Press release from the Prime Minister’s Office. There is more information on the Chelmsford and London diocesan websites.
Appointment of Suffragan Bishop of Bradwell: 19 June 2023
The King has approved the nomination of The Venerable Adam Atkinson for appointment to the Suffragan See of Bradwell, in the Diocese of Chelmsford.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 19 June 2023
The King has approved the nomination of The Venerable Adam Atkinson, Archdeacon of Charing Cross in the Diocese of London, for appointment to the Suffragan See of Bradwell, in the Diocese of Chelmsford, in succession to The Right Reverend Dr John Perumbalath, following his appointment as Bishop of Liverpool.
Background
Adam was educated at Birmingham University, after which he worked in media before training for ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He served his title at St Paul Shadwell, in the Diocese of London, and was ordained Priest in 2008. In 2010 Adam was appointed Priest in Charge of St Peter & St Thomas Bethnal Green in the Stepney Episcopal Area of the Diocese of London.
In 2011 Adam was appointed Vicar of St Peter Bethnal Green. He additionally served as Network Chaplain, Church Revitalisation Trust from 2018 and from 2019 served as Director of Mission Development in the Two Cities Episcopal Area. In 2020 Adam was appointed Archdeacon of Charing Cross.
A great appointment; London will be sad to see him go!
Thank you. A personal recommendation tells me far more than the career history in the press release.
….and yet another evangelical bishop.
Actually – can we stop this – it is wrong and pejorative. This is not OK. They might be the best person for the job. The danger of these labels is that they can go too far. Suppose I was to say – “and yet another gay or straight or black bishop”. Such comments would go rightly challenged.
Do you have insight into their theology and ecclesiology or have you just read a biography and made a value judgement? Such tribalism demeans the church, it demeans the call to the episcopacy and demeans your inappropriate comment here.
I disagree. People choose to be evangelicals. They can’t choose their sexuality or race. I cannot understand why anyone would consciously choose to be an evangelical and why there are so many who are promoted.
‘People choose to be evangelicals.’
Is that, in fact, true?
Do we ‘choose’ our beliefs, or do our beliefs choose us?
I ask this, because in my own experience it feels far more like the latter than the former. It’s not that i sit down and look at two or three different ways of being a Christian, and decide that I’ll believe way B rather than ways A or C. It’s that when I examine them, way B just seems right to me. It seems to accurately reflect the way I see reality. It ‘grabs’ me.
hear hear (speaking as a Trad Anglo-Catholic FiF, Society, Church Union fellow traveller marooned in mud-and-mattins land). I don’t much care what their church party is as long as they’re any good.
hear hear
Well said Tim. Absolutely spot on.
Sorry to come in on what is clearly a very close discussion between old associates, and I know nothing of any of the recently appointed bishops so my views are not in any way personal in relation to them. But as the Church of England becomes ever more distanced from the views of so many ordinary folk who are content to be working within the anti- discrimination laws of this country, I had a sort of John Lennon ‘Imagine’ moment. Imagine there was no opt out on grounds of conscience granted to the COfE … (and it wouldn’t effect the… Read more »
Balance is rather important and currently things feel rather unbalanced. I am not a raving party person but am concerned that senior appointments seem somewhat cloned all too often. I too dislike labels but labels are often owned by the individuals who declare themselves by label, evangelical being an oft seen one…not always but often. It seems that the label evangelical is not felt to be pejorative by those of that tradition any more than the endangered specie ‘liberal catholic’ is pejorative to that imperilled group. Your rebuke feels an pompous and intriguing put down and clearly I have trodden… Read more »
The labelling game is increasingly hard. Evangelical no longer implies guitar playing, conservative sexual ethics, anti-liturgy, separatist, headship or jeans. If there’s any pigeon holing it’s in the qualifying adjective: conservative, classical, sacramental, liberal, charismatic, open, Prayer Book…(others?)
Well said, Stephen. And to everyone else – please note: http://www.inclusiveevangelicals.com/
The labelling can indeed be hard. Just yesterday evening I was in Coventry Cathedral as the evangelical Bishop of Coventry launched his new book exploring Mary and her place in the life of the Church.
True, and though His Majesty has some liberal views and appears to support inclusion, Christopher has been appointed as Dean of Windsor. And as we know, Christopher is conservative on sexuality and marriage. People do not always fit into convenient boxes.
However, the Dean of Windsor arguably has a unique role within the Church of England. I suspect that Bishop Christopher’s views do not markedly differ from his predecessor’s. Interesting that a bishop, this time a Diocesan, has again been appointed.
I remember attending his seminars some years ago at the ‘New Wine’ summer conferences (founded by his father in law) on the theology of charismatic worship.
Looks like 5 of the 7 Deans of Windsor appointed during the 20th century were bishops.
Three were Suffragan Bishops when appointed
Eric Hamilton (Shrewsbury)
Michael Mann (Dudley)
David Connor (Lynn)
Two were Diocesans
Launcelot Fleming (Portsmouth then Norwich)
Christopher Cocksworth (Coventry)
One was a Cathedral Dean
Patrick Mitchell (Wells)
One was appointed a Diocesan post Windsor
Robin Woods (Worcester)
But let us not forget another who became a
Diocesan Bishop post being Dean of Windsor
Randall Davidson (Rochester, Winchester and Canterbury)
I’ll bet Launcelot Fleming was the only Dean of Windsor to have been to the Antarctic! There was a Superior of CR Mirfield of whom that was true.
For inclusive evangelicals see: here.
As an evangelical (so far as labels help) I am grateful for this exchange. I have long been grateful for the resource and community that is TA. But this reminds of how I always used to reach for a theological equivalent of my cricket box before turning up here. I no longer do. (Though I confess I still instinctively adopt a crouch position whenever FrDavidH arrives. Needs must. It is a health and safety issue)
I will irritate some….however now the Dean of Durham…yet another evangelical gets a senior appointment.