Harries, Bishop Richard

Religion

http://www.oxford.anglican.org/bishop/

Richard Harries has been Bishop of Oxford since 1987. Before that he was Dean of King's College, London. He has been a parish priest and a lecturer in Christian Doctrine and Ethics. He is a Fellow of King's College, London and an Honorary Doctor of Divinity of the University of London. Publications The Bishop has written 18 books including Art and the Beauty of God, (Mowbrays, 1993), which was chosen as a book of the year by Anthony Burgess in The Observer. In 1996 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He has contributed to a wide variety of national newspapers and journals. Richard Harries new book is The Passion in Art (Ashgate 2004).

Social and Political Concerns The Bishop of Oxford is Chairman of the Church of England Board for Social Responsibility, which puts him in the front line on a range of issues. He chairs the House of Bishops' Working Party on Issues in Human Sexuality and he is a Board member of Christian Aid. He is an active member of the House of Lords contributing to recent debates on housing and homelessness, asylum seekers and the Family Law Bill. In Oxford housing has been a particular concern and he is President of the National Federation of Housing Associations. His publications in this area include Christianity and War in a Nuclear Age (Mowbrays, 1986), and Is there a Gospel for the Rich? (Mowbrays 1992).

Interfaith Activities The Bishop is Chairman of the Council of Christians and Jews. He is also a founder member of the Abrahamic Group in Oxford and a member of the International Interfaith Foundation under the auspices of the Duke of Edinburgh and Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan. Both groups bring together Jews, Muslims and Christians. The Anglican Communion The Bishop much values his membership of the Anglican Communion. He is a Consultant to the Anglican Peace and Justice Network and an elected representative on the Anglican Consultative Council. This has given him links and friendships with people in many parts of the world, and given a particular urgency to his concern for the remission of Third World debt.

Belief in a Contemporary Context The Bishop is concerned to present a credible, mainstream view of Christian faith in the contemporary context. He defended a more traditional view of the Resurrection against Dr. David Jenkins in his book Christ is Risen (Mowbrays 1988) and a realist view of God against Anthony Freeman in his book The Real God (Mowbrays 1994). Selected essays on issues of faith were published in Questioning Belief (SPCK 1995).

Christianity and the Arts Bishop Richard has long been concerned with the interaction of Christianity and the arts, particularly poetry and novels and he is an avid theatre-goer. More recently he has written on the visual arts. A book on the nativity in art was published by Mowbrays in 1995 and he has recently finished a book on the Passion in art.

Broadcasting The Bishop is a regular broadcaster on radio and television. For many years he did "Prayer for the Day" and is a regular contributor to "Thought for the Day" on Radio 4.

Family Bishop Richard is married to Jo, a doctor. They have two children, one a doctor and the other a lecturer in psychology.

Keeping Fit The Bishop keeps fit by walking and swimming.