The Bishop of Lichfield, the Right Revd Dr Michael Ipgrave, has welcomed the announcement of the Revd Canon Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani as the first Bishop of Loughborough.
Canon Francis-Dehqani will be the first female bishop from a minority ethnic community in the Church of England.
As the first Bishop of Loughborough, Guli will take a full role in the work of the Church across Leicester and Leicestershire, but the post will also have a focus on supporting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) clergy, lay workers and congregations in the county.
Bishop Michael served in the Diocese of Leicester from 1987 to 2004 and has close ties with the Dehqani family.
Upon his consecration as Bishop of Woolwich in 2012, the family gave Bishop Michael the pastoral staff that had belonged to Gulis father Bishop Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, the first Iranian to serve as Bishop of Iran from 1961 until 1990 before his death in 2008. They also entrusted him with Bishop Hassans pectoral cross, which he is now passing on to Guli.
Bishop Michael, who has travelled to Iran several times, said: I am thrilled to offer Guli my warm congratulations on her appointment. I have worked closely with her over the years, and I know that she will enrich the episcopate of the Church of England through her distinctive gifts of spirituality, pastoral care and theological insight. It is wonderful to see her following as a bishop in the footsteps of her father Bishop Hassan. In his costly witness to the gospel of forgiveness and reconciliation, and in his commitment to Christian-Muslim dialogue he was one of the great saints of the 20th century, and his ministry has been a tremendous inspiration to me.
It is significant that a woman with Iranian heritage has been appointed to this new post which has an important role to play in reaching out to multi-cultural communities in Leicestershire. As we pray for the faithful witness of the beleaguered Anglican church in Iran, in our own country we need more and more to become a truly welcoming and diverse church blessed by people from all backgrounds.
Photo credit: Nick Clarke Media