Bishop Jo Bailey Wells is to become Deputy Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, following an announcement by the Secretary General, the Right Revd Anthony Poggo on Wednesday.

In her new role, the Bishop for Episcopal Ministry in the Anglican Communion, the Right Revd Dr Jo Bailey Wells will assist Bishop Anthony Poggo in leading the work of the Anglican Communion Office, which oversees a global family of churches in over 165 countries.

Bishop Anthony said Bishop Jo’s appointment would: “foster a collaborative, engaged, enriched fellowship among the bishops of the Anglican Communion, inspiring ever greater companionship, learning and interchange between provinces.”

“As my deputy, she will play an increased role of the leadership in the Secretariat while continuing to develop connections between bishops around the world.”

Bishop Jo was ordained in the Church of England as deacon in 1995, priest in 1996 and bishop in 2016. She has served as Dean of Clare College, Cambridge and founded the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies.

She became Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013 before moving to the Diocese of Guildford as Bishop of Dorking in 2016. In January 2023 she took up her role as Bishop for Episcopal Ministry in the Anglican Communion.

Speaking of her appointment, Bishop Jo said: “I am hugely honoured now to be invited to serve as Deputy Secretary General.

“The global Communion has ever been at the heart of my commitment within the body of Christ. Though my faith was nurtured in the Church of England, it was in Uganda that I came to understand Anglicanism; and it was during my first spell in the United States that I discovered the call to ordination."