Canterbury after Carey: The Possibilities
Episcopal News Service. January 16, 2002 [2002-011]
Leading candidates for the list of potential nominees to the See of Canterbury, to be given to Prime Minister Tony Blair, include:
Tom Butler, Bishop of Southwark (61) Bishop since 1998, and former bishop of Willesden and of Leicester, Butler is a leading spokesman on asylum and immigration issues. Butler is a scientist by background, with a master's degree and a doctorate in electronics.
Richard Chartres, Bishop of London (54) Third most senior cleric in England since 1996, Chartres does not approve of the ordination of women. He studied at both Oxford and Cambridge and has delivered lectures on religion, science and the environment, and on the ethical and spiritual dimensions of the new IT environment. He served as Archbishop Robert Runcie's chaplain from 1980 to 1984 and is said to be a favorite of the British royal family.
Peter Forster, Bishop of Chester (51) Bishop since 1996, Forster is an evangelical who taught theology at St John's College, Durham, and was vicar of Beverley Minster before his elevation to the episcopate. He is a skilled craftsman who makes his own furniture and built a house in Scotland. He was a scientist before ordination. He has a doctorate in patristics, and is the chair of the theological group in the House of Bishops.
Christopher Herbert, Bishop of St Alban's (58) Herbert is known as a witty preacher and chairman. As a member of the House of Lords, he made seven speeches last year on moral issues, particularly on cloning, family life and marriage. He chairs the Council of Christians and Jews and the Hospital Chaplaincies Council. He has written 12 books on spirituality, including Pocket Prayers for Children. He served as vicar of the Bourne in Surrey for nine years.
David Hope, Archbishop of York (61) Now second most senior cleric in the Church of England, Hope became bishop of Wakefield in 1985. Six years later, he became bishop of London, and was translated to York in 1995. Public speculation over his sexuality during the early 1990s culminated in his statement that he regarded his sexuality as "a grey area." He opposes the ordination of women as priests and bishops.
Graham James, Bishop of Norwich (50) James was educated at Lancaster and Oxford. In 1987, he was appointed chaplain to the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, and he stayed to work with Carey until 1993. He was translated to Norwich from St Germans in Cornwall. He is a member of the Countryside Agency, and deputy chairman of the Central Religious Advisory Committee.
James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool (53) One of the youngest bishops, Jones was translated in 1998 from Hull. He is one of the most media-minded in the House of Bishops, unafraid of making controversial statements. He has also spoken out about the plight of working-class young men. An evangelical like Carey, he is reputed to be a favorite of Prime Minister Blair.
Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester (52) Born in Pakistan, he could be a shrewd choice in a racially divided Britain. He knows the Islamic world well, and chairs the committee considering allowing women bishops. But he has already raised eyebrows by effectively declaring his candidacy in an interview with BBC Radio 4, following Carey's retirement announcement. A former bishop of Raiwind in Pakistan, he was prominent in the last Lambeth Conference. He studied in both Oxford and Cambridge, and has also taught in Cambridge and Karachi. He was the general secretary of the Church Missionary Society for several years before his appointment as Bishop of Rochester in 1994.
Michael Scott-Joynt, Bishop of Winchester (58) Scott-Joynt has a passion for developing links with overseas dioceses, and for encouraging teenagers and young people to play a more active part in the church. He has attended several rave-in-the-nave events at Winchester Cathedral since taking up the post in 1996. His report, Marriage in Church After Divorce, came out in January 2000.
Peter Selby, Bishop of Worcester (60) Educated at Oxford, London and Massachusetts, Selby spent much of his working life in London. His previous see was Kingston, which he left for a spell in academia. Social issues top the bishop's agenda. Selby had a public falling-out with the team vicar of St John's, Kidderminster, the Rev. Charles Raven, for not publicly renouncing the ordination of homosexuals. Selby made it clear that Raven's license would not be renewed. He is a former president of the Modern Churchpeople's Union.
Kenneth Stevenson, Bishop of Portsmouth (52) Stevenson is a liturgist and scholar, educated at Edinburgh, Southampton and Manchester, and the holder of two doctorates. He is half-Scottish and half-Danish, speaks Danish, and has preached in his family's native town of Aarhus. He is a member of the House of Lords, where he has spoken out against the detention of asylum-seekers at Haslar in Portsmouth. He also has strong views on housing, poverty and unemployment.
Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Wales (51) Williams is widely regarded as one of the finest minds in the Anglican Communion. He was only 36 when he became Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Oxford in 1986. He had been Lecturer in Divinity and Dean of Clare at Cambridge, and Canon Theologian at Leicester. His first book appeared when he was 29, and it has been followed by academic works and comment on contemporary issues. In recent months, he identified Christian values displayed by the American TV cartoon series The Simpsons. His views on church-state relations, his questioning of the role of the monarchy, and his support for lesbians and gays in the Church may become issues.
Other names that might make it to the CAC's list include the Rt. Rev. Ian Cundy, bishop of Peterborough (56); the Rt. Rev. John Gladwin, bishop of Guildford (59); the Rt. Rev. Tim Stevens, bishop of Leicester (55); the Rt. Rev. John Packer, bishop of Ripon & Leeds (56); and the Rt. Rev. Richard Lewis, bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich (58).
--Material for this story was adapted from the Church Times and other sources.