A PUBLIC meeting will be held next month at Bishopthorpe Palace to give ordinary churchgoers a say in the appointment of a new Archbishop of York.

The meeting, to be chaired by the Bishop of Hull, the Right Reverend Richard Frith, will take place at 6.30pm on Thursday November 11.

People are being invited to attend to comment on the needs of the Diocese of York, the Northern Province, or the wider church.

The meeting at the palace near York is part of an unprecedented public consultation process as the Church seeks a replacement for Dr David Hope, who is leaving early next year to return to life as a parish priest.

The Diocese of York says that as well as being Primate of the Province of York, the new Archbishop will also be the Bishop of the Diocese.

A Vacancy-in-See Committee, elected by the Diocesan Synod, will meet on October 30 to agree a statement on the needs of the Diocese and the qualities and gifts required of an incoming Archbishop, and to elect six members (of whom at least three must be lay) to the Crown Nominations Commission.

The commission will meet in private next February and May for work, prayer and discussion leading to a secret ballot to identify two names to be put forward to the Prime Minister, who will be free to choose either of the two names to commend to the Queen.

Meanwhile, a Farewell Eucharist Service for Dr Hope is planned to take place in York Minster at 11 am on Saturday January 15 next year.

Updated: 08:26 Wednesday, October 20, 2004