Lords Spiritual

The Lords Spiritual of the United Kingdom, also called Spiritual Peers, are the 26
bishops of the establishedChurch of England who serve in the House of Lords along
with the Lords Temporal. The Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian, is not
represented by spiritual peers. The Anglican churches in Wales and Northern Ireland are
no longer established churches and are therefore not represented either.

Ranks and titles[edit]

The Church of England comprises 44 dioceses, each led by a diocesan bishop. The
diocesan bishops of Canterbury and York are archbishops, who also have oversight over
their respective provinces. The occupants of the five "great sees"Canterbury, York,
London, Durham and Winchesterare always spiritual peers and Lords of Parliament.
The Bishop of Sodor and Man and the Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe may not sit in the
House of Lords regardless of seniority as their dioceses lie outside the United Kingdom.
(The former, however, sits on the Legislative Council of the Isle of Manex officio.) Of
the remaining 37 bishops, the 21 most senior sit in the House of Lords. Seniority is
determined by total length of service as an English diocesan bishop (that is to say, it is
not lost by translation to another see).[1][2]
Theoretically, the power to elect archbishops and bishops is vested in the diocesan
cathedral's college of canons. Practically, however, the choice of the archbishop or
bishop is made prior to the election. The prime minister chooses from among a set of
nominees proposed by the Crown Nominations Commission; the sovereign then
instructs the college of canons to elect the nominated individual as a bishop or
archbishop.
One of the Lords Spiritual is appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to be the
convenor of the bench; he or she coordinates the work of the bishops in the House.
David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham, was appointed the current convenor on 18 May
2015.[3]

Peers[edit]
Authorities differ on whether the Lords Spiritual are peers. Some contend that
archbishops and diocesan bishops are peers during their tenures in the House of Lords,
while others argue that only the Lords Temporal are peers. Debrett's Peerage and
Baronetage, for example, unequivocally states, "Diocesan Bishops of England in the
Lords are peers of the kingdom." On the other hand, the Encyclopdia Britannica of
1911 suggests, "the spiritual lords are not now regarded as peers."
Even during the early years of the Peerage, the position of bishops was unclear. During
the reign of King Richard II, the Archbishop of Canterbury declared, "of right and by
the custom of the realm of England it belongeth to the Archbishop of Canterbury for the
time being as well as others his suffragans, brethren and fellow Bishops, Abbots and
Priors and other prelates whatsoever, to be present in person in all the King's

Parliaments whatsoever as Peers of the Realm." The claim was neither agreed nor
disagreed to, however, by Parliament.
The Lords Spiritual at first declared themselves entirely outside the jurisdiction of
secular authorities; the question of trial in the House of Lords did not arise. When papal
authority was great, the King could do little but admit a lack of jurisdiction over the
prelates. Later, however, when the power of the Pope in England was reduced, the Lords
Spiritual came under the authority of the secular courts. The jurisdiction of the common
courts was clearly established by the time of Henry VIII, who declared himself head of
the Church of England in place of the Pope, ending the political power of the Roman
Catholic Church in England.
Despite their failure to be tried as temporal peers in the House of Lords, it remained
unclear whether the Lords Spiritual were indeed peers. In 1688, the issue arose during
the trial of the Seven BishopsWilliam Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury; Sir
Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet, Bishop of Winchester; Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath
and Wells; John Lake, Bishop of Chester; William Lloyd, Bishop of Worcester; Francis
Turner, Bishop of Ely and Thomas White, Bishop of Peterboroughby a common jury.
The charge was that a petition sent by the Bishops constituted seditious libel; the
Bishops argued that they had the right to petition the Sovereign at any time, while the
prosecution charged that such a right was only permissible when Parliament was in
session (which, at the time of the delivery of the petition, it was not). If the bishops
were only Lords of Parliament, and not peers, their right to petition would be vitiated
while Parliament was dissolved. Peers, however, were and still are counsellors of the
Sovereign whether Parliament is in session or not; therefore, if the bishops were indeed
peers, they would be free to send petitions. Since there was no doubt that the petition
was actually sent, while the Court still ruled the bishops not guilty, it appears that it was
taken for granted that the bishops were counsellors of the Crown.
Nevertheless, the Standing Orders of the House of Lords provide, "Bishops to whom a
writ of summons has been issued are not Peers but are Lords of Parliament."

Number[edit]
In the early history of the Parliament of England, the Lords Spiritualincluding the
abbotsoutnumbered the Lords Temporal. Between 1536 and 1540, however, King
Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, thereby removing the seats of the abbots. For the
first time and thereafter, Lords Spiritual formed a minority in the House of Lords.[4]
In addition to the 21 older dioceses (including four in Wales), Henry VIII created six
new ones, of which five survived (see historical development of Church of England
dioceses); for nearly three centuries after that, no new sees were created, and the
number of lords spiritual remained at 26 all this while.
Bishops, abbots, and priors, of the Church of Scotland traditionally sat in the Parliament
of Scotland. Laymen acquired the monasteries in 1560, following the Scottish
Reformation, and therefore those sitting as "abbots" and "priors" were all laymen after
this time. Bishops of the Church of Scotland continued to sit, regardless of their
religious conformity. Roman Catholic clergy were excluded in 1567, but Episcopal
bishops continued to sit until they too were excluded in 1638. The bishops regained

their seats following the Restoration, but were again excluded in 1689, following the
final abolition of diocesan bishops and the permanent establishment of the Church of
Scotland as Presbyterian. There are no longer bishops in the Church of Scotland in the
traditional sense of the word, and that church has never sent senior clergy to sit in the
House of Lords at Westminster.
Bishops and archbishops of the Church of Ireland were entitled to sit in the Irish House
of Lords as Lords Spiritual. They obtained representation in the Westminster House of
Lords after the union of Ireland and Great Britain in 1801. Of the Church of Ireland's
ecclesiastics, four (one archbishop and three bishops) were to sit at any one time, with
the members rotating at the end of every parliamentary session (which normally lasted
approximately one year). The Church of Ireland, however, was disestablished in 1871,
and thereafter ceased to be represented by Lords Spiritual.
The Bishop of Sodor and Man, although a Bishop of the Church of England, has never
been included among the English Lords Spiritual, as the Isle of Man has never been part
of the Kingdom of England or of the United Kingdom. The Lord Bishop is the holder of
the oldest office in Tynwald (the oldest continuous parliament in the world) and remains
an ex officio member of Tynwald and its Legislative Council.
In the 19th century the dioceses of the Church of England began gradually to come
under review again. However an increase in the bench of bishops was not considered
politically expedient, and so steps were undertaken to prevent it. In 1836, the first new
bishopric was founded, that of Ripon; but it was balanced out by the merger of the
Bishoprics of Bristol and Gloucester. (They were later divided again.) The creation of
the Bishopric of Manchester was also planned but delayed until St Asaph and Bangor
could be merged. They never were; but in 1844, the Bishopric of Manchester Act 1847
went ahead anyway with an alternative means to maintain the 26-bishop limit in the
House of Lords: the seniority-based proviso which has been maintained to this day.[4]
However, the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 gives any woman appointed a diocesan
bishop in England during the next decade priority in terms of succeeding those among
the current 21 who retire during that period. Rachel Treweek will become Bishop of
Gloucester and the first woman Lord Spiritual under the Act at the next vacancy.
In 1920, with the independence of the Church in Wales from the Church of England and
its disestablishment, the Welsh bishops stopped being eligible for inclusion.
The 26 seats for the Lords Spiritual are approximately 1/31st of the total membership of
the House of Lords.

Politics[edit]
Although the Lords Spiritual have no party affiliation, they do not sit on the
crossbenches, their seats being on the Government side of the Lords Chamber. As such,
their seats are on the right-hand side of the throne, representing the fact that they, of all
the members of the House of Lords, are the most loyal to the Crown[not in citation given]. Though
in a full sitting the Bishops occupy almost three rows, the Lords Spiritual's front bench
is subtly distinguished by being the only one in the House with a single armrest at either
end; it is on the front row, close to the throne end of the chamber, indicating their unique
status.[5]

House of Lords reform[edit]

Under the 2011 Coalition Government draft proposal for Lords reform, the Lords would
be either 80% elected and 20% appointed, or 100% elected. In the former case there
would be 12 Church of England bishops in the reformed Upper House.[6] The total of 12
bishops would include the five "named Lords Spiritual" (the Archbishops of Canterbury
and York and the Bishops of Durham, London and Winchester, entitled as they are to sit
ex officio) plus seven other "ordinary Lords Spiritual" (diocesan bishops chosen by the
church itself through whatever device it deems appropriate). The reduction from 26 to
12 bishops would be achieved in a stepped fashion: up to 21 bishops would remain for
the 20152020 period and up to 16 for the 20202025 period. The ordinary Lords
Spirituals' terms would coincide with each "electoral period" (i.e., the period from one
election to the next), with the church able to name up to seven to serve during each
electoral period. These reforms were later dropped.[7]
Under the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 whenever a vacancy arises among the
Lords Spiritual during the ten years (18 May 2015 18 May 2025) following the Act
coming into force, the vacancy has to be filled by a woman, if one is eligible. This does
not apply to the sees of Canterbury, York, London, Durham and Winchester.

Criticism[edit]
The presence of the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords has been criticised for being
an outdated and undemocratic system.[8][9] The British Humanist Association said it was
"unacceptable" that "the UK is the only Western democracy to give religious
representatives the automatic right to sit in the legislature".[10]
Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, defended the bishops, saying they are "in touch
with a great range of opinions and institutions", and suggesting the inclusion of "leading
members in Britain's [other] faith communities".[11]