The Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who sit in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. Up to 26 of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual. The Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian, and the Anglican churches in Wales and in Northern Ireland, which are no longer established churches, are not represented. The Lords Spiritual are distinct from the Lords Temporal, their secular counterparts who also sit in the House of Lords.
Justin Welby (Archbishop of Canterbury) and Rachel Treweek (Bishop of Gloucester) in the House of Lords in 2021
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role or office of the bishop is called episcopacy. Organizationally, several Christian denominations utilize ecclesiastical structures that call for the position of bishops, while other denominations have dispensed with this office, seeing it as a symbol of power. Bishops have also exercised political authority within their dioceses.
A 6th-century image of Saint Augustine, bishop of Hippo Regius
Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, student of John the Apostle
A bishop with other officials on an 11th-century grave in Sweden
Johann Otto von Gemmingen, Prince-Bishop of Augsburg