Bishop Andrew Swift and the vestry of St Paul’s Cathedral in Dundee are delighted to announce that the next Provost of the Cathedral is to be the Revd Canon Dr Elizabeth Thomson.

The new Provost is currently Sub-Dean and Canon Missioner of Derby Cathedral, a post she has held since 2014. There, she is responsible for helping the cathedral connect with the city and community, for communications, and for a wide range of duties as part of the cathedral clergy team. During a recent vacancy she led the cathedral as Acting Dean.

Bishop Andrew said: “We are all delighted that Elizabeth will be joining the diocese and the cathedral this summer. In the blended recruitment process we created she came over both online and in person as a person with great spiritual depth and the capacity to find a fresh vision for the cathedral and its community.  She will be coming to Dundee as, hopefully, the pandemic begins to have less impact on church and city—the opportunities that this time will present are an exciting time for this new ministry to begin.”

Elizabeth studied English at the University of Oxford, graduating MA and then as a Doctor of Philosophy. She was a teacher of English in Edinburgh and Somerset, before training for ministry at Westcott House in Cambridge. She was ordained in 2003 and served her curacy in Somerset, after which she became team vicar of St Mary’s, Witney, in Oxfordshire.

She said: “I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed Rector and Provost of St Paul’s. I am very much looking forward to meeting the Cathedral’s congregation and community, working with new colleagues in the Diocese of Brechin, and engaging with all those connected with the Cathedral in Dundee.

“There is no need to say that the past year has been difficult for everyone. It has meant re-imagining how we live and how we worship. I hope we will be able to draw on what we have learned and take it with us, so that as we are able to gather again we can also serve our community in new ways. My hope and prayer is that the life of the Cathedral will flourish and that its roots in love and service will be strengthened.”

Elizabeth grew up in Edinburgh; she has been working her way steadily north again and is looking forward to being closer to family and friends in Scotland. In her spare time she is an extensive reader, a keen walker, and a bad gardener.