THE process to elect a new Bishop of Monmouth will commence in September.
Members of the Electoral College will meet from Tuesday, September 17 to elect a new bishop.
In an e-mail sent out by the Diocese of Monmouth, the Archbishop of Wales, John Davies, said: "The Electoral College for electing a successor to Bishop Richard will begin to meet in the cathedral from Tuesday, September 17.
"All electors from the province have been notified, informally, by letter of these dates, and the formal summons will be issued from the Archbishop’s Registry in August.
Archbishop John Davies
"The meeting can last for up to three days and, should it fail to choose a bishop-elect, the matter passes to the Bench of Bishops to appoint.
"A facilitator, appointed by me in accordance with the constitution, will make arrangements to convene meetings of the electors from the Diocese of Monmouth in due course."
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The Archbishop of Wales has since taken "oversight" of the diocese.
In January parishioners spoke to us about what they said were their serious concerns about what was going on within the Diocese of Monmouth after Bishop Pain had been absent from work since July 2018.
They claimed that staff members in the diocese had raised grievances against him.
It is understood that there was an investigation and it was ruled that “there was no case to answer”. A formal process of mediation was put into place, designed to help "resolve" the outstanding "issues".
In March some parishioners warned that they were planning to withhold parish shares until their concerns were answered and added that those who raised the grievances later "refused" mediation talks.
A spokeswoman for the Archbishop of Wales previously said: "In recent weeks there has been speculation regarding the Bishop of Monmouth and about relationships within his senior team.
"The Archbishop of Wales is aware of these issues and remains actively engaged, with all parties, in a formal process of mediation which seeks to resolve them.
“For reasons of confidentiality, and out of respect for those concerned in the ongoing mediation process, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time."
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