Andrew White (clergyman)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Andrew White
Born	1964
Church	Church of England
Education	Ridley Hall, Cambridge
Ordained	1990
Congregations served	St George's Church, Baghdad
Offices held	Vicar, Canon
Children	2
Christianity Portal

The Reverend Canon Andrew White (born 1964) is vicar of St George's Church, Baghdad, the only Anglican church in Iraq. He has thus been dubbed the "Vicar of Baghdad". He is also President of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East.^[1] He was previously Director of International Ministry at the International Centre for Reconciliation at Coventry Cathedral, England. At the age of 33 years he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a condition which affects his mobility and his speech.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Education and call to the priesthood 3 Director of International Ministry 4 "Vicar of Baghdad" 5 Personal life 6 Previous appointments 7 Current appointments 8 Selected publications 9 Awards 10 Styles 11 References

[edit] Early life

White grew up in Bexley, in the suburbs of south-east London in Kent. His family were very religious, between strict Baptist and Pentecostal. He visited an old house-bound lady, and got to know an Anglican priest who visited her to give her communion.^[2]

[edit] Education and call to the priesthood

He studied at St Thomas' Hospital, London and qualified as an Operating Department Practitioner in 1985.^[2] He worked in anaesthetics and was a member of the cardiac arrest team.^[2] One day he realised that he had done everything he had set out to achieve and asked himself, "what next?", and then decided to join the Church.^[2] He studied theology, training for the priesthood at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, where he decided to learn about Judaism and Islam.^[2] He also spent time at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was ordained in 1990,^[3] and became a curate at St Mark's, Battersea Rise in the Diocese of Southwark. He first saw his wife from the pulpit when she was in the congregation, and when six weeks later he asked her to marry him, she initially said "maybe". He later became a vicar of the Church of the Ascension, Balham Hill in the same diocese.

In 1997 – his final year as vicar of the Church of the Ascension – he was a Wandsworth Borough Councillor and served as Deputy Chairman of Social Services.

[edit] Director of International Ministry

In 1998, at the age of 33 years, White was appointed a canon at Coventry Cathedral, and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis about six weeks after moving to Coventry.^[2] He became the Director of International Ministry there – his role headed up the International Centre for Reconciliation, promoting reconciliation in conflicts (mainly religious) across the globe. He concentrated on the Middle East, because he thought that the church needed to be involved there.^[2] He remained in this post until 2005, when he moved to Baghdad to become Anglican Chaplain to Iraq.^[4]

[edit] "Vicar of Baghdad"

In Iraq, White lives in the Green (or International) Zone in the centre of Baghdad, and serves as vicar of St George's Church just outside the Green Zone.^[4] He has been dubbed "Vicar of Baghdad", because his church is the only remaining Anglican church in Iraq. His people (the congregation of St George's) refer to him as their "Aboona" (Father).^[4] Here, he has continued the reconciliation that he promoted during his time as Director of International Ministry at Coventry Cathedral. The Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East was established in 2005 as part of his reconciliation work in Iraq and the Middle East as a whole.

His main aim has been to try and maintain communication between Shia and Sunni leaders, and to "gain trust of key religious leaders on both sides in various conflict areas".^[5] He sees his role as trying to mediate and re-establish the dialogue between conflicting groups.

White was involved in efforts to free British hostage Ken Bigley, although his efforts and those of many others were unsuccessful as Mr Bigley was murdered after three weeks in Iraq. On average, his negotiations with kidnappers are approximately 25% successful in leading to a hostage being released.^[2] He also took part in trying to resolve the hostage situation at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in 2002.

White was aware of the fear that the Iraqi people had of Saddam Hussein's regime, and supported the invasion of Iraq, but not the aftermath.^[2]

White's lay pastor was kidnapped in April 2007; however, he managed to raise the $40,000 ransom necessary to secure the pastor's release and soon returned to Iraq where he stays most of the time.^[6]

On 11 July 2007, White arrived in Britain after having fled Iraq following warnings of threats to his life,^[7] but returned later on.^[8] He is no stranger to danger, having been "hijacked, kidnapped, locked up in rooms with bits of finger and toe and things." He has "been held at gunpoint, been attacked – the usual thing"!^[4] Many of his staff have been kidnapped or killed, with up to 11 killings of staff in a single year.^[4]

White's work is paid for partly by supporters, his foundation, and by The Pentagon. Security is a key issue in his work, and he has 35 armed guards assigned to protect him.^[2]

[edit] Personal life

White's brother died on 31 August 1997, the same day as Princess Diana. His body was found washed up by the sea and White assumes that he probably jumped off a cliff, although the cause of death has not been established officially and given an open verdict.^[2]

At the age of 33 years, White was investigated for poor vision and balance problems about six weeks after he became a canon at Coventry Cathedral. He was hospitalised, and a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis was given to him on the same day his second son was born. Being in the same hospital as his wife, he was able to attend the birth. His wife and two sons currently live in the southeast of England.^[2]

White does not know anyone else who would do his work, because of the long term relationships he has in the Middle East and his religion. Through his work he has become unaccustomed to a normal civilian life, and has said that he would find life in London boring.^[2]

[edit] Previous appointments

• Special Envoy to the Middle East – for the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Revd. and Rt. Hon. George Carey
• Director of International Ministry and Canon Residentiary – International Centre for Reconciliation, Coventry Cathedral

[edit] Current appointments

• Vicar of St George's Church, Baghdad, Iraq
• President and Chief Executive – Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (FRRME)
• Special Representative to the Alexandria Process – for the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Revd. and Rt. Hon. Rowan Williams
• Eric Lane Fellow – Clare College, Cambridge
• Harvard Fellow

[edit] Selected publications

• Iraq: People of Promise, Land of Despair (2003)
• Iraq: Searching for Hope (2005)
• By The Rivers of Babylon (2008)
• The Vicar of Baghdad (2009)

White has also written widely on issues of inter-faith activity, conflict resolution, Middle East affairs and relations between Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

[edit] Awards

• The Sternberg International Council of Christians and Jews Prize (jointly with Lord Coggan) (1991)
• Anglo-Israel Association Prize (2001)
• Sir Sigmund Sternberg Inter-Faith Prize (2003)
• Grand Commander of the Order of Merit of the Knights Templar of Jerusalem (2003)
• Interfaith Award, British Government (2003)
• Peacemaker in Action Award, The Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, United States (2005)
• US Cross of Valor (2006)
• The Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths, Cambridge, Peace Prize (2007)

White was awarded the Anglo-Israel Association Prize for his contribution to furthering understanding between the British and Israeli nations. He was awarded the Sternberg Inter-Faith Prize for his work in promoting good relations between Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

[edit] Styles

• Mr Andrew White (1964–1990)
• The Revd. Andrew White (1990–1998)
• The Revd. Canon Andrew White (1998–)

[edit] References

Persondata
NAME	White, Andrew
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Vicar, Canon
DATE OF BIRTH	1964
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bexley, Kent, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH