Jonathan Baker (bishop)

Jonathan Mark Richard Baker (born 6 October 1966) is a bishop of the Church of England.[2][3] He is currently the suffragan Bishop of Fulham (providing alternative episcopal oversight in the dioceses of London, Southwark and Rochester) and was formerly the Bishop of Ebbsfleet (a provincial episcopal visitor).

The Right Reverend

Jonathan Baker
Bishop of Fulham
Baker in 2015
ChurchChurch of England
DioceseLondon
PredecessorJohn Broadhurst
Other post(s)Honorary assistant bishop, Southwark (2013–present)
Guild Vicar, St Andrew Holborn (2015-present)
Honorary assistant bishop, Rochester (2013–2015)
Bishop of Ebbsfleet (PEV; 2011–2013)
Principal of Pusey House (2003–2013)
Orders
Ordination1993 (deacon)
1994 (priest)
Consecration16 June 2011[1]
by Rowan Williams
Personal details
Born (1966-10-06) 6 October 1966
NationalityBritish
DenominationAnglican
Children2 sons, 1 daughter
Alma materSt John's College, Oxford
St Stephen's House, Oxford

Early life and education

Baker was born on 6 October 1966, and is the son of Sir John William Baker. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, an all-boys public school in Hertfordshire.[4] He studied at St John's College, Oxford.[5] He trained for ordination at St Stephen's House, Oxford.[6]

Ordained ministry

Baker was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1993 and as a priest in 1994.[7] He was an assistant curate at All Saints' Ascot Heath from 1993 to 1996.[8] He was then priest in charge of St Mark's Reading[9] and Vicar of Holy Trinity, Reading.[10] From 2002 until 2013, he was Principal of Pusey House.[11]

Baker has been Guild Vicar of St Andrew Holborn in the City of London since 2015.

Episcopal ministry

Following his appointment as the suffragan Bishop of Ebbsfleet, the provincial episcopal visitor for the western half of the Province of Canterbury, Baker was consecrated as a bishop at Southwark Cathedral on 16 June 2011.[1] His appointment as an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Bath and Wells (an honorary role which facilitates his oversight of parishes in that diocese) was announced in September 2011.[12] He was legally translated to the See of Fulham on 13 February 2013, began his episcopal ministry on 15 April and was installed at St Paul's Cathedral on 23 April (St George's Day).

On 18 April 2023, Baker and a group of around fifty Anglican clergymen celebrated Mass at the High Altar of the Archbasilica of St John Lateran.[13] Officially, the Roman Catholic Church does not recognise the validity of Anglican priestly orders, as outlined in Apostolicae curae, a papal bull issued by Pope Leo XIII which declares all Anglican ordinations "absolutely null and utterly void".[14] Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Guerino Di Tora of the Diocese of Rome (Chapter Vicar of the Lateran Basilica) expressed:[15]

deep regret for what happened last Tuesday 18 April, inside the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome. In fact, a group of about 50 clergymen, accompanied by their bishop, all belonging to the Anglican Communion, celebrated on the high altar of Rome's cathedral, in contravention of canonical norms.

Views

From 2010 to 2014, Baker was the chairman of Forward in Faith, a traditionalist Anglo-Catholic membership organisation which supports and finances the work of The Society under the patronage of S. Wilfrid and S. Hilda.[16] In 2014, he announced that he would not stand for re-election as chairman of Forward in Faith UK.[17] He is a member of the Council of Bishops of The Society.[18]

In 2023, following the news that the House of Bishop's of the Church of England was to introduce proposals for blessing same-sex relationships, he signed an open letter which stated:[19]

many Christians in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, together with Christians from across the churches of world Christianity, continue to believe that marriage is given by God for the union of a man and woman and that it cannot be extended to those who are of the same sex. [...] Without seeking to diminish the value of many committed same-sex relationships, for which there is much to give thanks, we find ourselves constrained by what we sincerely believe the Scriptures teach which cannot be set aside.[19]

Personal life

Baker was previously a Freemason. While a student at Oxford University, he joined the Apollo University Lodge, a masonic lodge associated with the university, and served as its Worshipful Master. He held the senior position of Deputy Grand Chaplain in the United Grand Lodge of England. After twenty years membership, he left the organisation upon being appointed a bishop, stating that the criticism from some members of General Synod threatened to overshadow the inauguration of his episcopal ministry.[20]

In a letter dated 22 October 2014, Baker wrote to his clergy informing them that he had been given permission by Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, and Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, to remarry following divorce granting him a sort of annulment.[21] Until 2010, Church of England clergy who had been divorced and remarried could not become bishops. American religion commentator and Episcopal Priest, The Rev. George Conger, wrote, "They [traditionalist clergy] are at a loss to understand how the bishop dedicated to providing pastoral support for traditionalists can himself adopt a stance at odds with the position of most traditionalists – and at odds with the public position taken by Forward in Faith on divorce and remarriage."[22]

Styles

References
  1. Richborough Episcopal Area – New Bishop Consecrated Archived 1 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  2. The Anglo Catholic
  3. St Cross College Archived 9 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Who's Who 2012 – Ebbsfleet, Bishop Suffragan of
  5. Who's Who 2008: London, A & C Black, 2008, ISBN 978-0-7136-8555-8
  6. Crockfords (London, Church House, 1995) ISBN 0-7151-8088-6
  7. "Jonathan Mark Richard Baker". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  8. All Saints' Church website
  9. Bench Marks website
  10. Church blog
  11. "The Principals of Pusey House". Pusey House. Retrieved 24 July 2021
  12. Church Times, 23 September 2011 – Appointments, p. 26.
  13. "Rome: A Freemason Anglican Prelate Celebrates Liturgical Service in St John Lateran". The Society of Saint Pius X. 25 April 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  14. Pope Leo XIII (20 February 2023). "Apostolicae Curae: On the Nullity of Anglican Orders". Papal Encyclicals Online. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  15. "Lateran Cathedral vicar expresses regret over Anglican eucharist at the altar". Anglican Ink. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  16. "Forward in Faith - About Us".
  17. Anglican Mainstream website.
  18. "The Council of Bishops". The Society. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  19. "LLF: a paper on the Doctrine of Marriage". Thinking Anglicans. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  20. Wynne-Jones, Jonathan (14 May 2011). "Archbishop allows freemason to be bishop". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  21. Anglican Ink website.
  22. Gledhill, Ruth (28 October 2014). "Leading CofE bishop Jonathan Baker to remarry after divorce". Christian Today. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
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