| bishopric = [[Lichfield]]

| imageborder = anglican

| incumbent = [[Michael Ipgrave]]<br />acting bishop: [[Clive Gregory]],= [[BishopMichael of WolverhamptonIpgrave]]

| dioceseprovince = [[DioceseProvince of LichfieldCanterbury|LichfieldCanterbury]]

| cathedralresidence = [[LichfieldBishop's CathedralHouse, Lichfield]]

| date established = 7th century AD

The diocese of [[Mercia]] was founded 656 bywith [[Diuma]] withas its seefirst bishop; according to Bede he was at [[Repton]]the same time the Bishop of Lindisfarne and of the Middle Angles, amongst whom he died. When [[Chad of Mercia|Chad]] was made Bishop in 669, he moved his seat towas at Lichfield, thus the diocese was named after that city. In 691 the area over which the bishop held authority was divided to form the smaller dioceses of Lichfield, [[Diocese of Leicester|Leicester]], [[Diocese of Lincoln|Lindsey]], [[Anglican Diocese of Worcester|Worcester]] and [[Diocese of Hereford|Hereford]].

It was briefly the seat of an [[archbishop]] under [[Hygeberht]] from 787 to 799 (officially dissolved in 803) during the ascendancy of the [[kingdom of Mercia]]. [[Offa]], King of [[Mercia]] seemed to resent his own bishops paying allegiance to the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] in [[Kent]] who, whilst under Offa's control, was not of his own kingdom of Mercia. Offa therefore created his own archbishopric in Lichfield, who presided over all the bishops from the [[Humber]] to the [[River Thames|Thames]], in 786, with the consent of [[Pope Adrian I]]. The Pope's official representatives were received warmly by Offa and were present at the [[Council of Chelsea]] (787), often called 'the contentious synod', where it was proposed that the Archbishopric of Canterbury be restricted in order to make way for Offa's new archbishop. It was vehemently opposed, but Offa and the papal representatives defeated [[Jænberht]], Archbishop of Canterbury, installing [[Hygeberht]] as the new Archbishop of Lichfield. Pope Adrian sent Hygeberht his ceremonial garment, obviously denoting his support for this move. In gratitude, Offa promised to send an annual shipment of gold to the pope for alms and supplying the lights in [[St. Peter's Basilica|St. Peter's]] church in [[Rome]]. However the Archbishopric of Lichfield only lasted for 16 years, ending after Offa's death, when at the [[Councils of Clovesho#Fifth Council|Fifth Council of Clovesho]] itits wasdioceses were restored to [[Æthelhard]], Archbishop of Canterbury, by [[Pope Leo III]].

! colspan="4" style="background-color: #7F1734; color: white;" | BishopsBishop of Merciathe (based at Repton)Mercians

|

| or [[Wigmund (bishop of Dorchester)|Wigmund]]; omitted from ''Haydn's''.

| In accordance with the decree of the [[Council of London (1075)]], removed see to Chester.

| Prebendary of St &nbsp;Paul's; removed see to Coventry.

| colspan="2" | ''Vacant''

| [[File:WalterDeLangton Died1321 BishopOfCoventry&Lichfield AfterDugdale.png|60px]] '''[[Walter Langton]]'''

| Dean of St &nbsp;Martin's; translated to [[Bishop of Bath and Wells|Bath & Wells]].

| '''[[Richard Scrope (bishop)|Richard le Scrope]]'''

| [[John Keterich]]; translated from [[Bishop of SaintSt David'sDavids|St David's&nbsp;Davids]]; translated to [[Bishop of Exeter|Exeter]].

| Prebendary of St &nbsp;Paul's, London; translated to [[Archbishop of York|York]].

| John Halse. Prebendary of St &nbsp;Paul's, London.

| [[File:Bishop William Smyth.jpg|60px]] '''[[William Smyth]]'''

| '''[[Rowland Lee (bishop)|Rowland Lee]]'''

| Fellow of MagdaleneMagdalen College, Oxford.

| Dean of St &nbsp;Paul's, London; translated to [[Bishop of Norwich|Norwich]].

| style="text-align: center;" | 16601646

| Dean of Gloucester; translateddeprived toof [[Bishopthe ofsee when the English episcopy was abolished by Parliament on 9 October York|York]]1646.

| Canon-resident of St &nbsp;Paul's, London.

| Translated from [[Bishop of Saint Asaph|St &nbsp;Asaph]]; translated to [[Bishop of Worcester|Worcester]].

| Translated from [[Bishop of SaintSt David'sDavids|St David's&nbsp;Davids]].

| Canon of Windsor; Dean of St &nbsp;Paul's, London (1766); translated to [[Archbishop of Canterbury|Canterbury]].

| Became Bishop of Lichfield when [[Archdeacon of Coventry|Coventry]] was transferred to [[Anglican Diocese of Worcester|Worcester diocese]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=19460 |date=24 January 1837 |startpagepages=167167–170 |endpage=170 |accessdate=9 February 2013 }}</ref>

| [[File:JohnLonsdalePortret van John Lonsdale, RP-F-2001-7-349-26.jpg|60px]] '''[[John Lonsdale]]'''

| Vicar of St &nbsp;Mary Abbots, Kensington; translated to [[Archbishop of York|York]].

| Died| Confirmed 28 September 1891; died in office.

| [[File:FondJohn blancAugustne Kempthorne Bishop of Lichfield.svgjpg|60px]] '''[[John Kempthorne (bishop)|John Kempthorne]]'''

| [[File:FondNo blancimage.svg|60px]] '''[[Stretton Reeve]]'''

| [[File:FondNo blancimage.svg|60px]] '''[[Kenneth Skelton]]'''

| former [[Bishop of Matabeleland]] and [[Assistant Bishop of Durham]]; retired.

| [[File:FondBishop blancKeith - As a younger Clergyman in the 1980s.svgjpg|60px]] '''[[Keith Sutton (bishop)|Keith Sutton]]'''

| [[File:FondNo blancimage.svg|60px]] '''[[Jonathan Gledhill]]'''

| <ref name="gledret">[http://www.lichfield.anglican.org/ournews/40-years-seem-a-good-stint/ Diocese of Lichfield – "40 years seem a good stint"] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20150308121807/http://www.lichfield.anglican.org/ournews/40-years-seem-a-good-stint/ |date=8 March 2015 }} (Accessed 2 March 2015)</ref>

| [[File:FondNo blancimage.svg|60px]] '''[[Michael Ipgrave]]'''