeguarding (particularly our diocesan and national safeguarding teams). Pray also for Bishop Stephen, and for all those who will carry the responsibility of discerning God’s call in the forthcoming appointments process.”
The letter directed those distressed to the independent Safe Spaces helpline, the Diocesan Safeguarding Team and the Church’s National Safeguarding Team.
A previous statement from the diocese said support was in place for those affected.
