Jeffrey John

For the French sprinter, see Jeffrey John (athlete).
The Very Reverend
Jeffrey John
Dean of St Albans
Church St Albans Cathedral
Diocese Diocese of St Albans
Appointed 19 April 2004
Installed 2 July 2004
Predecessor Christopher Lewis
Personal details
Birth name Jeffrey Philip Hywel John
Born (1953-02-10) 10 February 1953
Tonyrefail, Glamorgan, Wales
Denomination Anglican
Partner Grant Holmes
Education

Jeffrey Philip Hywel John (born 10 February 1953) is a Church of England priest and the current Dean of St Albans. He made headlines in 2003 when he was the first person to have openly been in a same-sex relationship to be nominated as a Church of England bishop.[1] Owing to the consequent controversy it was claimed he had withdrawn his acceptance of the nomination.

Early life

John was born in Tonyrefail in South Wales in 1953. He studied at Hertford College, Oxford,[2] where he gained a first in classics and modern languages in 1975. He subsequently studied theology at St Stephen's House, Oxford and obtained second class honours.

Ordained ministry

After a curacy in Penarth[3] he returned to Oxford in 1980 to study for a doctorate in Pauline theology. He became chaplain at Brasenose College. In 1984 he was appointed Dean of Divinity at Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1991 he was one of the founder members of Affirming Catholicism, a group promoting Catholicism within the Anglican tradition. He is also a trustee of the organisation. He also supported the campaign for the ordination of women. From 1991 he was the vicar of Holy Trinity, Eltham, (in the Diocese of Southwark) in south London. In 1997 he became Canon Chancellor and Theologian of Southwark Cathedral.

On 20 May 2003 John's appointment as Bishop of Reading, an area bishop in the Diocese of Oxford, was announced. The nomination led to controversy both in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion owing to John's long-term relationship (beginning in 1976) with Grant Holmes, also a Church of England priest, despite publicly stating that their relationship was celibate. John received criticism on his nomination both for his stance on gay issues and because he had not publicly repented his past sexual activities in such a way as to indicate that they were wrong. A number of conservative Anglican leaders in various countries stated their intention to split from the communion if the consecration went ahead. Concerns over the potential for division led Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, to pressure John to step down and, on 6 July 2003, he was announced as having withdrawn his acceptance of the nomination to the bishopric[4] though it later emerged that he had not in fact agreed to do so.[5] These events inspired the creation of Inclusive Church. In spite of the withdrawal of John the differences in views of homosexuality within the Anglican church continued to cause controversy in 2003 following the election of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church in the United States.

On 19 April 2004, 10 Downing Street announced John's appointment as Dean of St Albans. He was inducted on 2 July 2004.

At the end of August 2008, speculation began that John was one of the nominees for the post of Bishop of Bangor in Wales. A series of media reports in August and September 2008[6] added weight to the story, which drew strong negative reactions from conservative commentators from within the Church of England and in other conservative quarters.[7]

July 2010 saw widespread media reports that John was the Crown Nomination Commission's preferred candidate for appointment as Bishop of Southwark[8] in succession to Tom Butler. These reports again attracted wide comment, both in support[9] and in opposition.[10] Subsequent reports suggested that his name had been removed from the list of potential appointees following leaking of the proposal.[11][12]

Views

Following a talk broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in Holy Week 2007, John was criticised by some Evangelical bishops, the Bishop of Durham, the Bishop of Willesden and the Bishop of Lewes, for denying the doctrine of penal atonement. Referring to this particular explanation of the Christ's crucifixion, John said, "It was worse than illogical, it was insane. It made God sound like a psychopath."[13] In explaining his own view, he said, "On the cross Jesus dies for our sins; the price of our sin is paid; but it is not paid to God but by God". He cited Julian of Norwich, a widely admired 14th century English mystic who asserted that "there is no wrath in God".

John has spoken publicly in favour of the introduction of same-sex marriage.[14]

Personal life

In August 2006, after being in a relationship for 30 years, John and Grant Holmes entered into a civil partnership.[15][16]

Writings

References and notes

  1. ↑ Church Times Item, 23 May 2003
  2. ↑ 'JOHN, Very Rev. Jeffrey Philip Hywel', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 ; online edn, Nov 2012 accessed 26 Aug 2013
  3. ↑ Crockfords (London, Church House, 1995) ISBN 0-7151-8088-6
  4. ↑ Times Online item, The Rise and Fall of Dr Jeffrey John ..., 7 July 2003.
  5. ↑ A Church at War: Anglicans and Homosexuality, Stephen Bates (2005) p. 211
  6. ↑ For example, Times Online item, Gay priest Dr Jeffrey John could become a bishop in Wales, 2 September 2008
  7. ↑ For example, David Anderson, a suffragan bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, wrote in a public email, "With regard to moratoria on electing/consecrating any new homosexual bishops in the Anglican Communion, the next chance of such an election isn't in North America. We have become aware through reliable sources that Dr Barry Morgan is a man of his word – he previously has said, 'I [Barry Morgan] would ordain Britain's first gay Bishop.' Wales is in an election process for Bishop of Bangor and the election has as one of its still-secret nominees none other than Jeffrey John, sometime bishop designee for Reading, who had to withdraw when the appointment created an uproar." Virtue Online, 1 September 2008.
  8. ↑ Telegraph, "Gay cleric in line to become bishop in Church of England", 3 July 2010
  9. ↑ Pink News, "Gay cleric front-runner to become next Bishop of Southwark", 4 July 2010.
  10. ↑ Virtue Online, "Southwark Wannabe Bishop Jeffrey John is No Friend of Church of England's Orthodox Wing", 6 July 2010. See also Anglican Mainstream website, "Jeffrey John in line to become bishop in Church of England", 3 July 2010.
  11. ↑ Telegraph, "Gay cleric blocked from becoming Church of England bishop", 7 July 2010.
  12. ↑ Guardian, "Gay clergyman blocked from becoming bishop", 8 July 2010.
  13. ↑ "Lent Talks: Jeffrey John". British Broadcasting Corporation. 4 April 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
  14. ↑ Bingham, John (23 July 2012), "God backs gay marriage, says Dr Jeffrey John", Daily Telegraph
  15. ↑ Dean celebrates same-sex union from the Herts Advertiser
  16. ↑ BBC News
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