Graham James

Graham James

Graham Richard James (born January 19, 1951 in Bideford , Devon ) is a British Anglican clergyman and Bishop of Norwich since 1999 .

Life

James' family is originally from Cornwall , where many family members worked in the tin mines .

James studied history at Lancaster University , where he got a Bachelor of Arts in 1972 . In 1972 he began studying theology at Ripon College in Cuddesdon . It was 1975 in Peterborough for deacon and 1976 priests ordained.

From 1975 to 1979 he was assistant vicar at Christ the Carpenter Church in Peterborough. From 1979 to 1982 he was Parish Administrator ( Priest-in-Charge ) at Christ the King Church in Digswell in the Diocese of St Albans . Later he was Dean ( Team Vicar ) in Digswell and Panshanger .

In 1983 he became Senior Selection Secretary in the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, where he was responsible for selecting and overseeing the formation of candidates for the priesthood . He held this office until 1987. From 1987 to 1993 he was chaplain to Robert Runcie , then Archbishop of Canterbury .

From 1993 to 1999 he was Auxiliary Bishop of St Germans ( Bishop of St Germans ) in the Diocese of Truro . Since 1995 he has been a member of the General Synod of the Church of England . He has been Bishop of Norwich since 1999 .

From 2001 to 2006 he was chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Rural Issues ( Rural Bishops Panel ). In the same period he was also a board member of the Countryside Agency (British countryside Authority) and from 2003 in the strategic partnership between Norfolk County ( Norfolk County Strategic Partnership ). From 2004 to 2008 he was chairman of the BBC's Central Religious Advisory Committee , which advises the BBC on religious issues. Since 2005 he has been chairman of the Norfolk Community Foundation . That same year he was President of the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association .

Since 2006 he has been a member of the Archbishops' Council . In the same year he became chairman of the Ministry Division in the Church of England , the ecclesiastical department which advises and directs the House of Bishops , the bishops and the clergy on questions of priest selection and priest formation. Since 2009 he has chaired the BBC's Standing Conference on Religion and Belief.

James is married. He and his wife Julie have three children, two daughters and a son. One daughter died when she was six months old.

Membership in the House of Lords

James has been a member of the House of Lords since 2004 . He gave his inaugural address on April 21, 2004. His political interests include rural issues, broadcasting , and education and training .

Working in public

In 2005 James led a working group within the Church of England to develop proposals for the implementation of the 2004 Civil Partnership Act within the Church. The Pastoral Declaration on Civil Partnerships, which was developed by James in the lead, made it clear that homosexual priests of the Church of England can marry their partner in a civil partnership without losing their priesthood. The prerequisite, however, is that the priests concerned give their responsible bishop an obligation that their partnership is without sexual intercourse . According to press reports, James played a key role in drawing up the guidelines.

In 2008 he criticized the bishops who threatened not to participate in the Lambeth conference because of the question of homosexuality . James said the bishops' refusal to attend the conference represented a change in attitudes that could damage the unity of the Church.

In December 2008, James Gordon Brown accused Brown of being partly responsible for the persecution of Christians in Iraq for ignoring the problem. James said the Iraq war had dire consequences for the Christian minority in Iraq. While Christians would have been more tolerated under Saddam Hussein's government , they are now subject to constant persecution. They would be taken hostage, places of worship ravaged and set on fire.

In April 2009, he spoke about the death of Jade Goody in the Easter sermon . In May 2009, James commented on the current expenses scandal within Parliament in his Pentecost sermon in Norwich Cathedral. In the run-up to the British local elections and the European Parliament elections , several high-ranking British politicians and members of the government came under massive public criticism for unclear expense reports. James said that legislative regulation alone cannot cope with MPs' spending irregularities. Rather, one must realize that this is primarily a moral crisis, not a legal or constitutional problem.

Web links

• Graham James at Hansard (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Vita Graham Richard James ( Memento of the original from November 4, 2013 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. Debrett's People of Today homepage (available online)  
2. ^ Graham Richard James at the Diocese of Norwich , accessed December 6, 2009
3. ^ Graham Richard James at the Church of England , accessed December 6, 2009
4. ^ Bishop of Norwich tells of daughter's death EDP24, October 1, 2009
5. ↑ Graham James in Hansard (English)
6. ^ Biography of Graham Richard James on the House of Lords homepage , accessed December 4, 2009
7. ^ Catch 22 for gay clergy in new church sex code in: The Times, July 25, 2005
8. ^ Church to let gay clergy 'marry' but they must stay celibate in: The Times, May 29, 2005
9. ^ Bishop's role in new gay guidelines Norwich Evening News, June 2, 2005
10. ↑ Refusing invitations Homepage Trueshare, accessed December 5, 2009
11. ^ Bishop blames Gordon Brown for persecution of Christians in Iraq , accessed December 7, 2009
12. ^ Bishop of Norwich's Good Friday message , accessed December 7, 2009
13. ↑ Brown is dwindling from Handelsblatt on June 3, 2009
14. ↑ Bishop preaches on MPs' expenses crisis website of the Diocese of Nowich, accessed 6 December 2009