Suffolk’s Church of England Bishop Nigel Stock has spoken with mixed feelings after announcing he is leaving his role for another job in London.

The Rt Rev Nigel Stock, Bishop of the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocese, has been asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury to become Bishop of Lambeth.

Bishop Nigel, who will leave Suffolk in late October after six years in the post, said: “My wife Carolyne and I will be very sad to leave this lovely diocese and county.

“We are so grateful to God that we were called to be here, and for all the support and care that we have been given.

“The Archbishop of Canterbury has asked me to take up the role of Bishop at Lambeth and I have accepted. This will be a demanding, challenging, exciting, daunting and certainly unexpected prospect to support the Archbishop. I should be grateful for people’s prayers for the coming months as I hold them in my prayers with deep affection.

“One of the ways I will be able to contribute to next year’s centenary celebrations of the diocese is by continuing to be the leader of the March 2014 Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, for which people have already signed up, and I much look forward to that.”

The Bishop’s new role will entail being the main point of contact at Lambeth Palace for Church of England Bishops and building and strengthening the Archbishop’s relationship with them.

Revd Canon Dr Frances Ward, Dean of St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds, said: “He will be greatly missed for his care and thoughtfulness towards all he has met and worked with, especially during times of tragedy. His strategic approach has meant that the Diocese is in really good shape as he prepares to move to be the Bishop in Lambeth.

“We wish him and Carolyne well as they move to this exciting new post.”