The Right Honourable

Anthony Priddis
Bishop of Hereford
ChurchChurch of England
DioceseDiocese of Hereford
In office2004 – 2013 (retirement)
PredecessorJohn Oliver
SuccessorRichard Frith
Other post(s)Bishop of Warwick (1996–2004)
Orders
Ordination1972
Consecration3 July 1996[1]
Personal details
Born (1948-03-15) 15 March 1948 (age 75)
DenominationAnglican
ResidenceThe Palace, Hereford
SpouseKathy[2]
Children3[3]
Alma materCorpus Christi College, Cambridge

Anthony Martin Priddis (born 15 March 1948)[4] was the Bishop of Hereford in the Church of England from 2004 to 2013.

Ministry

Ordination

Having gained a Cambridge Master of Arts (MA{Cantab}), an Oxford Master of Arts (MA{Oxon}) and a Diploma in Theology (DipTh),[5] Priddis was ordained in 1972 and began his ordained ministry as a deacon in New Addington, Surrey.

Diocese of Oxford

In 1975 Priddis moved to High Wycombe in the Diocese of Oxford and held a number of positions, including St John's High Wycombe and St Mary's Amersham.

Bishop of Warwick

Priddis became the Bishop of Warwick in the Diocese of Coventry in 1996.

Bishop of Hereford

Priddis was appointed the Bishop of Hereford in the Diocese of Hereford in March 2004. The appointment was the first time a bishop had been appointed by the Church of England following external advertising.[6] He retired on 24 September 2013.[7]

In April 2007, Priddis was in the news as having vetoed the appointment of a gay youth officer who then brought Employment Tribunal proceedings against him claiming unlawful discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.[8] The youth officer was not in a sexual relationship but could not assure Priddis that he would remain celibate. The proceedings were successful and Priddis was found to have acted unlawfully by discriminating against the youth officer because of his sexuality. Although English law refers to "orientation", the EU interprets orientation to also include behaviour.[9][10][11] The diocese failed to agree a settlement and in February 2008 was ordered by the Employment Tribunal to pay the youth worker over £47,000 in compensation.[12] The Employment Tribunal also said that it expected Priddis to undergo equal opportunities training.[12] Priddis was subsequently named "Bigot of the Year" by the gay equality group Stonewall.[13]

Priddis previously attracted attention in the media for ordaining a transsexual woman to the priesthood in 2005, a decision that he defended against criticism from the Evangelical Alliance.[14]

Personal life

Priddis and his wife Kathy have three children.[3]

Styles

References

  1. ^ Photograph captioned "Revd Canon ANTHONY PRIDDIS, Bishop of Warwick (At Southwark Cathedral after his Consecration) ... 03.07.1996 (Accessed 26 April 2014)
  2. ^ "Diocese of Hereford — Bishop's Office". Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  3. ^ a b BBC News — Bishop's Blogs for Dioceses of Worcester and Hereford
  4. ^ "Priddis, Anthony Martin". Who's Who. Vol. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 26 April 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. ^ Church of England — Bishop of Hereford Archived June 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Profile of Anthony Priddis, BBC
  7. ^ "Bishop of Hereford retires from role after nine years". BBC News. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  8. ^ BBC News (2007-04-01) "Gay man takes bishop to tribunal". Retrieved on 2007-04-09
  9. ^ Hereford case: judgement published Thinking Anglicans website (accessed 18 July 2007)
  10. ^ Bishop loses gay employment case BBC News website (accessed 18 July 2007)
  11. ^ Bishop urged to resign after diocese loses gay bias case The Guardian 19 July 2007
  12. ^ a b Thinking Anglicans digest of news reports 8 February 2008
  13. ^ "Bishop 'bigot' claim over gay row", BBC News website, 2 November 2007, retrieved 18 December 2011.
  14. ^ "Bishop defends transsexual curate", BBC website.
Church of England titles Preceded byClive Handford Bishop of Warwick 1996–2004 Succeeded byJohn Stroyan Preceded byJohn Oliver Bishop of Hereford 2004—2013 Succeeded byRichard Frith
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