A national charity, helping more than a fifth of Church of England (CofE) clergy, has welcomed a commitment from the Church to improve mental health support and training.

The Church's governing body, General Synod, voted on Wednesday to ensure clergy can access counselling and therapy, as well as mental health training to support others, after recognising the stresses and pressures of their calling.

Rev Ben Cahill-Nicholls, chief executive of Clergy Support Trust, said their "work and the Church’s own research have made clear that too many clergy are struggling with their mental health, with isolation, burnout and clinical depression all too common".

He added that the news is a "welcome step in a better direction".

A third of clergy could be suffering from depression, according to the new CofE The Living Ministry report on clergy well-being between 2017 and 2025.

This could mean that almost 6,000 out of the 20,000 total clergy within the Church are suffering depression.

Rev Cahill-Nicholls said: "In 2025 alone, Clergy Support Trust provided over 7,200 grants to support clergy and their families with their financial, physical and mental wellbeing. This includes almost £4 million in Health grants and Wellbeing grants, enabling clergy and their families to rest and recharge. Our programme of popular Wellbeing Workshops includes Mental Health First Aid training, provided free-of-charge across several dioceses."

His hope is that "dioceses will receive support where necessary from the Church of England at a national level, to ensure they are properly equipped to fulfil this promise".

"Having successfully advocated for the Church to improve the basic rate of clergy pay - the basic stipend is set to rise by 10.7% this April - we look forward to continuing to work with the national Church and dioceses to make these worthy ambitions a reality," he said.