Lords Spiritual
The occupants of the five "great sees" – Canterbury, York, London, Durham and Winchester – are always Lords Spiritual.
[1] Otherwise, 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).
Theoretically, the power to elect archbishops and bishops is vested in the diocesan cathedral's college of canons.
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.
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".
[5] 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); the Bishops of the Church of England were excluded in 1642 but regained their seats following the Stuart Restoration; from then until the early 19th century no new sees were created, and the number of Lords Spiritual remained at 26.
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 about one year).
In the early 19th century, as the population of industrial cities grew, the Church of England proposed two new bishoprics for Leeds and Manchester, but the government refused to increase the number of Lords Spiritual.
The creation of the Bishopric of Manchester was also planned but delayed until the dioceses of St Asaph and Bangor could be merged.
[5] However, the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 gives any woman appointed a diocesan bishop in England during the next decade priority in succeeding those among the current 21 who retire during that period.
Rachel Treweek became Bishop of Gloucester and the first woman Lord Spiritual under the Act in 2015; Christine Hardman became the second later that year.
Though in a full sitting the Bishops occupy almost three rows, their 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.
[7] By custom, at least one of the Bishops reads prayers in each legislative day (a role taken by the Chaplain to the Speaker in the Commons).
Archbishops Davidson (1928) and Lang (1942) were created hereditary peers (though both were without male heirs and their titles became extinct on their deaths).
Archbishops Fisher (1961), Ramsey (1974), Coggan (1980), Runcie (1991), Carey (2002) and Williams (2013) were created life peers.
Cardinal Hume later accepted the Order of Merit, a personal appointment of the Queen, shortly before his death.
Cardinal Murphy O'Connor said he had his maiden speech ready, but under Canon 285 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, ordained Catholic clergy of the Latin Church (by far the largest Catholic denomination in Britain) are discouraged from holding public office of any state other than the Holy See, and secular priests and bishops are completely prohibited from "public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power".
The Act does not apply to the sees of Canterbury, York, London, Durham and Winchester, the holders of which automatically have a seat in the House of Lords.
[15][16] There has also been criticism of the "anomaly of having religious representation from one of the four nations of the United Kingdom but not from the other three"; while the appointment procedures have been described as "secretive and flawed".
