A brief trip up north in this update.
Richard Harries had served in the army from 1955 – 1958 before training for ordination at Cuddesdon College. He had been appointed Bishop of Oxford in 1987 and had entered the House of Lords in 1993. But if anyone had hoped that Harries would be any less outspoken than his fellow Archbishop than they were going to be in a for a big surprise. In fact one of his first actions upon entering the House of Lords had been to bring legal proceedings against the Church Commissioners as he felt their investment policies placed far too much importance on purely financial matters and not enough emphasis on promoting the Christian faith.
The majority of Harries time in office was taken up with working behind the scenes to facility the ongoing work of the church. For example he worked with the various Dioceses to ensure disagreements were settled as the first round of women clergy began to be ordained and take on their own parishes, and he was of those often dispatched overseas to try and head off disagreements within the Communion that were beginning to bubble over and would cause problems for Sheppard’s successors at Canterbury.
However while this work was his main focus, Harries still found himself engaging in social issues. He was a regular voice on Thought for the Day, sat on Parliamentary committees regarding stem cell research and the reorganisation of the House of Lords and chaired a committee of his own on interfaith relations. His relationships with the UK’s Muslim leaders proved very helpful following President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003. Though the Government under Prime Minister Ken Clarke decided not to support initial military action, it did send forces to help with the rebuild.
When David Sheppard retired from Canterbury in 1997, several within the Church suggested that Harries would be a suitable replacement. However he chose not to go for it, stating that he felt he could do more good at home, and someone with more experience with him should take on the job of leading the Communion. Instead he remained at York until 2006, when he retired on his seventieth birthday and was replaced by the Bishop of Birmingham John Sentamu.
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Archbishop of York: Richard Harries: 1995 – 2006
When John Habgood retired as Archbishop of York in 1995, the Crown Nominations Commission decided that his replacement should be someone who could balance both the responsibilities of running the national Church (which Sheppard had allowed to fall by the way somewhat, preoccupied with his global and political responsibilities,) but who also reflected the current social-liberal bent of the Church. They found that replacement amongst the gleaming spires of Oxford.
Archbishop of York: Richard Harries: 1995 – 2006
Richard Harries had served in the army from 1955 – 1958 before training for ordination at Cuddesdon College. He had been appointed Bishop of Oxford in 1987 and had entered the House of Lords in 1993. But if anyone had hoped that Harries would be any less outspoken than his fellow Archbishop than they were going to be in a for a big surprise. In fact one of his first actions upon entering the House of Lords had been to bring legal proceedings against the Church Commissioners as he felt their investment policies placed far too much importance on purely financial matters and not enough emphasis on promoting the Christian faith.
The majority of Harries time in office was taken up with working behind the scenes to facility the ongoing work of the church. For example he worked with the various Dioceses to ensure disagreements were settled as the first round of women clergy began to be ordained and take on their own parishes, and he was of those often dispatched overseas to try and head off disagreements within the Communion that were beginning to bubble over and would cause problems for Sheppard’s successors at Canterbury.
However while this work was his main focus, Harries still found himself engaging in social issues. He was a regular voice on Thought for the Day, sat on Parliamentary committees regarding stem cell research and the reorganisation of the House of Lords and chaired a committee of his own on interfaith relations. His relationships with the UK’s Muslim leaders proved very helpful following President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003. Though the Government under Prime Minister Ken Clarke decided not to support initial military action, it did send forces to help with the rebuild.
When David Sheppard retired from Canterbury in 1997, several within the Church suggested that Harries would be a suitable replacement. However he chose not to go for it, stating that he felt he could do more good at home, and someone with more experience with him should take on the job of leading the Communion. Instead he remained at York until 2006, when he retired on his seventieth birthday and was replaced by the Bishop of Birmingham John Sentamu.
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