A Bishop or Arch Bishop Prime Minister

Bishops sit in the House of Lords

In the 1800s it was not unusual for a Lord to be Prime Minister.

Can anyone suggest a scenario where a Bishop might have been commissioned by the Soveriegn to form a government
 
Much earlier but Cardinal Wolsey?

Later the Monarch confirmed all church appointments but the Church was separated from the political establishment (partly because of this)
 
Thomas a Beckett was sort of both, but serially.

I would imagine that this is entirely possible - not in the last century or so, but in the 1800s or 1700s maybe.

One problem would be who deals with the episcopal duties in the guy's diocese, but, hey, that's what suffragan (basically assistant) bishops are for, right?

Said Bishop would probably have been appointed Bishop for political reasons (son of a Duke or something?), and would likely not be a terribly religious man. Would be my guess.

The two Archbishops are really too busy to try to run the national government as well, so they're probably not possible.
 
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