The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has appointed the Revd Tosin Oladipo as his new chaplain.

Tosin, who is currently a parish priest in East London, will serve as chaplain to Archbishop Justin and the Lambeth Palace community. He will also have responsibility for developing Archbishop Justin's priority of prayer and the Religious life, particularly through the Community of St Anselm. He will begin the role at the start of July.

Tosin takes over from the Revd Prebendary Dr Isabelle Hamley, who in November last year was appointed Secretary for Ecumenical Relations and Theology at the Church of England’s Council for Christian Unity, and Theological Adviser to the House of Bishops. The Revd Cortland Fransella has served as Acting Chaplain to the Archbishop since then.

For the last three years, Tosin has served as part of the leadership team at SAINT, a resource church in East London, with specific responsibility for outreach, prayer, and the development of interns and ordinands. He has overseen community engagement and the revitalisation of St Mary’s Leyton, as part of a partnership between Chelmsford and London dioceses. He has also been responsible for the work of the Lighthouse project, which has distributed over 300,000 meals to those in need since the start of the pandemic.

Alongside this, Tosin has led the prayer life of the church, which in the last year has included developing a digital ‘Rule of Life’: a creative and liturgical space to help sustain its community through the pandemic.

Before training for ministry, Tosin worked for 15 years in digital and video tech start-ups. He is married to Angela, a mental health professional.

Archbishop Justin said: “I am delighted that Tosin will be joining the Lambeth Palace community. The chaplain at Lambeth ensures that prayer and worship underpin everything we do, and that our gaze remains fixed on Jesus Christ. I am grateful that Tosin will be bringing his immense pastoral skills, passion for the Gospel and dedication to prayer to the senior team at Lambeth, and I look forward to working alongside him enormously. My prayers are with Tosin and Angela as they say goodbye to their community in East London and prepare to join us at Lambeth.”

The Revd Tosin Oladipo said: “It will be a great privilege and an exciting challenge to serve as Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury - to pray for him and his family and to help deliver his priority for Prayer and Religious life. I look forward to joining the amazing community and working with the brilliant team at Lambeth Palace. Angela and I have loved our time in East London as part of SAINT. We will miss the team and all the incredible people we have come to know in Hackney and Leyton. Please pray for us as we enter this new chapter.”