Number 10 announced today that Vivienne Faull, who is currently Dean of Leicester, is to be the next Dean of York
Dean of York
Thursday 5 July 2012
The Queen approves Vivienne Frances Faull as Dean of York.
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Very Reverend Vivienne Frances Faull, MA, Dean of Leicester, in Leicester Diocese, to be appointed to the Deanery of the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter, York, on the resignation of the Very Reverend Keith Brynmor Jones, MA, on 30 April 2012.
Notes for Editors
The Very Reverend Vivienne Faull, (aged 57) studied at the Queen’s School, Chester and Saint Hilda’s College, Oxford.
After teaching with the Church Mission Society in North India and youth work at Shrewsbury House, Everton, she trained for ministry at Saint John’s College, Nottingham and Nottingham University.
She served as a Deaconess at Saint Matthew and Saint James, Mossley Hill in the Diocese of Liverpool from 1982 to 1985, moving to become Chaplain, later Fellow, at Clare College, Cambridge.
She was made Deacon in the Diocese of Ely in 1987.
She began cathedral ministry in 1990 as Chaplain at Gloucester Cathedral where she married Michael, a Physician, and where she was ordained priest in 1994. In 1994 she moved to become Canon Pastor, and later Vice Provost, at Coventry Cathedral.
In 2000 she was appointed Provost of Leicester (the first women to lead a Church of England cathedral), becoming Dean of Leicester in 2002.
She has been a member of the General Synod representing Deans of cathedrals since 2004 and is currently on the panel of Chairs of Synod.
In 2009 she was elected Chairman of the Association of English Cathedrals (the cathedrals’ representative body) and is serving her second term on the English Anglican Roman Catholic committee for ecumenical conversations.
She is currently a governor of Leicester College, one of the largest and most diverse Further Education Colleges in the country, and a Trustee of Curve, Leicester’s new theatre. She has recently been elected Honorary Fellow of Clare College Cambridge.
York Minster has an expanded version of the Number 10 announcement: New Dean of York announced.
Women and the Church (WATCH) has welcomed the appointment with this press release.
Appointment Announced of the Very Revd Vivienne Faull as Dean of York Minster
If a woman can lead York Minster without legal barriers, a woman can lead a Diocese in the same way.
As the Very Revd Vivienne Faull is announced as the next Dean of York Minster, WATCH looks forward to her ministry with excitement and joy. For a woman to hold such a senior position in the Church of England is a great encouragement to all who have worked over decades for such a moment.
York Diocese has a number of parishes and clergy who will not accept the priestly ministry of women, so there will be work involved in continuing to welcome and affirm their faithful ministry at the Minster. But Rev Faull is no stranger to this: when she was appointed as Dean of Leicester Cathedral one of her close colleagues there did not accept the priestly ministry of women. They worked hard to honour each other’s ministry and different views and there is no reason to suppose that this will not also be the case in York.
As General Synod meets this weekend the good news of Rev Faull’s appointment gives clear evidence that women are being called by God to positions of leadership in the Church of England. Such women must be enabled to flourish in those roles, and this involves meeting the needs of those who will not accept their ministry with grace and respect, not with legal structures and barriers. We continue to ask the House of Bishops to withdraw their amendment to Clause 5.1.©.
And what do ordinary people think? See the WATCH Petition, signed by over 4500 people, at
https://www.change.org/petitions/the-house-of-bishops-of-the-church-of-england-withdraw-clause-5-1-c and read some of the comments to find out.
Kudos, Congrats and God Bless!
>> But Rev Faull is no stranger to this: when she was appointed as Dean of Leicester Cathedral one of her close colleagues there did not accept the priestly ministry of women.
Is it just me, or does anyone else ever wonder how on earth these people reconcile themselves with the Governor of the Church having been a woman for the past 60 years?
No — the role of the Supreme Governor of the Church is an entirely different thing. There is no sacramental authority or jurisdiction in that role. There is no canonical obedience to the Supreme Governor, and the Supreme Governor holds no teaching office in the Church, nor claims any apostolic succession.
Surely the idea of Royal Supremacy suggests that the monarch does indeed have authority in ecclesiastical affairs? Does she not also possess ordinary jurisdiction, i.e. over Royal Peculiars?
This never seems to be mentioned in any of the debates…
Randal – “these people” – a tad patronising don’t you fear? It is as Simon Kershaw points out quite easy to reconcile catholic and orthdox views on the three fold-ministry with support of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England for her gracious Majesty (Long may she reign) is not, neither claims to be bishop, priest nor deacon. Similarly it is not difficult to regard the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven but in no way priestly or apostolic for Our Blessed Lord did not include even his… Read more »
“… a tad patronising.” Glass houses, David?
Simon kershaw is wrong..the Church of England bishops derive their jurisdiction from the monarch and she is Ordinary to the two Archbishops. The Queen has no power over Holy orders, but has the power to appoint bishops and give them their authority.
Before the Reformation, jurisdiction was given by the Holy See…since the split it has been from the monarch.
Indeed Bunny – “should not throw stnes”
Similarly – “Let he who is without sin – cast the first stone.”
“for her gracious Majesty (Long may she reign) is not, neither claims to be bishop, priest nor deacon” Not quite so tidy, though: as I recall the chapter in the old SPCK “Liturgy & Worship” on the Coronation Mass has quite an extensive summary of the quasi-ordinal character and origins of the service. It’s not hard to see how Luther made the jump to the Prince as the font of ordaining authority in the absence of cooperative bishops. What I can’t get my head around is that most of “these people” presumably believe that Maundy Thursday was the institution of… Read more »
Perhaps before we assume that women priests is a thoroughly modern innovation, maybe we should take a look at this anonymous 15th century French painting showing Our Lady in a clearly priestly role distributing the Host at the Mass.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/44AcGqxVDSuSxTJM8av7xg
“the Coronation Mass has quite an extensive summary of the quasi-ordinal character and origins of the service”. The Coronation did, of course, take place within the context of a celebration of Holy Communion but I’d be interested to learn if Geoff can point me to any occasion during the past 60 years when our ‘quasi-ordained’ monarch has presided at a celebration of the Holy Eucharist? The Second Person of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity, God made flesh, is the source of all priestly authority and was and is, as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews inform us,… Read more »
“He is the symbol of the one particular man (not woman) who lived in Palestine…The masculinity of the priest is therefore not incidental but essential” And is it essential that that token of masculinity be circumcised (on the eighth day, by a mohel) as that one particular man was? Must he speak Aramaic as his first language? Must he have a Jewish mother? In short, Fr David, your type of argument is *absurd*. Jesus was God incarnate as a HUMAN being: the Image and Likeness of God [We can postulate that the male gender was necessary for God’s *mission* in… Read more »
The differentiation between male and female in God’s good creation is absolutely fundamental to our nature as human beings.
Surely it is JCF who is being “absurd” in equating that which is fundamental to trivialities like being circumcised. speaking Aramaic and having a Jewish mother. Really!