News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

World News

Former Anglican Bishop of Chester joins Catholic Church

by Kelly Valencia
Peter Foster style 3.png - Banner image

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Scotland has confirmed the former Bishop of Chester, Dr Peter Forster has defected the Anglican Church to become a Roman Catholic.
 
Dr Forster is understood to have been received into the Catholic Church last year and is working in the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, the area where he now resides. 

Having served as a Bishop of Chester from 1996 until he retired in September 2019, Dr Forster also entered the House of Lords in 2001 as Lord Spiritual.

During his time as an Anglican bishop, Dr Forster was part of the English Anglican-Roman Catholic Committee, opposed to efforts to legalise same-sex marriage in the UK and the ordination of practicing homosexual clergy and supported the ordination of women. 

The first woman bishop in the Church of England came from his diocese. He was the longest serving Church of England bishop. 

Dr Forster has become the fourth bishop in a year to join the Catholic Church, following the steps of, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, the former bishop of Rochester, the former Bishop of Ebbsfleet, Jonathan Goodall; and the former Bishop of Burnley, John Goddard.

When announcing he was leaving the Church of England, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali said he "he had to leave" because the Church of England as an institution "seems to be losing its way."

Dr Forster has made no public comment about his decision nor has explained why he decided to switch denominations. 

There's no information as to whether he will become a Catholic priest. 

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate