 Stevens was consecrated a bishop by George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Southwark Cathedral on 17 November 1995; he became the Bishop suffragan of Dunwich in 1995 and occupied that See until 1999, when he was appointed as the Bishop of Leicester.It was announced on 18 November 2014 that Stevens was to retire in July 2015.On 11 July, he led his last service as Bishop of Leicester at Leicester Cathedral.