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Stephen Platten

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The Right Reverend

Stephen Platten

FSA
Bishop of Wakefield
ChurchChurch of England
DioceseDiocese of Wakefield
In office2003 – 2014 (See dissolved)
PredecessorNigel McCulloch
Other post(s)Dean of Norwich
(1995 – 2003)
Rector of St Michael, Cornhill (2014 – 2016)[1]
Honorary Assistant Bishop (July 2014 – present)
Orders
Ordination1975
Consecration1 May 2003[2]
Personal details
Born (1947-05-17) 17 May 1947 (age 77)
Southgate, London
NationalityBritish
DenominationAnglican
ParentsGeorge Henry Platten & Marjory née Sheward[3]
SpouseRosslie Thompson[3]
Children2 sons: Aidan and Gregory[3]
Alma materInstitute of Education, London Trinity College, Oxford

Stephen George Platten FSA (born 17 May 1947 at Southgate, Middlesex), is a retired Anglican prelate, the last to serve as diocesan Bishop of Wakefield in the Church of England.

Consecrated as a bishop on 19 July 2003, he was installed at Wakefield Cathedral on 19 July 2003.[2] Platten previously served as Dean of Norwich from 1995.

Early life and education

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Platten was educated at the Stationers' Company's School, later graduating with a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree from the Institute of Education and a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Theology from Cuddesdon College. He then pursued further religious studies at Trinity College, Oxford, receiving a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree.

Bishop Platten was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters (Hon DLitt)[4] from UEA in 2003 and an Hon. DUniv from the University of Huddersfield in 2012.[5]

Ordained ministry

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Arms of the Bishop of Wakefield

Platten was ordained a deacon in 1975 and entered the priesthood in 1976 in the diocese of Oxford. He served as a Canon Residentiary of Portsmouth Cathedral and the diocese of Portsmouth's Director of Ordinands (1983–1990), then the Archbishop of Canterbury's Secretary for Ecumenical Affairs (1990–1995). A member of the Third Order of Saint Francis (TSSF),[6] he served as the Minister Provincial of its European Province from 1991 to 1996.

Between 1990 and 1995, Platten was Guestmaster of the Nikaean Club, a Lambeth Palace dining club with a focus on ecumenical hospitality by the Archbishop of Canterbury.[7]

Platten was introduced to the House of Lords on 22 June 2009, where he sat with fellow bishops as a Lord Spiritual.[8]

On 3 November 2013 it was announced that the diocese of Wakefield, and therefore the episcopal see of Wakefield, would be dissolved on 20 April 2014. Then in July 2014, Bishop Platten was appointed Rector of St Michael's, Cornhill, London, as well as an Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of London.[1] He stepped down from this rectory in 2016, retiring to live in Northumberland, and continues to serve as an Assistant Bishop in the dioceses of London, Southwark and Newcastle.[9]

Ministry in retirement

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Stationers' arms

Between 2013 and 2020, Platten was Chairman of the Council of Hymns Ancient and Modern, Ltd,[10] before serving as Master of the Worshipful Company of Stationers & Newspaper Makers for 2020/21.[11] He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 2020.[12]

Views

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Platten supports the ordination of women as priests and bishops.[13]

On 11 February 2017, he 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.[14] By 13 February, a serving bishop (Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham) and nine further retired bishops had added their signatures;[15] on 15 February, the report was rejected by Synod.[16]

Personal life

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In 1972 Platten married Rosslie Thompson, whose work is devoted to children with special needs. They have two sons, Aidan and Gregory, both of whom have also been ordained in the Church of England.[17]

Bishop Platten's homepage states that he "has particular interests in the study of theology and relations with other churches. He has recently been appointed as Chairman of the Church of England Liturgical Commission, which seeks to develop the worshipping life of the church."[18]

It also states that his interests include reading, walking, Northumberland and music.[19]

Styles

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Writings

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  • Pilgrims. Fount, London. 1996.
  • Augustine's Legacy. Darton, Longman and Todd. 1997.
  • Pilgrim Guide to Norwich Cathedral. Norwich: Canterbury Press. 1998.
  • Cathedrals and Abbeys of England. Norwich: Jarrold Publishing. 1999.
  • Deacons in the Ministry of the Church. Church House Publishing. 1988. (with Mary Tanner)
  • Spirit and Tradition: An Essay on Change (with George Pattison). Norwich: Canterbury Press. 1996.
  • Vocation: Singing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land. London: SPCK. 2007.
  • Rebuilding Jerusalem: The Church's hold on hearts and minds. London: SPCK. 2007.
  • Animating Liturgy. Durham: Sacristy Press. 2017. ISBN 9781910519547.
  • Borderlands. Wanney Books. 2017.
  • Border Country. Wanney Books. 2019.
  • Cathedrals of Britain. Pavilion Books. 2020. ISBN 9781841659152.
  • Pilgrims: Pathways of Christian Life. Durham: Sacristy Press. 2020. ISBN 9781789591323.
  • Wicked Weather for Walking: A Passiontide Progress. Durham: Sacristy Press. 2021. ISBN 9781789591910.
  • Abbeys and Priories of England. Pitkin. 2022. ISBN 9781841659572.
  • Northumberland: A Guide. Durham: Sacristy Press. 2022. ISBN 9781841659572.

Platten has also edited:

  • Marriage, Helen Oppenheimer, Mowbray, London 1990
  • Good for the Poor, Michael Taylor, Mowbray, London 1990
  • Working with God, Andrew Stokes, Mowbray, London 1992
  • The Ethics of I.V.F., Anthony Dyson, Mowbray, London 1995
  • Dreaming Spires?: Cathedrals in a New Age, London, 2006
  • Holy Ground: Cathedrals in the Twenty First Century. Sacristy Press. 2017.
  • Oneness: The Dynamics of Monasticism. SCM Press. 2017.
  • Austin Farrer for Today: A Prophetic Agenda (with Richard Harries). SCM Press. 2020.

He has edited and contributed to eight books:

  • New Soundings, Darton, Longman and Todd 1997
  • Flagships of the Spirit, Darton, Longman and Todd 1998
  • Seeing Ourselves: Who are the Interpreters of Contemporary Society, Canterbury Press Norwich 1998
  • The Retreat of the State: Nourishing the Soul of Society, Canterbury Press, Norwich 1999
  • Ink and Spirit: Literature and Spirituality, Canterbury Press, Norwich 2000
  • Open Government, Canterbury Press, Norwich 2000
  • Runcie: On Reflection, Canterbury Press 2002
  • Anglicanism and the Western Christian Tradition, Canterbury Press 2003
  • Reinhold Niebuhr and Contemporary Politics: God and Power. Oxford University Press. 2010 (with Richard Harries)
  • Comfortable Words: Polity, Piety and the Book of Common Prayer. SCM Press. 2012. (with Fr Christopher Woods).
  • Austin Farrer: Oxford Warden, Scholar and Preacher. SCM Press.2020. (With Markus Bockmuehl).

References

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  1. ^ a b Diocese of London – St Michael's Cornhill to welcome the Rt Revd Stephen Platten as Rector (Accessed 20 April 2014)
  2. ^ a b "Diocese of Adelaide — Archbishop's Report to the Synod, 31 May 2003" (PDF). Archived from the original on 19 August 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Stephen Plattern CV — April 2005 Archived 10 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Church of England — Bishop of Wakefield
  5. ^ University of Huddersfield — Honorary graduates
  6. ^ "Franciscan Bishops at Lambeth" (PDF). Third Order News. No. 32. January 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Guestmasters of the Nikaean Club since 1943". Nikaean Club. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  8. ^ "New Members in the Lords". www.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009.
  9. ^ "Stephen George Platten". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  10. ^ "Bishop to chair charity that published the country's first hymn book". Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Former Stationers' Company's School pupil and Bishop becomes Master". flickread.com. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  12. ^ www.sal.org.uk
  13. ^ The Rt Revd Stephen Platten on the Anglican church and women bishops - University of Huddersfield on YouTube
  14. ^ Retired Bishops' Letter — The Letter Archived 12 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 11 February 2017; the fourteen bishops were David Atkinson, Michael Doe, Tim Ellis, David Gillett, John Gladwin, Laurie Green, Richard Harries, Stephen Lowe, Platten, John Pritchard, Peter Selby, Tim Stevens, Martin Wharton, and Roy Williamson.)
  15. ^ Retired Bishops' Letter — New Signatures Archived 18 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 17 February 2017; the nine bishops were Gordon Bates, Ian Brackley, John Davies, Peter Maurice, David Rossdale, John Saxbee, Martin Shaw, Oliver Simon, and David Stancliffe.
  16. ^ The Grauniad — Church of England in turmoil as synod rejects report on same-sex relationships (Accessed 17 February 2017)
  17. ^ "Bishop Stephen Platten welcomed as Rector of St Michael's Cornhill". Diocese of London. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  18. ^ www.churchtimes.co.uk
  19. ^ "THE RT REVD STEPHEN GEORGE PLATTEN" (PDF). old.wakefield.anglican.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  20. ^ www.stationers.org
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Church of England titles
Preceded by Dean of Norwich
1995–2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Bishop of Wakefield
2003–2014 		Diocese dissolved
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