Video: Richmond gets its first Bishop for a century

THE first Bishop of Richmond for nearly 100 years has been named as The Venerable Paul Slater, a Bradford Grammar School boy who went on to become Rector of Haworth and then Archdeacon of Craven.
The Bishop of Richmond, Paul Slater, at Leeds Minster. Picture by Simon HulmeThe Bishop of Richmond, Paul Slater, at Leeds Minster. Picture by Simon Hulme
The Bishop of Richmond, Paul Slater, at Leeds Minster. Picture by Simon Hulme

Rev Slater was introduced this morning to civic dignitaries, clergy and other faith leaders following the traditional confirmation of his post by Downing Street.

The See (Bishopric) of Richmond has been dormant since 1921. Its revival adds a sixth bishop to the one-year-old Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales, based in Leeds and stretching from Holmfirth in the south-west to the River Tees in the north-east, and from Barnsley in the south-east to Bainbridge in the north west. Its formation last year created the first new diocese within the Church of England since 1927.

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The Diocesan Bishop, the Rt Rev Nick Baines, said, “The diocese is still evolving and this post adds necessary capacity, increasing support for clergy and parishes in Leeds.”

The Bishop of Richmond, Paul Slater, at Leeds Minster. Picture by Simon HulmeThe Bishop of Richmond, Paul Slater, at Leeds Minster. Picture by Simon Hulme
The Bishop of Richmond, Paul Slater, at Leeds Minster. Picture by Simon Hulme

Rev Slater, 57, said, “I first got to know the city in the 1980s when I worked among homeless men at St George’s Crypt. Leeds in 2015 is an exciting place to live, with ambitious plans for itself, and I believe the church has an important role to play in fostering its wellbeing and welfare.”

After Bradford Grammar School, Rev Slater studied Chemistry at Corpus Christi, Oxford, and trained for the ministry at St John’s College, Durham. He and his wife Beverley, an NHS manager, have two grown-up sons.

He will be consecrated as Bishop of Richmond at Ripon Cathedral on July 19.

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