Richard Chartres

Infobox Bishop
honorific-prefix =The Right Reverend and Right Honourable
name = Dr Richard Chartres
bishop_of = Lord Bishop of London


caption =
province = Church of England
diocese =
see = London
enthroned = 1995
ended =
predecessor = The Rt. Revd. and Rt. Hon. Dr David Hope
successor =
ordination = 1974
consecration = 1992
other_post = Bishop of Stepney
(1992–1995)
Gresham Professor of Divinity
(1987–1992)
birth_date = 11 July 1947
birthplace = Ware, Hertfordshire
death_date =
deathplace =
buried = Anglican Portal

Richard John Carew Chartres PC ChStJ FSA FBS (born 11 July 1947) is the 132nd Lord Bishop of London, being confirmed in office in November 1995. [LondonGazette|issue=54203|startpage=14961|date=6 November 1995|accessdate=2008-01-04] He was previously Bishop of Stepney (1992 [LondonGazette|issue=52923|startpage=8409|date=15 May 1992|accessdate=2008-01-04] –1995) and Gresham Professor of Divinity (1987–1992). He is formally referred to as "the Rt Revd and Rt Hon. Dr Richard Chartres". He is married to Caroline Chartres—a freelance writer—and they have four children.

Biography

Born in Ware. Hertfordshire, Chartres was educated at Richard Hale School and Trinity College, Cambridge (MA) before studying theology at Cuddesdon and Lincoln Theological colleges. He was ordained as a priest in 1974. During the 1970s he was the Chaplain to Robert Runcie, then Bishop of St Albans and later Archbishop of Canterbury, and received a Lambeth BD. He holds honorary doctorates from St Mary's College in London University, Brunel University, the City and Metropolitan Universities. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Chartres married a freelance writer, Caroline, in 1982, and they have four children, Alexander, Sophie, Louis and Clio.

Roles

In 1995, Chartres became Prelate of the Order of the British Empire [LondonGazette|issue=54231|startpage=16345|date=1 December 1995|accessdate=2008-01-04] and Dean of the Chapels Royal. He is an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple, a Liveryman of the Merchant Taylors' Company and Honorary Freeman of the Weavers' Company. Richard Chartres is a Privy Counsellor. In 1997 he was made a Chaplain of the Venerable Order of Saint John. [LondonGazette|issue=54652|startpage=595|date=16 January 1997|accessdate=2008-01-04]

He was one of the executors of the Will of Diana, Princess of Wales, and delivered the address at her memorial service in 2007. He confirmed Prince William.

He is a patron of Prospex, a charity which works with young people in North London, and a patron and fellow of the Burgon Society for the study of academical dress. Chartres is a Patron of the Georgian Group.

The Bishop is responsible for relations with the Orthodox Church.

He is the Founder and Chairman of the Trustees of the St Ethelburga Centre for reconciliation and Peace. He is also a Trustee of Co-exist.

In October 2005, Chartres joined Marianne Suhr at St Giles in the Fields, London, to launch a new maintenance project for the capital's historic churches. [ [http://www.maintainyourbuilding.org.uk/press/00002.html Support from on high for gutter project!] , press release at maintainyourbuilding.org.uk, accessed 23 July 2008]

Green issues

Since its launch in 2006, Chartres has led the Church of England's "Shrinking the Footprint" campaign, aimed at cutting 60% of the Church's carbon emissions by 2050. [ [http://www.shrinkingthefootprint.cofe.anglican.org/press_060602.php Church launches Shrinking The Footprint campaign] , Church of England, published 2006-06-02, accessed 2007-05-01] In this launch and subsequently, Chartres has criticized as sinful the pollution of the planet by people jetting away on holidays. Michael O'Leary, boss of low-cost airline Ryanair, responded that "the Bishop of London has got empty churches - presumably if no one went on holidays perhaps they might turn up and listen to his sermons. God bless the bishop!" [cite news|url=http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=35&si=1660238&issue_id=14413|work=Irish Independent|title=O'Leary gives sermon to bishop on travel 'sins'|date=2006-07-27|accessdate=2007-03-24] Also, after criticism that his taking flights for "diocese work" as well as retaining a chauffeur-driven car were against the ideals of this campaign, he has himself pledged not to fly for a year. [http://environment.guardian.co.uk/ethicalliving/story/0,,2102679,00.html The green cross code, "Guardian", 14 June 2007] ] For personal travel the Bishop uses an Oyster Card, and, as of 1st October 2008, the bishop's official vehicle has been a Honda Civic Hybrid.

In January 2006 Chartres was criticised by the media for his decision to spend Easter on a cruise ship giving lectures on theology (despite the fact he was on a two month sabbatical, his first in 33 years) rather than attend the services in St Paul's Cathedral [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4641378.stm|date=2006-01-23|accessdate=2007-03-24|work=BBC News|title=Bishop in Easter lecture cruise] .

In October 2008, the Independent on Sunday named Chartres as one of the top 100 environmentalists in Britain in their 'Green List' (coming in at number 75).

Gresham lectures

Chartres wrote a book, the "History of Gresham College 1597–1997". This was based upon a three-part lecture series given in May 1992, while Chartres was Professor of Divinity at Gresham College in London. During the first lecture of the original lecture series he referred to the College as a 'magical island like Atlantis' disappearing and re-emerging from the sea. This was a reference both to the Invisible College and Francis Bacon's New Atlantis. At the second lecture he disassociated himself from any apparent occult references.

Other Gresham lectures by Chartres covered prayer (which he keenly distinguished from magic), Autumn 1991, the Shroud of Turin, November 1988, and the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem where he not only made certain revelations about the Gresham Jerusalem Project but also gave a personal account of a month he spent at an ancient monastery in Egypt where he would go on moonlight walks with a Christian leader who would trace great patterns in the sand as he sought to explain abstruse points of theology, December 1989.

tyles

* Mr Richard Chartres (1947–1973)
* The Revd. Richard Chartres (1973–1992)
* Prof. Richard Chartres (1984–1992)
* The Rt. Revd. Richard Chartres (1992–1995)
* The Rt. Revd. and Rt. Hon. Dr Richard Chartres (1995-)

References

External links

* [http://www.london.anglican.org/BishopOfLondon Bishop of London biography]