Richard Harries, Baron Harries of Pentregarth

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Territorial Army
CommandsRoyal Corps of Signals

Richard Douglas Harries, Baron Harries of Pentregarth,

FRSL FLSW (born 2 June 1936) is a retired bishop of the Church of England and former British Army officer. He was the Bishop of Oxford from 1987 to 2006. From 2008 until 2012 he was the Gresham Professor of Divinity
.

Education and army career

Harries was educated at

Territorial Army;[7] on 29 October 1969 he once more transferred to the reserve.[8]

Church ministry

Harries was made deacon in 1963, becoming assistant curate of Hampstead St John in the Diocese of London (1963–69). He was ordained priest the following year and later combined his ministry at St John's with the chaplaincy of the former

Queen Mary, University of London) (1967–69). He became a tutor at Wells Theological College (1969–71) and was then warden of the new Salisbury and Wells Theological College
(1971–72).

He returned to parish ministry as vicar of

John Wakeham) to investigate a possible reorganisation of the House of Lords,[10] which produced the Wakeham Report
. He retired on 2 June 2006, his 70th birthday.

In the week prior to his retirement, on 26 May 2006,

cross-bencher. On 4 August 2006, he was appointed to the Court of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved for a period of five years.[12]

Other activities

In 1986, Harries took up a subsidiary appointment as consultant to the archbishops of Canterbury and York on inter-faith relations. As

Today programme on BBC Radio 4, including many appearances on Thought for the Day
, he has published three books of radio talks. He is a patron of POWER International, a charity working with disabled people in poor countries.

Harries was a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics 2002–2008. In 2002 he was visiting professor at Liverpool Hope University College. In 2008 he replaced Keith Ward as the Gresham Professor of Divinity.[13]

Harries insisted that there was no conflict between science and religion. He was critical of both outspoken atheists and creationists: "From time to time, I see American creationist magazines with articles by people claiming to have doctorates in science. Judging religion only on the basis of its least credible examples is as though I judged all science on the basis of creationist science."[14]

Harries currently serves as an Advisory Steering Group member for the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life.

Harries is the author of 26 books on the interface of Christian faith and wider culture, including ethics, politics and the arts, especially the visual arts. These include The Passion in Art (Ashgate 2004) and Art and the Beauty of God (Continuum 2000), which was chosen as a book of the year by the Anthony Burgess in The Observer when it was originally published in 1993. The Re-Enchantment of Morality (SPCK 2008) was shortlisted for the 2011 Michael Ramsey prize for theological writing. The Image of Christ in Modern Art was published by Ashgate in October 2013.

Harries reviews books regularly for the Church Times.[15]

Legacy and reputation

His passion for social justice influenced his liberal views. At the start of his episcopacy, he brought legal proceedings challenging the Church Commissioners' policy on investment.[16] He and his co-plaintiffs argued that the Church Commissioners placed too much emphasis on purely financial considerations and insufficient emphasis upon the promotion of the Christian faith. Although this challenge failed – the Commissioners already had an ethical investment policy, albeit one which excluded a smaller part of the UK share market than the plaintiffs had wanted to exclude – the Court recognised that it was proper for charities to consider whether their investment strategies would alienate the charity's financial supporters.[17]

In 1996, Harries formed part of a working group of church leaders looking to address the rise of rough sleepers in west London. Harries and the other original founders championed the need for an open-access shelter that welcomed all in need, regardless of local connection, religion or nationality. The group, formerly known as West London Churches Homeless Concern, gained charity status in 2000 and changed its name to "Glass Door" in 2014. It continues to operate church-based homeless shelters across central and south-west London.[18]

In 2014, Harries stated in the House of Lords that the next British coronation in Westminster Abbey should feature readings from the Quran, the holy book of Islam.[19]

On 11 February 2017, Harries was one of fourteen retired bishops to sign an open letter to the then-serving bishops of the Church of England. In an unprecedented move, they expressed their opposition to the House of Bishops' report to General Synod on sexuality, which recommended no change to the church's canons or practices around sexuality.[20] By 13 February, a serving bishop (Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham) and nine further retired bishops had added their signatures;[21] on 15 February, the report was rejected by synod.[22]

Honours

Harries was appointed a fellow of

Doctor of the University (DUniv) by Oxford Brookes University
.

In 2012, he was awarded the President's Medal by the British Academy.[23]

In 2012, he was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.[24]

Bibliography

See also

  • Harries v The Church Commissioners for England

References

  1. ^
    ISSN 0009-658X
    . Retrieved 18 October 2015 – via UK Press Online archives.
  2. ^ "No. 40719". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 February 1956. p. 1222.
  3. ^ "No. 41254". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 December 1957. p. 7343.
  4. ^ "No. 41517". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 October 1958. p. 6161.
  5. ^ "No. 43632". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 April 1965. p. 4000.
  6. captains
    in other corps of the British Army.
  7. ^ "No. 43657". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 May 1965. p. 5063.
  8. ^ "No. 44982". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 December 1969. p. 12235.
  9. ^ "No. 50902". The London Gazette. 27 April 1987. p. 5541.
  10. ^ "No. 55419". The London Gazette. 4 March 1999. pp. 2543–2544.
  11. ^ "No. 58037". The London Gazette. 6 July 2006. p. 9193.
  12. ^ "No. 58062". The London Gazette. 4 August 2006. p. 10685.
  13. ^ Report in the Camden New Journal
  14. ^ "Richard Harries: Science does not challenge my faith - it strengthens it". the Guardian. 15 April 2006. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Richard Harries".
  16. ^ [1992] 1 Weekly Law Reports 1241
  17. ^ [1992] 1 Weekly Law Reports 1247
  18. ^ "History of Glass Door". glassdoor.org.uk. 15 October 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  19. ^ Murray, Douglas (28 November 2014). "Should the next coronation service in Westminster Abbey include readings from the Quran?". The Spectator. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  20. Stephen Lowe, Stephen Platten, John Pritchard, Peter Selby, Tim Stevens, Martin Wharton, and Roy Williamson
    .)
  21. John Davies, Peter Maurice, David Rossdale, John Saxbee, Martin Shaw, Oliver Simon, and David Stancliffe
    .
  22. ^ The Guardian — Church of England in turmoil as synod rejects report on same-sex relationships (Retrieved 17 February 2017)
  23. ^ "The British Academy President's Medal". British Academy. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  24. ^ Wales, The Learned Society of. "Richard Harries". The Learned Society of Wales. Retrieved 30 August 2023.

Further reading

External links
Church of England titles
Preceded by Bishop of Oxford
1987–2006 		Succeeded by
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