Bishop of Chichester retires after a decade

The Bishop of Chichester will be retiring after more than a decade of service to the Diocese of Chichester.

The Rt Rev Dr John Hind announced his retirement last week, after his resignation was accepted by the Queen and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Bishop John, who is the 102nd bishop of Chichester, will retire at the end of April 2012, after 11 years.

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He said that at the age of nearly 67, he thought it was the right time for a new bishop to take over and he was looking forward to fulfilling his ministry without the responsibility of leading a diocese.

“It has been a delight and privilege to serve the diocese of Chichester for over a decade and I am very grateful to colleagues, both lay and clergy, who work so faithfully for the Gospel and the good of Sussex,” he said.

Originally from Watford, Bishop John went to Leeds University where he studied theology before going on to teach in a secondary school and a college.

He trained for full-time ministry at Cuddesdon College and was ordained in Southwark Cathedral in 1972, then worked in parishes in the Diocese of Southwark, and in 1982 was appointed principal of Chichester Theological College. Here he oversaw the planning and opening of a new building for the college and the development of a new curriculum, as well as the college’s 150th anniversary celebrations in 1989.

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He was appointed Area Bishop of Horsham in the Chichester Diocese and served under Bishop Eric Kemp and in 1993 he became the second Bishop of the Diocese in Europe and 14th Bishop of Gibraltar, with responsibility for Anglican congregations in more than 30 countries.

He has also been a member of the House of Lords since 2008. He was appointed as Bishop of Chichester in 2000, taking over from Eric Kemp who held the role for more than 26 years.

Bishop John has lived in Sussex since the early 1980s, is married to Janet, and has three adult sons, Dominic, Jonathan and Philip, and eight grandchildren.

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