Christopher Hill (Bishop)

Christopher Hill

Christopher John Hill KCVO (born October 10, 1945 ) is a British Anglican theologian . He was Bishop of Guildford in the Church of England from 2004 to late September 2013 .

Life

Hill attended King's College London from the University of London . He studied theology . In theology, he completed a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) and a Master of Theology (MTh). He also earned the Associateship of King's College Degree (AKC).

In 1969 he was ordained a deacon , and in 1970 he was ordained a priest . From 1969 to 1973 he was Assistant Vicar (Assistant Curate) at the Parish of St. Michael the Archangel in Tividale in the Diocese of Lichfield . From 1973 to 1974 a position as vicar (curate) followed at St Nicholas Church in Codsall . From 1974 to 1981 he was then assistant chaplain of the Archbishop of Canterbury for Foreign Affairs ( Archbishop of Canterbury's Assistant Chaplain for Foreign Relations ). From 1981 to 1989 he was the personal secretary of Robert Runcie , the then Archbishop of Canterbury, responsible for questions of ecumenism (Archbishop of Canterbury's Secretary for Ecumenical Affairs). At the same time he worked from 1982 to 1989 as Honorarkanoniker (Honorary Canon) at the Canterbury Cathedral operates. From 1987 to 1989 he was also chaplain of Elizabeth II. In 1989 he was Residenzkanoniker (residentiary Canon) and Precentor (Precentor) at St Paul's Cathedral in London . He held these offices until 1996.

In 1996 he was appointed suffragan Bishop of Stafford in the Diocese of Lichfield. In 2004 he was named Bishop of Guildford. There he has been the successor to John Gladwin since 2004 . He retired at the end of September 2013. He was succeeded as Bishop of Guildford in September 2014 by Andrew Watson .

Hill held several church duties and honorary offices. Since 1991 he has been a member of the Legal Advisory Commission of the General Synod of the Church of England. He was a member of the Faith and Order Advisory Group of the Church of England from 1998 to 2007 and was its Vice President from 1998 to 2007. Hill has been a member of the House of Bishops and a member of the General Synod of the Church of England since 1999 . Since 2006 he has been a member of the General Synod of the Group on Women Bishops . From 2003 to 2006 Hill was a member of the Church of England's Liturgical Commission. Since 2003 he has been a member of the internal church disciplinary commission (Clergy Discipline Commission).

Hill held a special honorary position in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom . From 2005 to 2014 he was Clerk of the Closet in the Ecclesiastical Household of the Queen of England . For this task he received the knighthood of commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) on November 12, 2014

Membership in the House of Lords

Hill had been a member of the House of Lords as a Spiritual Lord since March 18, 2010 . He succeeded Thomas Frederick Butler , Bishop of Southwark , in the House of Lords . On May 27, 2010, he was officially installed in the House of Lords. In late September 2013, he officially left the House of Lords when he retired as Bishop of Guildford.

Working in public

Hill's church activities focus on interreligious dialogue , ecumenical issues and the Church of England's relations with other denominational and religious communities.

From 1974 to 1982 and again from 1983 to 1989 he was secretary of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission . From 1981 to 1982 he was secretary of the Anglican-Lutheran European Commission . From 1985 to 1988 he was a participant in the so-called Meissen Talks, which were intended to strengthen relations between the Church of England and the German Protestant churches . From 1989 to 1992 he was secretary of the Anglo-Nordic / Baltic Commission of the Church of England, from which the Porvoo fellowship between the Anglican churches of the British Isles and the Lutheran churches of the Nordic countries and the Baltic States emerged . From 1991 to 1996 he was deputy chairman of the London Society for Jews and Christians as a representative of the Anglican churches . In 1999 he was deputy chairman of the Meissen conference. In particular, he advocated the Meissen Declaration .

Since 2008 he has been chairman of the Church of England's Council for Christian Unity . He is also a member of the Presidium of the Conference of European Churches and is currently (2017) its President.

Private

Hill is married and has four grown children. His leisure activities and hobbies include an interest in industrial archeology , particularly railways and shipping , listening to classical music and operas on BBC Radio 3, and reading detective novels . His personal interest is also in Italian cuisine and the collection of fine wine .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Rt Rev the Bishop of Guildford ( Memento of the original from January 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Christopher Hill biography at Debrett's (excerpts available online)  
2. ^ Rt Rev Christopher John Hill, Bishop of Guildford Biography of King's College London
3. ^ Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Revd Christopher Hill, to retire BBC News, May 29, 2013
4. ↑ London Gazette November 18, 2014
5. ↑ Christopher Hill on the House of Lords page ( January 2, 2012 memento in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ House of Lords Business ( Thursday 27 May at 11.00am The Lord Bishop of Guildford will be introduced and Jonathan Hill Esq CBE will be introduced as a Baron. )

predecessor	Office	successor
Michael Scott-Joynt	Bishop of Stafford 1996-2004	Gordon Mursell
John Gladwin	Bishop of Guildford 2004–2014	Andrew Watson