Bishop Michael Perham was due to retire in November after almost ten years in the role but in a statement, the Diocese of Gloucester said: "for personal reasons, Rt Revd Michael Perham has stepped back from his ministry as the Bishop of Gloucester."
No further information has been made public about the sudden announcement.
Bishop Michael is married to Dr Alison Grove, a palliative care consultant, and they have four grown-up daughters.
He served in six full-time posts in the Church of England, before taking up the post of Bishop of Gloucester in 2004 up until Monday's announcement had a presence in the House of Lords as one of the 26 Lords Spiritual.
A special service was due to take place on November 8th to celebrate his time as Bishop of Gloucester.
However, church officials said they "did not know" whether this was still going ahead. Bishop Michael was also due to attend First World War centenary commemoration services this weekend.
It is expected that the Bishop of Tewkesbury, Martyn Snow, will perform Bishop Michael's duties in his absence.
The announcement means the position is now the first diocesan job to become vacant since the Church of England voted to allow women to become bishops last month.