The Dean of Norwich Cathedral has announced she is retiring next year after becoming the first female head of the cathedral in 2014.
A special farewell service will be held for the Very Reverend Jane Hedges on Sunday, May 1, 2022, before she moves to Northumberland with her husband Chris.
Mrs Hedges announced the news of her retirement to the congregation on Sunday.
She said: "I have decided that the time has come for me to retire, not just yet, but in May next year, that will be just after my 67th birthday and coming up to having served 42 years in ministry and just short of eight years here.
“For Chris and me, our years in Norwich and especially here as part of the cathedral community have been incredibly happy ones.
"We love Norfolk and the people and it will be a huge wrench for us to leave.
"It’s important though that you and our diocese and wider community have a Dean with lots of energy and I know that my energy levels are not quite what they were.
“Having said that, please be assured that during the next six months I am absolutely committed to fulfilling my role as Dean and together with chapter colleagues will do everything we can to make sure that a new Dean moves into a thriving community.”
Paying tribute, the Right Reverend Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich, said: “As Dean Jane Hedges announces her retirement date being next May, I know that I join a great many people across the Diocese of Norwich, as well as the cathedral community, in being immensely grateful for all that Dean Jane has brought to the life of Norwich Cathedral and her many wider networks.
"There will be many opportunities to thank her, as well as her husband Chris, and I know that Dean Jane will continue to lead the life of the cathedral with her usual creativity and care over the coming months.
"I will shortly be working with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the crown in discerning who god is calling to be the next Dean of Norwich.”
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