A meeting on March 16 of the Electoral Synod of the Diocese of Glasgow & Galloway could not achieve a majority vote for a new Bishop to succeed the Rt Rev Dr Gregor Duncan, who retired in October 2018.
The Church’s Primus, Most Rev Mark Strange, said: “I will issue a fresh mandate in the next few days and the process will begin again. Please pray for those who offered themselves and for those still charged with finding the next Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway.”
The Electoral Synod was made up of clergy and Lay Representatives from the diocese and was chaired by Bishop Mark.
The Sunday Times reported on March 18: “The Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth, an outspoken campaigner for gay rights and provost of St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow, was shortlisted to become the new Anglican Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway and was believed to be the front-runner.
“Provost Holdsworth, 52, made headlines when he said that Christians should pray for Prince George to be gay to force the Church of England to support same-sex marriage.
“He has also described the UK government as wicked and cruel and suggested that Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had briefed against his Scottish sister church after it voted in 2017 to overturn the canon law stipulation that marriage must be between a woman and a man.
“The other two candidates were the Rev Dr Michael Paterson, a consultant in spiritual care for the NHS and author of Singing for our Lives: Positively Gay and Christian, and the Rev Canon Dr Scott Robertson, rector of St Margaret of Scotland Church in Glasgow, a father of two who has urged opponents of same-sex marriage not to the leave the church.”
