An Indian-born theologian has been appointed Bishop of Bradwell, a suffrangan bishopric in the Diocese of Chelmsford. John Perumbalath, 52, was raised in the ancient Syrian community of Kerala, which contains one of the biggest concentrations of Christians in the Indian sub-continent.
He trained at the Union Biblical Seminary at Pune, North India. Prior to ordination he was a church youth worker and worked for three years as a theological educator. He was a parish priest in the Diocese of Calcutta (Church of North India) from 1995 to 2001. He served on the General Synod of CNI and on its theological commission.
After coming to England he served in three parish posts in the Rochester Diocese and as diocesan urban officer. He was appointed the Archdeacon of Barking (Chelmsford) in 2013.
He holds several responsibilities: chair the Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (CMEAC) and London Churches Refugee Network. He is a member of the General Synod. He is a former trustee of the Anglican mission agency USPG. He succeeds Bishop John Wraw, who died of cancer last July.
John Martin
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
