The Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani has served as Bishop of Chelmsford since April 2021.
Chelmsford is the second largest diocese in the Church of England in terms of population and serves the communities of Essex and East London. In January 2021, Bishop Guli was also appointed as the lead Bishop for Housing for the Church of England and she has served as a member of the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords since November 2021.
Between 2017 and 2021, Bishop Guli served as the first Bishop of Loughborough in the Diocese of Leicester. As well as assisting the Bishop of Leicester across the Diocese, her specific responsibilities included overseeing and supporting the vocations of those called to lay and ordained ministries. Before she became Bishop of Loughborough, Bishop Guli led Curate training in the Diocese of Peterborough.
Bishop Guli is currently Vice-President of the Conference of European Churches, Vice Chair of the Board of the Church Army and a contributor to BBC Radio 4s Thought for the Day.
Born in Iran, Guli’s family left the country in the wake of the Iranian Revolution in 1980, when she was 13 years old, and to date she has been unable to return. She is married to Lee, also a priest and they have three children.
Bishop Guli’s role for housing
The Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani is the national Lead Bishop for housing. In this role, Bishop Guli leads efforts to implement the recommendations of the Coming Home Report, the report on the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church and Community.
The Church Housing Foundation
The Church Housing Foundation has been set up to take forward the recommendations of the Coming Home report of the Archbishops' Commission on Housing, Church and Community.
Chaired by Bishop Guli in her role as Lead Bishop for Housing, the Foundation is inviting dioceses and local parishes to get involved and help to respond to housing need in the communities they serve.
Find out more about the Church Housing Foundation
Books by Bishop Guli
Titles written by Bishop Guli are listed below.
Cries for a Lost Homeland: Reflections on Jesus' sayings from the cross
Reflections for Lent 2021: 17 February - 3 April 2021
Reflections for Advent 2021: 29 November - 24 December 2021
Videos
A selection of the latest videos from Bishop Guli are below.
To view all the videos please visit our YouTube page
Contact information
General enquiries
Please click to email the members of staff below.
Executive Assistant: Jo Bluck
Senior Secretary: Mrs Jane Carter
Communications and Media enquiries
Tom Geldard
Director of Communications & Media
Tel 01245 294424
Send an email to the Communications team
Enquiries relating to Bishop Guli's role as Bishop for Housing
For enquiries relating to Bishop Guli’s national role as Lead Bishop for Housing for the Church of England, please contact Jonathan Tame, Advisor on Housing and Community.
Send an email to Jonathan - usual working days Wednesday - Friday
