Philip North
Philip North | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Burnley | |
| Church | Church of England |
| Diocese | Diocese of Blackburn |
| In office | 2015–present |
| Predecessor | John Goddard |
| Other post(s) | Team Rector of Old St Pancras (2008–2015) Acting Dean of Blackburn (2016–present) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1992 (deacon) 1993 (priest) |
| Consecration | 2 February 2015 by Martin Warner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Philip John North 2 December 1966 |
| Nationality | British |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Alma mater | University of York |
Philip John North CMP (born 2 December 1966) is a bishop in the Church of England. Since February 2015, he has been Bishop of Burnley, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Blackburn. He was previously Team Rector of the Parish of Old St Pancras.
Early life
North was born on 2 December 1966 in North London.[1] He studied history at the University of York, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1988.[2][3] He spent a year working as a pastoral assistant in Redhouse, Sunderland, before preparing for ordination at St Stephen's House, Oxford.[2] He graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA degree in 1991; as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree in 2001.[3]
Ordained ministry
North was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1992 and as a priest in 1993.[3] He was a curate at Saint Mary and Saint Peter's in Sunderland until 1996, after which he became the vicar of Holy Trinity in Hartlepool until 2002, during which time he was also Hartlepool's area dean (2000-2002).
In 2002, North became Priest Administrator of the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, also serving as priest-in-charge of Hempton and Pudding Norton from 2004 to 2007. In 2008 he became team rector in the Parish of Old St Pancras and team vicar at St Michael's Church, Camden Town.
In 1997, North joined the Company of Mission Priests, a dispersed community (not a religious order) of male Anglican priests who do not marry and follow the Vincentian rule of life.[4] In 2015, he was elected a member of the general council of the Society of Mary, an Anglican devotional society.[5]
Episcopal ministry
On 19 October 2012, North was announced as Martin Warner's successor as Bishop of Whitby.[6] On 16 December 2012, it was announced that North had withdrawn his acceptance of the post because of conflict between his views on women as priests and bishops,[7] his love for the Parish of Old St Pancras and "the views of people in the Archdeaconry of Cleveland".[8]
On 7 November 2014, it was announced that North had been selected as the next Bishop of Burnley.[4] He was consecrated at York Minster on 2 February 2015.[9] The laying on of hands was restricted to three bishops "who share his theological conviction regarding the ordination of women" (this position was widely commented upon as the "theology of taint"[10]); the other bishops at the service, including the only woman then consecrated as a bishop, Libby Lane, and John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, gathered around him in during the consecration prayer instead.[11] The three consecrating bishops were: Martin Warner, Bishop of Chichester; Tony Robinson, Bishop of Pontefract; and Glyn Webster, Bishop of Beverley.[12] Warner also presided at the service's Eucharist in place of Sentamu.[11] On 14 February 2015, he was installed as Bishop of Burnley at Blackburn Cathedral.[13] North has since been reported as declaring that all rural residents are rich and too much ministry is provided to them.[14] North is a member of the Council of Bishops of The Society.[15]
In May 2016, it was announced that North is to also be Acting Dean of Blackburn during the vacancy in the deanery caused by the resignation of Christopher Armstrong on 17 June 2016 (although Armstrong departed Blackburn prior to this date).[16]
References
- ^ North. "North, Philip John". Who's Who. Vol. 2016 (November 2015 online ed.). A & C Black.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Unknown parameter|accessed=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|othernames=ignored (help) (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) - ^ a b "Fast facts about the new Bishop of Burnley" (pdf). Diocese of Blackburn. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ a b c "P J North". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ a b "Press release - Suffragan Bishop of Burnley: Reverend Philip John North". gov.uk. 2014-11-07.
- ^ Miller, Luke (March 2015). "Elections to the General Council 2015" (PDF). Ave. Society of Mary. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- ^ Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street (2012-10-19). "Suffragan See of Whitby - Press releases - www.gov.uk". Number10.gov.uk. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Diocese of London – North withdraws from Whitby post
- ^ Sam Jones (2012-12-17). "Female bishop row deepens as priest refuses promotion in protest | World news". London: theguardian.com. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
- ^ Diocese of Blackburn – Consecration of the Eleventh Bishop of Burnley at York Minster (Accessed 2 February 2015)
- ^ The Telegraph — Sentamu rejects ‘taint’ claim in women bishops row (Accessed 14 December 2015)
- ^ a b "Bishop of Burnley: Rt Rev Philip North consecrated". BBC News. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ Semley, Ronnie (2 February 2015). "Consecration of the Eleventh Bishop of Burnley at York Minster". News. Diocese of Blackburn. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ "Controversial Bishop of Burnley officially installed". ITV Report. ITV. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ^ https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2016/19-february/news/uk/bishop-north-castigates-a-bias-to-the-rich
- ^ "The Council of Bishops". The Society. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "Appointments". Church Times. No. 7991. 13 May 2016. p. 33. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 14 May 2016.