Alex Hughes (priest)

The Venerable
Alex Hughes
Archdeacon of Cambridge
Diocese Diocese of Ely
In office 2014–present
Orders
Ordination 2000 (deacon)
2001 (priest)
Personal details
Birth name Alexander James Hughes
Born (1975-10-03) 3 October 1975
Honiara, Solomon Islands
Spouse Sarah (m. 1998)
Children Two
Education Priory School, Lewes
Eton College
Alma mater Greyfriars, Oxford
Westcott House, Cambridge
St Edmund's College, Cambridge

Alexander James Hughes (born 3 October 1975) is a British priest in the Church of England. Since 2014, he has been the Archdeacon of Cambridge.

Early life and education

Hughes was born on 3 October 1975 in Honiara, the Solomon Islands, to John and Jill Hughes.[1][2] He was brought up in England; in Southampton and in Seaford, East Sussex.[1] He was educated at the Priory School, a state school in Lewes, East Sussex, and at Eton College, an all-boys public school in Eton, Berkshire.[2] He studied theology at Greyfriars, Oxford, then a Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1997.[1][2] He spend the year following graduation working with the Parker Pen Company as a factory labourer.[1]

It was during his undergraduate degree that Hughes felt a call to ordination.[1] In 1998, he entered Westcott House, Cambridge, an Anglican theological college, to train for ordained ministry.[3] During this time, he also undertook post-graduate study at St Edmund's College, Cambridge, and graduated with a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in 1999.[2] He later undertook further study at St Edmund's College and completed a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 2011.[3] His doctoral thesis was titled "The gospel of divine action: Oliver Chase Quick and the quest for a Christocentric metaphysic".[4]

Ordained ministry

Hughes was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 2000 and as a priest in 2001.[3] From 2000 to 2003, he served his curacy at Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry, Oxford.[1][2] In 2003, he moved to the Diocese of Portsmouth.[5] From 2003 to 2008, he was Domestic Chaplain to Kenneth Stevenson, the then Bishop of Portsmouth.[3]

He then returned to parish ministry and was licensed as priest in charge of both St Luke's Church and St Peter's Church in Portsea, Portsmouth on 2 October 2008.[3][6] He then served as vicar of the newly created parish of St Luke's with St Peter's between 2013 and 2014.[3] The parish is in one of the poorest parts of Portsmouth, Somerstown. He was notable for reaching out to his inner city community through holding services in tower blocks as well as the more traditional church services.[7]

In 2014, he moved from Portsmouth to the Diocese of Ely. He had been appointed Archdeacon of Cambridge, and this was made official on 14 September 2014 during a service at the Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge.[1] He succeeded John Beer who had been archdeacon from 2004 to 2014. On 25 November 2014, he was made an honorary canon of Ely Cathedral.[8][9]

Personal life

In 1998, Hughes married Sarah.[1] She is a psychodynamic counsellor. Together, they have two children; Thomas and Joseph.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Archdeacon of Cambridge: The Ven Dr Alex Hughes". Diocese of Ely. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "HUGHES, Ven. Dr Alexander James". Who's Who 2015. Oxford University Press. November 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "A J Hughes". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 3 October 2015. (subscription required)
  4. ↑ "The gospel of divine action : Alexander James Hughes". Newton Library Catalogue. University of Cambridge. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  5. ↑ Owen, Chris (23 February 2013). "Vicar's vision for Portsmouth's inner city". The Portsmouth News. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "Pioneers start work in city centre". Diocese of Portsmouth. 15 October 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  7. ↑ The News, Portsmouth Monday April 2014 p15
  8. ↑ "New Canons Admitted and Installed at Ely Cathedral". Diocese of Ely. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Six new Canons installed at Ely Cathedral". Ely News. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Next Archdeacon of Cambridge appointed". Diocese of Ely. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
Church of England titles
Preceded by
John Beer		 Archdeacon of Cambridge
2014–present 		Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 21, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.