Bishop Kenneth has announced his decision to take early retirement.

Kenneth and Sarah Stevenson at their Bishopsgrove home

He will step down as bishop in September after 14 years in the job.

Although the decision came after he spent four weeks in hospital with a virus, he has emphasised that his leukaemia has not returned since a second bone marrow transplant 18 months ago.

He intends to continue working, leading ordination and confirmation services, June's diocesan synod, and deanery visitations before two farewell services in September. One will be in Portsmouth Cathedral in Old Portsmouth, at 3pm on Saturday 12th September, and one in Newport Minster on the Isle of Wight at 3pm on Sunday 6th September.

He will retire a couple of months before his 60th birthday, and he and his wife Sarah will move to Chichester. In his retirement there are plans for him to continue with his theological writings, among other things. They will be near their four grown-up children and two grandsons and get involved with the charity Leukaemia Research.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, an old friend, came to see him the day after he decided to step down.

³There is sadness in this decision, but I know that it's the right one for Sarah and me, and also for the diocese,² said Bishop Kenneth. ³I did wrestle with it, and it has proved to be the most difficult decision of my life. But having made it, I do feel relieved. I have loved being Bishop of Portsmouth, and I have never wanted to be bishop of anywhere else. It's a unique part of the Church of England, and I've loved the variety you find in such a compact geographical area as I travel to different parts of the diocese.

³It's important for us all in the diocese to keep our eye on the ball, and the strategy for mission and ministry - which the diocese is working on at the moment - is a God-given opportunity for the whole diocesan family to unite around a common purpose. Any incoming bishop would be thrilled to have a review of that nature going on as they start.

³The Portsmouth diocese is a very special one, with some wonderful things going on, built on prayer and faithful discipleship.²

The couple will move out of their house Bishopsgrove in Osborn Road, Fareham to a new home they had already bought in Chichester.

And his wife Sarah said: ³We have had a wonderful time and we've loved living in this house. It's been a joy to have been here and we are so sad to leave.²

Bishop Kenneth was first diagnosed with leukaemia in September 2005 and has fought the disease on and off since, with long periods back at work, but he knows his energy levels are diminished and are unlikely to return fully.

Two retired bishops who live in the diocese, the Rt Revs Godfrey Ashby and Peter Selby, will assist Bishop Kenneth at various diocesan events before he retires, and are likely to help during the gap between Bishop Kenneth's retirement and the appointment of a successor.

Because Portsmouth has no suffragan (ie. assistant) bishop, the Archbishop of Canterbury is likely to appoint a commissary - a serving bishop from elsewhere - to sign legal papers during the interregnum.