A HOST of Bishops from across the world will descend on Herefordshire early next month before attending the Lambeth Conference.

A full programme, including a tour of Hereford Cathedral and the Mappa Mundi exhibition, is being arranged for the visitors who come from as far apart as New Zealand, Canada, Tanzania and Burundi.

“Almost every Anglican Bishop will be in England for the Lambeth Conference,” said Anni Holden, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Hereford.

“For the week before, we will be hosting at least eight Bishops and intend to show them our lovely part of the country.”

Among the visitors will be Bishop Susan Moxley from Canada, thought to be the first female Bishop the county has ever hosted, and Mariann Price, wife of the Bishop of Ohio, whose ancestors left Herefordshire for America in the late 19th Century.

The Bishops and wives will stay with host families across the Diocese, with six of the visitors preaching at various parish churches on July 13.

They will leave the county two days later to head for Canterbury, where the ten-yearly Lambeth Conference will be held.