THE Archbishop of Canterbury paid tribute to the Revd Stephen Trott for his 29 years of service to the Synod. The chronicle of his work as synodical secretary of the Convocation of Canterbury had been “close to being a fourth book of The Lord of the Rings”, a Herculean task that he had carried out in his own “careful, efficient and self-effacing way . . . a remarkable service of enormous persistence and patience.”

The Archbishop of York highlighted the commitment to children’s security and wellbeing of the retiring Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler. “He brought the experience of a lifetime to the role as champion of children caught in poverty and was at the forefront of legislation on asylum and other issues inside Parliament and out.”

Addressing Bishop Butler in the gallery, Archbishop Cottrell said: “The greatest tribute I can offer is that the people you serve have known you and you have known them. They have seen Christ in you and you have sought to reveal Christ to them, especially the children. You have helped to make the Church a better place for children and families… Your whole ministry has been to help people feel at home in the Church of Jesus Christ.”

The Bishop was visibly moved by the tribute and the prolonged standing ovation that followed.