Martin Seeley

Last updated

The Right Reverend

Martin Seeley
Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
Church Church of England
Diocese Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
In office2015–present
Predecessor Nigel Stock
David Thomson (Acting)
Orders
Ordination1978 (deacon)
1979 (priest)
Consecration14 May 2015
by  Justin Welby
Personal details
Born (1954-05-29) 29 May 1954 (age 70)
Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Nationality English
Denomination Anglican
Residence Bishop's House, Ipswich [1]
Spouse
Cynthia McLean
​
(m. 1980⁠–⁠1989)​

Jutta Brueck
​
(m. 1999)​
Childrentwo
Previous post(s) Principal of Westcott House, Cambridge (2006–2015)
Alma mater
Member of the House of Lords
( Lord Spiritual )
Assumed office
21 March 2022

Martin Alan Seeley (born 29 May 1954) is a British Church of England bishop. Since May 2015, he has been the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. From 2006 to 2015, he was the Principal of Westcott House, Cambridge.

Contents

Early life and education

Seeley was born in Portsmouth on 29 May 1954. [2] He studied at Jesus College, Cambridge. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1976 and a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree in 1978. In 1976, he entered Ripon College Cuddesdon to study for ordained ministry. He then attended Union Theological Seminary, New York City, from which he graduated with a Master of Sacred Theology (STM) degree in 1978. [2] [1] On 16 October 2018 [3] he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, New Haven, where he was also invited to deliver the 2018 Cheney Lecture.

Ordained ministry

Seeley was ordained in the Church of England: made a deacon at Michaelmas 1978 (24 September), by David Tustin, Bishop of Grimsby, at St Paul's Ashby, [4] and as a priest the Michaelmas following (30 September 1979), by Simon Phipps, Bishop of Lincoln, at Lincoln Cathedral. [5] His first appointment was as a curate at St Peter's Church, Bottesford, Lincolnshire (1978–1980). [1]

In 1980, Seeley returned to the United States where he was a curate at the Church of the Epiphany and assistant director of Trinity Church, Manhattan, New York City (1980–1985) and then executive director of the Thompson Center, an ecumenical lay and clergy education programme in St Louis, Missouri (1985–1990).

In 1990, Seeley returned to England, where he was a selection secretary at the advisory board of Ministry and secretary for Continuing Ministerial Education (1990–1996). From 1996 to 2006, he was the vicar of the Isle of Dogs, a parish in the Diocese of London. In September 2006, he was appointed Principal of Westcott House, Cambridge, a theological college in the Liberal Catholic tradition of the Church of England. [6] In 2008, he was appointed an honorary canon of Ely Cathedral. [1]

Episcopal ministry

In November 2014, it was announced that Seeley would become the 11th Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. [7] His canonical election was confirmed on 7 May 2015. [8] [9] [10] On 14 May 2015, he was consecrated a bishop by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury during a service at Westminster Abbey. [11] [12] On 20 June 2015, he was installed as Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich at St Edmundsbury Cathedral. [13] He has also been an honorary assistant bishop of the Diocese of Ely since 2015. [2] He was introduced as a member (Lord Spiritual) of the House of Lords on 21 March 2022. [14] His retirement has been scheduled for 28 February 2025. [15]

Views

In January 2023, Seeley welcomed the Church of England's introduction of blessings of same-sex couples but expressed disappointment that it did not go further: "the faithful, pastoral, loving and just way forward is to extend Holy Matrimony to same-sex couples". [16]

In November 2023, he was one of 44 Church of England bishops who signed an open letter supporting the use of the Prayers of Love and Faith (i.e. blessings for same-sex couples) and called for "Guidance being issued without delay that includes the removal of all restrictions on clergy entering same-sex civil marriages, and on bishops ordaining and licensing such clergy". [17]

Personal life

Seeley was married to Cynthia McLean from 1980 until 1989. He married Jutta Brueck who was his curate at Christ Church with St Luke's, Isle of Dogs on 23 January 1999; she is also a priest. They have two children. [2] [7]

Styles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich</span> Diocesan bishop in the Church of England

The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is the Ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in the Province of Canterbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Broadbent</span> English Anglican bishop

Peter Alan Broadbent, known as Pete Broadbent, is an English Anglican bishop. He served as the Bishop of Willesden, an area bishop in the Church of England Diocese of London for twenty years, 2001–2021. During the vacancy in the diocesan see from 2017 to 2018, he served as Acting Bishop of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham James (bishop)</span> British Anglican bishop (born 1951)

Graham Richard James is a retired British Anglican bishop. He was Bishop of Norwich in the Church of England from 1999 to 2019.

Alan Thomas Lawrence Wilson was a British Anglican bishop. He served as the area Bishop of Buckingham in the Diocese of Oxford from October 2003 until his death in February 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Stock (bishop)</span> British Anglican bishop

William Nigel Stock is a British Anglican bishop. From 2013 until his 2017 retirement, he was Bishop at Lambeth, Bishop to the Forces and Bishop for the Falkland Islands; from 2007 to 2013 he was Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Chessun</span> British Anglican bishop

Christopher Thomas James Chessun is a British Anglican bishop. Since 2011, he has been Bishop of Southwark in the Church of England.

David Thomson, is a British retired Church of England bishop. From 2008 to 2013, he was the Bishop of Huntingdon, sole suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Ely.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Kirkham (bishop)</span> British Anglican bishop (1935–2019)

John Dudley Galtrey Kirkham was a British Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Sherborne in the last quarter of the 20th century and the first area bishop under the 1981–2009 area scheme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Walker (bishop of Manchester)</span> British Anglican bishop (born 1957)

David Stuart Walker is a British Anglican bishop. Since 2013, he has been the Bishop of Manchester. He had previously been the Bishop of Dudley, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Worcester, from 2000 to 2013.

Arthur Harold Morris was an Anglican bishop in the 20th century.

Richard Michael Cockayne Frith is a British retired Anglican bishop who served as Bishop of Hull and Bishop of Hereford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hamid</span> Anglican bishop

David Hamid is a retired Anglican bishop with British and Canadian citizenship. He has been the Suffragan Bishop in Europe since 2002.

Stephen David Conway SCP is a British Anglican bishop. Since July 2023, he has served as the Bishop of Lincoln; he was previously Bishop of Ely and Bishop of Ramsbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Winton</span> British Anglican bishop

Alan Peter Winton is a retired bishop who served as Bishop of Thetford in the Church of England Diocese of Norwich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Hancock</span> British Anglican bishop (born 1955)

Peter Hancock is a retired Church of England bishop. He served as the Bishop of Bath and Wells from 2014 to 2021, having previously been the Bishop of Basingstoke, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Winchester, from 2010 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Holtam</span> British Anglican bishop (born 1954)

Nicholas Roderick Holtam is a retired bishop of the Church of England. He served as Bishop of Salisbury from 2011 until his retirement in 2021.

Stephen John Waine is an Anglican priest. He served as the Dean of Chichester from February 2015 until April 2023 and is Dean Emeritus of Chichester.

Ruth Elizabeth Worsley, is a Church of England bishop. Since September 2015, she has been the Bishop of Taunton, a suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. From 2013 to 2015, she was Archdeacon of Wiltshire.

Michael Robert Harrison is a Church of England bishop. Since February 2016, he has been the Bishop of Dunwich, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. He was consecrated a bishop on 24 February 2016. From 2006 to 2016, he was the Director of Mission and Ministry in the Diocese of Leicester. On 4th June 2024 he was announced by Downing Street as the 72nd Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Exeter.

Gulnar Eleanor "Guli" Francis-Dehqani is an Iranian-born British Anglican bishop who has been Bishop of Chelmsford since 2021. She served as the first Bishop of Loughborough, the suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Leicester from 2017 to 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Martin Alan Seeley" . Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing . Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Seeley, Martin Alan" . Who's Who . Vol. 2017 (November 2016 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 29 June 2017.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ↑ "Martin Seeley is Cheney Lecturer 2018 | Berkeley Divinity School". berkeleydivinity.yale.edu. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "Michaelmas ordinations" . Church Times . No. 6033. 29 September 1978. p. 5. ISSN   0009-658X . Retrieved 29 June 2017– via UK Press Online archives.
  5. ↑ "Ordinations" . Church Times . No. 6086. 5 October 1979. p. 4. ISSN   0009-658X . Retrieved 29 June 2017– via UK Press Online archives.
  6. ↑ Lennard, David (20 November 2014). "New bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is named". EDP24. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Bishop of Saint Edmundsbury and Ipswich: Martin Alan Seeley". News. GOV.UK. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  8. ↑ Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich — New Bishop of St Eds & Ips Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 12 May 2015)
  9. ↑ Church of England report Working with the Spirit: Choosing Diocesan Bishops: a Review of the Operation of the Crown Appointments Commission and Related Matters p. 81 para. 5.34 (Accessed 12 May 2015)
  10. ↑ Diocesan web-site Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ "Eucharist with the Ordination and Consecration of Bishops". Special services. Westminster Abbey. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "Westcott Episcopal Double!". Westcott House. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "New bishop is ordained at abbey as Suffolk prepares big welcome". Ipswich Star. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich introduced". The Church of England in Parliament. 21 March 2022. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  15. ↑ "Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich to retire". Thinking Anglicans. 4 May 2024. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  16. ↑ "A message from Bishop Martin and Bishop Mike". Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  17. ↑ Martin, Francis (1 November 2023). "Don't delay guidance allowing priests to be in same-sex marriages, say 44 bishops". Church Times. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
Church of England titles
Preceded by Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
2015–present		Incumbent
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.