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Bishop steps down during financial audit

The Bishop representing the Channel Islands in the Church of England has stepped back voluntarily and temporarily while a financial audit of two diocesan funds is under way.

The Bishop of Salisbury Stephen Lake at the Palm Sunday celebrations at St Saviour’s Church last year.
The Bishop of Salisbury Stephen Lake at the Palm Sunday celebrations at St Saviour’s Church last year. / Guernsey Press

The Rt Rev. Stephen Lake, Bishop of Salisbury, has also resigned from his role as Church Commissioner, the diocese has revealed.

Central leadership in the Church of England is leading the process and have confirmed the audit is being undertaken following allegations of potential financial irregularities in relation to two separate funds, both of which relate to the office of the Bishop of Salisbury. The funds are said to be separate from parish share and other funds controlled by the diocesan board of finance.

The bishop, 62, who has been a priest for more than 30 years and had responsibility for the islands since 2022, will be replaced temporarily by the Rt Rev. Karen Gorham, Bishop of Sherborne.

He was in the island on this weekend last year, taking part in Palm Sunday celebrations at St Saviour’s Church and holding a renewal of vows service with local clergy.

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