The Bishop of Worcester has decided to retire and move to Wiltshire after nearly 17 years. 

Dr John Inge, The Bishop of Worcester has announced that he will retire later this year in October. 

He became the 113th Bishop of Worcester in 2008 after being the Bishop of Huntingdon.

Bishop John has since been the chief pastor for parishes across Worcestershire and Dudley, as well as serving in the House of Lords since 2012.

The Bishop said: “Being Bishop of Worcester has been an enormous privilege.

"By the time I leave I shall have been here nearly 17 years, the longest I have lived anywhere in my life.

"I have lived through the best of times and the worst of times in my personal life during those years and am more grateful than I can say for all the love and support I have received.

"I am not anxious to retire – I am deeply attached to Worcestershire and Dudley and love being Bishop here.

"However, I shall be 70 in February and feel, under God, that now is the right time to leave.”

Bishop John and his wife HJ Colston plan to move to Wiltshire. 

A farewell service will be held at Worcester Cathedral at 4pm on September 29.

Since the announcement, the search for the next Bishop of Worcester has begun, with the Bishop of Dudley, Martin Gorick becoming the Acting Diocesan Bishop for the interim.

Over the years, Bishop John has been a visible figure in Worcester - often spotted cycling around the city. 

He has also been happy to speak out on issues he believes in - writing in support of same-sex marriages being held in churches. 

His forthright views had sometimes attracted attention with him and former city council leader Marc Bayliss clashing on Twitter over the Bishop's criticism of former Prime Minster Boris Johnson. At the time, Bishop John wrote an impassioned defence of his comments saying: “I never express party political views but I do stand up for decency and integrity in public life.”

Sadly, Dr Inge’s first wife Denise died of cancer in 2014 aged just 51. The couple had two daughters, Eleanor and Olivia. He said experiencing the "precious moments" of her final days had left him opposed to assisted dying.

The Bishop later said he was "immensely blessed" to find love again with H-J, who he married in 2018, after knowing each other for 20 years.