The former Bishop of London Richard Chartres will be introduced as a life peer in the House of Lords this afternoon.

Chartres will take an oath during a short ceremony before official business begins around 2.30pm. It comes after he retired following 22 years as Bishop of London.

Chartres is expected to use his expertise on Russia, and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) in particular, during debates in the House after acting as the Church of England's representative to the ROC while he was a bishop.

He is widely respected among Orthodox clergy and was awarded a high decoration of the ROC – the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Degree II – during the Russian Patriarch's Kirill visit to London last year.

His instalment comes as the Archbishop of Canterbury is on a three-day trip to Moscow, meeting with senior Russian political figures and Patriarch Kirill.

Other than Russia, Chartres is expected to focus his attention on climate change as well as heritage and historic gardens.

While Archbishops of Canterbury are typically given life peerages upon retirement it is not expected that bishops receive one. When a bishop retires their membership of the House of Lords passes on to the next most senior bishop but Chartres' appointment reflects the respect he commands.