Stephen Platten

Stephen George Platten, FSA (born 17 May 1947, in Southgate) is a retired Anglican bishop. He was the last diocesan Bishop of Wakefield in the Church of England. He was consecrated in this role on 19 July 2003 and immediately prior to that was Dean of Norwich from 1995. He was installed at Wakefield Cathedral on 19 July 2003.[2]

The Right Reverend Stephen Platten FSA
Bishop of Wakefield
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Diocese of Wakefield
In office	2003 – 20 April 2014 (diocese dissolved)
Predecessor	Nigel McCulloch
Other posts	Dean of Norwich 1995–2003 Rector, St Michael, Cornhill (July 2014 – 2016)[1] Honorary assistant bishop (July 2014 – present)
Orders
Ordination	1975
Consecration	1 May 2003[2]
Personal details
Born	17 May 1947 Southgate, London
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglican
Parents	George Henry Platten & Marjory[3]
Spouse	Rosslie[3]
Children	Two sons; Aidan and Gregory[3]
Alma mater	Institute of Education, London Trinity College, Oxford

Early life and education

Platten was educated at the Stationers' Company's School. He has a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree from the Institute of Education and a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Theology from Cuddesdon College. He was awarded a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree at Trinity College, Oxford. He is also an honorary Doctor of Letters (Hon DLitt).[4]

Ordained ministry

Platten was made deacon in 1975 and ordained priest in 1976 in the Diocese of Oxford. His ministry positions include being a residentiary canon at Portsmouth Cathedral and the Diocese of Portsmouth's Director of Ordinands (1983–1990), Archbishop of Canterbury's Secretary for Ecumenical Affairs (1990–1995). He is a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis (TSSF),[5] and 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 the ecumenical hospitality of the Archbishop of Canterbury.[6]

Platten was admitted to sit in the House of Lords as one of the Lords Spiritual on 22 June 2009.[7]

It was announced on 3 November 2013 that the Diocese of Wakefield, and therefore the post of Bishop of Wakefield, would be dissolved on 20 April 2014. In July 2014, he became Rector of St Michael's, Cornhill in the City of London and an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of London.[1] He stepped down as rector in 2016, retiring elsewhere in the Diocese and remaining assistant bishop in London, Southwark and Newcastle.[8]

Ministry in Retirement

Between 2013 and 2020, Platten was Chairman of the Council of Hymns Ancient and Modern, Ltd.[9]

In late 2020 he was elected Master of the Worshipful Company of Stationers & Newspaper Makers.[10]

Views

Platten supports the ordination of women as priests and bishops.[11]

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

Personal life

Platten is married to Rosslie, whose work is focused particularly on children with special needs. They have two sons, Aidan and Gregory, who are both also ordained in the Church of England.[15]

His 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."

It also states that his interests include reading, walking, Northumberland and music.[16]

Styles

• The Reverend Stephen Platten (1975–1983)
• The Reverend Canon Stephen Platten (1983–1995)
• The Very Reverend Stephen Platten (1995–2003)
• The Right Reverend Stephen Platten (2003—present)

Writings

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

He 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

1. Diocese of London – St Michael's Cornhill to welcome the Rt Revd Stephen Platten as Rector (Accessed 20 April 2014)
2. "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.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
3. Stephen Plattern CV — April 2005 Archived 10 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
4. Church of England — Bishop of Wakefield
5. "Franciscan Bishops at Lambeth" (pdf). Third Order News (32). January 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
6. "Guestmasters of the Nikaean Club since 1943". Nikaean Club. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
7. http://www.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/mps_and_lords/new_members.cfm Archived 24 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
8. "Stephen George Platten". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
10. flickread.com https://flickread.com/edition/html/free/5f843a27d4636#4. Retrieved 4 February 2021. Missing or empty |title= (help)
11. The Rt Revd Stephen Platten on the Anglican church and women bishops - University of Huddersfield on YouTube
12. 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.)
13. 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.
14. The Grauniad — Church of England in turmoil as synod rejects report on same-sex relationships (Accessed 17 February 2017)
15. "Bishop Stephen Platten welcomed as Rector of St Michael's Cornhill". Diocese of London. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2017.

External links

• Diocese of Wakefield website information
• Photographs
• CV