PEOPLE across Devon are being invited to take part in the Enthronement service for the new Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Rev Dr Mike Harrison, today, Saturday, November 2, by watching the event on the Exeter Cathedral YouTube channel.

The service is being livestreamed by PL1 Events, which also regularly broadcasts the British Firework Championships, the annual Remembrance Parade on Plymouth Hoe and Plymouth Argyle TV.

The former Archdeacon of Plymouth, the Ven Nick Shutt, now a non-residentiary Canon at the Cathedral, will be presenting the livestream.

He said: "For those watching the Enthronement Service online I hope to be able to guide you through the service sensitively, largely letting it speak for itself but offering explanation where appropriate as we celebrate Bishop Mike’s enthronement and witness together the start of his ministry with us in Devon.”

Nick will be talking viewers through some of the historic traditions in the service, which date back to before the Norman Conquest.

They include Bishop Mike being questioned by pupils from Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust before being permitted entry to the Cathedral, as well as the moment when the bishop is placed on the Cathedral's medieval wooden throne (known as the Cathedra) by the Archdeacon of Canterbury, there on behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The bishop will also be presented with the Exeter crozier, which is passed on from bishop to bishop.

Bishop Mike is the 72nd bishop. The first was Bishop Leofric in 1050.

The original Foundation Charter of Exeter Cathedral, and the Diocese of Exeter, will also be on display during the service.

This is the only document of its kind in existence.

It was commissioned by King Edward the Confessor when he moved the seat of the bishop to Exeter from Crediton following Viking raids.

Harold Godwin, who was briefly King Harold in 1066, is one of the signatories of the charter.

Bishop Mike said he sees the service as an opportunity for welcome and celebration.

He said: "I am keen to show I am the bishop for the whole of Devon in all its diversity, from the smallest of rural parishes to the most metropolitan of Cathedrals.

"I am starting the day in North Devon on Woolacombe Beach, remembering my baptism and marking All Souls Day, and then sweeping down through Barnstaple and Mid Devon, before arriving in Exeter for the service.

"This is an opportunity to celebrate the Diocese of Exeter and all things Devon.

"Celebration is also at the heart of our faith. We are an 'Easter people' and celebration is our song."

Bishop Mike said he also hoped the service, which will see more than 1,000 people from different organisations and groups gathered in the Cathedral, would be a “springboard” for future collaborations and partnerships to benefit people in Devon.

You can watch the Enthronement Service from 2.30pm at: https://www.youtube.com/user/ExeterCathedral

Find out more about the history of Exeter Cathedral visit: https://www.exeter-cathedral.org.uk/learning-collections/heritage-and-engagement/ .