THE 105th Bishop of Hereford was installed into the role at a special service in Hereford Cathedral on Saturday.

Bishop Richard Frith, former bishop of Hull in the Diocese of York, was presented to the Dean of Hereford, Michael Tavinor, by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu.

He was anointed by guest bishops John Inge, bishop of Worcester, and Dr Alistair Redfern, bishop of Derby as well as two Tanzanian bishops whose dioceses are twinned with Hereford Diocese.

Hereford Cathedral was full for the services with representatives from all the 420 parish churches in the diocese who had been chosen by their own parishes.

Michael Tavinor, dean of Hereford Cathedral, who led the service, said: “It was a very colourful sight and the choir excelled themselves so we got the sound right too.

“All the senses were engaged at some point.

"The anointing by four other bishops was a very moving moment and, with the provision of filming, everyone in the cathedral could see what was going on.”

During the service Bishop Richard made his Declaration of Assent and Oath of Fidelity with his hand on the Hereford Gospels, which date from the 8th Century.

He said: “It was a very moving service.

“I was very nervous to begin with but it all went according to plan.

"It was a service full of symbolism and reflected the long history of the Diocese of Hereford.

"It was also amazing to meet so many people waiting outside the cathedral and realising that I was being welcomed in a very special way.

"It was a wonderful start to my time here.”