Jonathan Gledhill

Jonathan Michael Gledhill (born February 14, 1949 in Windsor , Berkshire ) is a British Anglican clergyman and was Bishop of Lichfield from 2003 to 2015 .

Life

Gledhill attended Keele University and made a Bachelor of Arts there in 1972. From 1972 he attended Trinity College in Bristol . In 1975, he graduated from Bristol University with a Master of Arts degree . Gledhill was ordained a deacon in 1975 and a priest in 1976 . From 1975 to 1978 he was vicar at All Saints Church in Marple in the Diocese of Chester and from 1978 to 1983 at Holy Trinity Christ Church in Folkestone , Canterbury . From 1983 to 1996 he was a pastor at St Mary Bredin Church in Canterbury.

Gledhill was a tutor at the Canterbury School of Ministry from 1983 to 1994 . From 1988 to 1994 he served as the Land Dean of Canterbury. From 1992 to 1996 he was an honorary cathedral chaplain ( Honorary Canon ) at Canterbury Cathedral . Gledhill was Auxiliary Bishop of Southampton in the Diocese of Winchester from 1996 to 2003 and has been Bishop of Lichfield since 2003 . He was succeeded as Bishop of Southampton by Paul Butler .

Gledhill also held numerous other offices in church organizations, charitable institutions and other bodies during his church career. From 1993 to 1996 he was a member of the Meissen Commission . From 1994 to 1996 he was the Administrative Director of the Institute for Theological Education . Since 1998 he has chaired the Anglican Old Catholic International Consultative Council and the National College of Evangelists , established by the House of Bishops in 1996 for the formation of evangelists .

In 2007 he received an honorary doctorate from Keele University .

Gledhill is married and has two children, a son and a daughter. His wife, Jane Gledhill, is a lecturer at the University of Lichfield .

Membership in the House of Lords

Gledhill was a member of the House of Lords as Spiritual Lord since October 5, 2009 . On November 3, 2009 he was inducted into the House of Lords and took the oath, supported by the Bishops of Ripon and Leeds, John Richard Packer and of Wakefield, Stephen Platten .

He gave his inaugural address on November 24, 2009. There he succeeded George Henry Cassidy . On September 30, 2015, Gledhill resigned from his position as Bishop of Lichfield, thereby also leaving the House of Lords.

Working in public

In February 2006, Gledhill commented that registered civil partnerships should not be equated with marriage . Gledhill emphasized the position of the Church of England that on the part of the church a public church wedding ceremony following a closed civil partnership was still not possible despite the Civil Partnerships Act . Misunderstandings would arise in particular because homosexual and lesbian couples interpreted church blessings as a wedding . The media, even the BBC , would sometimes misrepresent it. This also refers to the statement often read in the media that clergymen could marry as long as they were celibate afterwards . The Church of England only emphasized that the provisions of the Civil Partnerships Act are not generally incompatible with the priesthood .

In December 2006, Gledhill responded to Saddam Hussein's execution . Gledhill stated that the execution could not be called "unjust" if Saddam Hussein had a fair trial and an opportunity to defend himself. Anyone who, like Saddam Hussein himself, has deliberately killed people has forfeited his own right to live. Therefore, in this case, despite all moral concerns about the death penalty, the execution is arguably justified.

In March 2009, in a greeting to the diocesan synod of Lichfield , he demanded the abolition of male preference in the line of succession . He also stressed that he would welcome a member of the Roman Catholic Church as the spouse of a future monarch .

In June 2009, Gledhill took the position in an episcopal pastoral letter that the Church of England should also have room for those people who only attended services occasionally, for example on feast days, at baptisms and funerals. Also, many representatives of the Church often made it very easy for themselves to simply portray these believers as “hypocrites”. Rather, one must instead think back to the message of the Sermon on the Mount , which is addressed to all people.

In October 2009, Gledhill encouraged Christians to wear crosses in public and at work. Christian symbols should not simply disappear from the public eye. Christians shouldn't be intimidated and stand by their faith .

In November 2009, Gledhill criticized in his sermon on Remembrance Day that it was not very credible for a society and its political leadership to want to build a democracy in Afghanistan while values ​​were eroding in their own country. In this context, Gledhill named the expenses scandal in the British Parliament and excessive bonus payments from bank managers as indicators of the crisis in their own country.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Vita Jonathan Gledhill ( 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. Debretts (available online), accessed December 13, 2009  
2. ↑ Jonathan Gledhill at the Church of England , accessed December 27, 2009
3. ↑ Bishop of Lichfield to be honored with Doctorate  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Homepage of the Diocese of Lichfield of June 27, 2007  
4. ↑ New Bishop Of Lichfield ( Memento of the original from August 18, 2004 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. Keele University homepage from July 18, 2003 
5. ↑ Gledhill on the homepage theyworkforyou , accessed 27 December 2009
6. ↑ New Lord is servant of all the poorest people , in: thisisstaffordshire of November 4, 2009
7. ↑ Bishops react to Civil Partnerships  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Changing Attitude dated February 15, 2006  
8. ↑ Saddam's execution “not unjust” says bishop  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Homepage of the Diocese of Lichfield of December 31, 2006  
9. ↑ Full text of Presidential Address to Lichfield Diocesan Synod  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Diocese of Lichfield homepage , accessed December 27, 2009  
10. ↑ Occasional church attendees are not “hypocrites” - bishop  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Diocese of Lichfield homepage , accessed December 23, 2009  
11. ↑ Christian's 'should wear crosses' BBC News of October 25, 2009
12. ↑ 'Soldiers are dying for Afghan democracy as British values ​​crumble', says Bishop , in: Telegraph of November 8, 2009

predecessor	Office	successor
John Perry	Bishop of Southampton 1996-2003	Paul Butler
Keith Sutton	Bishop of Lichfield 2003-2015	vacant