The Rt. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester in the Church of England, has announced his intention to resign effective Sept. 1.
 
Bishop Nazir-Ali, 60, said he “is hoping to work with a number of church leaders from areas where the church is under pressure, particularly in minority situations, who have asked him to assist them with education and training for their particular situation. Details of this arrangement are still being worked out.”
 
A native of Pakistan, Bishop Nazir-Ali became the first non-white diocesan bishop in the Church of England when he was appointed Bishop of Rochester in 1994. He was the General Secretary of Church Mission Society from 1989-1994, and previously served as Bishop of Raiwind in Pakistan and theological assistant to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Since 1999 he has also been a member of the British House of Lords, where he has been active in a number of areas of national and international concern. Bishop Nazir-Ali was considered a candidate to replace the Most Rev. George Carey as Archbishop of Canterbury in 2001.
 
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said that Bishop Nazir-Ali’s resignation to enter new ministry was courageous, but will deplete the ranks of the British House of Bishops.
 
“His enormous theological skill, his specialist involvement in the complex debates around bioethics, his wide international experience and his clarity of mind and expression have made him a really valuable colleague, and he has served the Church and the wider society with dedication and distinction,” Archbishop Williams said.
 
Bishop Nazir-Ali is the author of 10 books and of numerous articles on mission, ecumenism, the Anglican Communion, and relations with people of other faiths, particularly Islam. In recent years, Bishop Nazir-Ali has been a leading advocate for the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) movement, which seeks among other objectives the creation of a new North American province of the Anglican Communion.
 
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