The Revd Arun Arora has been appointed to serve the Church of England as Director of Communications at Church House, Westminster, following a competitive process.

The Communications Office, previously led by Peter Crumpler, provides direct support to the Archbishops' Council, Church Commissioners and Pensions Board, and works closely with Lambeth and Bishopthorpe Palaces, other bishops' offices, diocesan communications officers and cathedrals. Arun will take up the Director's post in the summer.

Welcoming the appointment, the Rt Revd Graham James, Bishop of Norwich and lead bishop on communications, said:  "Arun Arora is a person of great and varied talents. His skills as a communications professional are matched by the insights he has gained since ordination. I know his appointment will be warmly welcomed within the Church of England and well beyond it, too."

Arun currently serves as the Team Leader of Wolverhampton Pioneer Ministries, a fresh expression of church based in Wolverhampton City Centre. Prior to his move to Wolverhampton, Arun served his curacy in Harrogate where he also served for three years as Director of Communications to the Archbishop of York and prior to that for four years as Bishop's Press Officer and Director of Communications in the Diocese of Birmingham.

Speaking of his new appointment, Arun said: "Her Majesty the Queen recently remarked that the Church of England was commonly under-appreciated and occasionally misunderstood. I look forward to working with others to increase both the appreciation and understanding of the work of the Church.

"The Church of England has a fantastic story to tell of lives and communities being transformed by people in God through faith. There is a largely unnoticed army of men and women who give of themselves in service to others on a daily basis as they live out their faith. From the most urban of estates to the greenest of villages, the Church is alive in service to God and the people of England.

"Whether in schools or hospitals, with the armed forces or in international development, inside church buildings or out on the streets, the CofE is at work, showing the love of God in Jesus, vitally and practically every day. It's a story I'm looking forward to telling."

Notes

Biographical Details: The Revd. Arun Arora is 40 years old, married with one young daughter. He was born and raised in Birmingham where he studied Law and Politics at degree level, later practising as a Solicitor for four years.  From 2000 - 2004 he worked as Bishop's Press Officer & Communications officer for the Diocese of Birmingham. From 2004-2006 he trained for the priesthood at Cranmer Hall at the University of Durham, before taking up the post of Director of Communications for the Archbishop of York until 2009. He was ordained deacon in 2007 and ordained priest in 2008. He served his curacy at St. Mark's church in Harrogate before moving to Wolverhampton in 2010 as Team Leader of Wolverhampton Pioneer Ministries.