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Helen-Ann Hartley

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The Right Reverend

Helen-Ann Hartley
Bishop of Newcastle
Hartley in 2024
ChurchChurch of England
DioceseNewcastle
Installed3 February 2023
PredecessorChristine Hardman
Other post(s)
Orders
Ordination
  • 2005 (deacon)
  • 2006 (priest)
Consecration22 February 2014
by Philip Richardson
Personal details
Born
Helen-Ann Macleod Francis

(1973-05-28) 28 May 1973 (age 51)
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
DenominationAnglican
SpouseMyles Hartley
ProfessionBishop and academic
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Spiritual
Incumbent
Assumed office
21 September 2023

Helen-Ann Macleod Hartley (née Francis; born 28 May 1973) is a British Anglican bishop, Lord Spiritual, and academic. Since 2023, she has served as Bishop of Newcastle in the Church of England.[1] She previously served as Bishop of Waikato in New Zealand from 2014 to 2017, and area Bishop of Ripon in the Diocese of Leeds from 2018 to 2023. She was the first woman to have trained as a priest in the Church of England to join the episcopate,[2] and the third woman to become a bishop of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.[3]

Early life and education

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Hartley was born Helen-Ann Francis on 28 May 1973 in Edinburgh, Scotland.[3][4][5] She was baptised in Coldingham Priory, Coldingham, Berwickshire, where her father was the minister.[6] She spent her childhood in Sunderland, England. Her father was a Church of Scotland minister but the family moved to Anglicanism in the 1980s.[3][6] In 1987, her father became a Church of England priest and served in the Diocese of Durham;[7] he was later made an honorary canon of Durham Cathedral;[8] and Helen-Ann's mother also later became a priest.[9] Francis was educated in Sunderland at Benedict Biscop Primary School (a Church of England primary school) and St Anthony’s Secondary School (an all-girls Roman Catholic secondary school; now St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy) before attending university.[6][8]

She has attended a number of universities where she studied theology. She graduated from the University of St Andrews with an undergraduate Master of Theology (MTheol) degree in 1995, and from Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) with a Master of Theology (MTh) degree in 1996. PTS is a seminary associated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Later, she studied at the University of Oxford and graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in applied theology, a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in 2000, and a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in 2005.[3][4] Her DPhil thesis concerned the portrayal of manual labour in Judaism and Early Christianity,[10] and was titled "We worked night and day that we might not burden any of you (1 Thessalonians 2:9): aspects of the portrayal of work in the Letters of Paul, late Second Temple Judaism, the Græco-Roman world and early Christianity".[11]

Ordained ministry

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Hartley is a fourth generation cleric.[12] She was an acolyte at Durham Cathedral during her youth.[8] She attended the Oxford Ministry Course at Ripon College Cuddesdon to undergo ministerial formation.[2]

Hartley was ordained in the Church of England: made a deacon at Michaelmas 2005 (24 September), by Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford, at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford,[13] and ordained priest the Michaelmas following (24 September 2006), by Colin Fletcher, Bishop of Dorchester, at Dorchester Abbey.[14] She then began her ministry as a curate in a group of parishes in Wheatley, Oxfordshire.[2] In 2007, she became curate at St Mary and St Nicholas Church, Littlemore.[10] In addition to serving as a curate, she worked as a lecturer in New Testament studies at Ripon College Cuddesdon.[8] She later became the theological college's Director of Biblical Studies.[12]

In November 2011, Hartley was selected to become Dean of Tikanga Pakeha, i.e. European heritage, students at St John's College, Auckland in New Zealand. The college is co-deputised by three deans who represent the three main peoples of New Zealand: Pakeha, Maori and Polynesians.[10][15] She originally went to St John's College in 2010 to research for a book, Making Sense of the Bible, before moving to New Zealand to take up the appointment of Dean in early 2012.[10][16]

Episcopal ministry

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L to R: Philip Richardson, Archbishop of New Zealand; Helen-Ann Hartley; Eleanor Sanderson, Bishop of Hull; Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York

In September 2013, Hartley was elected to become the seventh Bishop of Waikato.[12] She was consecrated on 22 February 2014,[16] by Philip Richardson, Archbishop of New Zealand (with co-primates Brown Turei, Te Pīhopa o Aotearoa, and Winston Halapua, Bishop of Polynesia, and other bishops) at St Peter's Cathedral, Hamilton (i.e. Waikato's cathedral).[9] She was the first woman who had trained and served as a priest in the Church of England to become a bishop:[8] at the time of her election, women couldn't be consecrated to the episcopate of the Church of England.[3] The Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki is unique within the Anglican Communion as it is led by co-diocesan bishops: Hartley and Philip Richardson, as Bishop of Taranaki, had joint oversight of the whole diocese.[8]

On 9 November 2017, it was announced that Hartley was to become the Bishop of Ripon, an area bishop in the Church of England Diocese of Leeds.[17] She was duly invested (i.e. legally took the See of Ripon) and installed at Ripon Cathedral on 4 February 2018.[18] From then until 2020, she was the youngest bishop in the Church of England; being aged 44 when she took up the appointment.[19]

In October 2022, it was announced that Hartley would take up the post of Bishop of Newcastle in early 2023, succeeding Christine Hardman, who retired in November 2021.[20][21] On 28 November 2022, she was elected by the College of Canons of Newcastle Cathedral.[22] The confirmation of her election — by which she legally took up the See of Newcastle — took place on 3 February 2023 at York Minster.[23] On 22 April 2023, the service of inauguration was held at Newcastle Cathedral.[24]

On 21 September 2023, Hartley was admitted to the House of Lords as a Lord Spiritual.[25] She was introduced to the House on 26 October 2023,[26] and made her maiden speech on 14 November 2023 during a debate of the King's Speech.[27]

In November 2023, Hartley became one of the co-lead bishops for the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process involving the introduction of "Prayers of Love and Faith" along with Martyn Snow, Bishop of Leicester.[28] Hartley stepped down from this role in February 2024 after what she called "serious concerns" over the appointment of Reverend Dr Thomas Woolford as interim theological adviser to the House of Bishops; she said that Woolford's appointment was having "a critically negative impact on the work Bishop Martyn and [she] were seeking, in good faith, to do" and that being co-lead bishop for the LLF process was "now undermining [her] capacity to fulfil my primary calling, to lead and care for the people and places of the diocese of Newcastle".[29][30] Woolford had previously written an article for the conservative Church Society organisation in which he criticised the potential for the LLF process to lead to the blessing of same-sex unions,[31] with said article beginning to be circulated on social media following his appointment as interim theological adviser.[30]

In May 2023, Hartley suspended Lord Sentamu's Permission to Officiate in Newcastle Diocese after he rejected a review that found that he had failed to act on a disclosure of abuse when he had been Archbishop of York.[32] In November 2024, Hartley revealed that she had encountered "coercive language" from Justin Welby and Stephen Cottrell, in a letter regarding Lord Sentamu's return to the Church of England. Hartley criticized the letter's tone as reflecting a lack of awareness of power dynamics within the Church. The letter was sent on 31 October 2024, shortly before the Makin review was released, which highlighted ongoing issues in the Church’s approach to safeguarding. Hartley said publishing the letter was essential to expose these systemic problems.[33] Following publication of the Makin review, she was the only bishop to call publicly for Welby's resignation before he did so.[34]

Views

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Hartley is "fully committed to the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people" in the Church of England.[29]

Personal life

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In 2003, Helen-Ann Francis married Myles Hartley,[5] a musician and church organist.[8]

After the Sycamore Gap tree felling incident, Hartley remarked that "there [was] a real sense of sadness in the air", and that "it was just heartbreaking and almost unreal to see the tree felled". She also stated that she had spent a few days running around Hadrian's Wall shortly before becoming the Bishop of Newcastle in 2023, and that "a lot of life events" were associated with the tree.[35]

Selected works

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  • Making Sense of the Bible: Atonement and Redemption. SPCK. 2011. ISBN 978-0-281-06405-2.
  • Thinking About the Bible. National Book Network. 2015. ISBN 978-1-5064-0101-0.
  • We worked night and day that we might not burden any of you (1 Thessalonians 2:9) (DPhil). Oxford University. 2005. Retrieved 6 August 2018.

References

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  1. ^ "Latest civil service & public affairs moves – October 24". Civil Service World. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Percy, Martyn. "Rejoicing as the Revd Dr Helen-Ann Macleod Hartley is consecrated as Bishop of Waikato and Taranaki". News. Diocese of Oxford. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e Gardner, Chris (5 September 2013). "Waikato elects first Anglican woman bishop". Waikato Times. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Helen-Ann Macleod Hartley". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  5. ^ a b Who's Who 2018: Waikato, Bishop of. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2017. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.281824.
  6. ^ a b c "Unity in Diversity". Anglican Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  7. ^ "James More MacLeod Francis". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "North East Clergywoman Makes History". Diocese of Durham. 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  9. ^ a b Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia (22 February 2014). "Ordained on Heaven's hill". Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d "New dean for St John's College". Taonga News. Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  11. ^ Hartley, Helenann Macleod (2005). "We worked night and day that we might not burden any of you (1 Thessalonians 2:9) : aspects of the portrayal of work in the Letters of Paul, late Second Temple Judaism, the Græco-Roman world and early Christianity". E-Thesis Online Service. The British Library Board. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  12. ^ a b c "English female priest Helen-Ann Hartley elected as New Zealand bishop". Episcopal News Service. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  13. ^ "Michaelmas ordinations". Church Times. No. 7438. 30 September 2005. p. 25. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
  14. ^ "Michaelmas ordinations". Church Times. No. 7491. 6 October 2006. p. 27. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
  15. ^ "The Faculty". The College of St John the Evangelist. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  16. ^ a b "Meet the Bishops". About Us. Anglican Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  17. ^ Diocese of Leeds — New Bishop of Ripon Archived 9 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 9 November 2017).
  18. ^ Diocese of Leeds — Hundreds pack Ripon Cathedral (Accessed 5 February 2018).
  19. ^ "New Bishop of Ripon announced as Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley". Ripon Cathedral. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  20. ^ "Dr Helen-Ann Hartley announced as 13th Bishop of Newcastle". BBC News. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  21. ^ "Bishop Helen-Ann to be the thirteenth Bishop of Newcastle". Diocese of Newcastle. 20 October 2022. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  22. ^ Church of England in the Diocese of Newcastle [@NclDiocese] (28 November 2022). "The College of Canons at @nclcathedral met today to formally elect..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "Diary (February 2023)". Archbishop of York. 1 December 2022. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  24. ^ "Bishop Helen-Ann's Service of Inauguration". Newcastle Diocese. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  25. ^ "The Lord Bishop of Newcastle: Parliamentary career". MPs and Lords. UK Parliament. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  26. ^ Lords Hansard — Introduction: The Bishop of Newcastle (Accessed 27 October 2023)
  27. ^ The Lord Bishop of Newcastle (14 November 2023). "King's Speech". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 834. United Kingdom: House of Lords. col. 410–411.
  28. ^ "Bishops of Leicester and Newcastle to lead next phase of 'Prayers of Love and Faith'". The Church of England. 9 November 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  29. ^ a b "Living in Love and Faith: A Statement from Bishop Helen-Ann - Newcastle Diocese". Diocese of Newcastle. 1 February 2024. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  30. ^ a b Martin, Francis (1 February 2024). "Bishop of Newcastle stands down from LLF over 'serious concerns' about interim adviser". Church Times. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  31. ^ Woolford, Tom (12 September 2019). "No Red Lines". Church Society. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  32. ^ "Bishop of Newcastle does 'not feel able' to grant Sentamu permission to officiate". www.churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  33. ^ Tickell, Pamela (12 November 2024). "Bishop accuses Archbishops of 'coercive language'". BBC News. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  34. ^ "Resigning would help, Bishop of Newcastle says, after launch of Welby petition". www.churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  35. ^ Stokel-Walker, Chris (30 September 2023). "'You can't put a tree back up': debate rages about memorial for Sycamore Gap". The Observer. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
[edit]
Anglican Communion titles
Preceded by Bishop of Waikato
2014–2017 		Succeeded byas Bishop of Waikato and Taranaki
Church of England titles
Preceded by Bishop of Ripon
2018–2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Bishop of Newcastle
2023–present 		Incumbent
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