The new Bishop of Newcastle has been announced following the retirement of The Right Reverend Christine Hardman in November last year.
Downing Street has announced The Right Reverend Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, Suffragan Bishop of Ripon, as the new Bishop of Newcastle after Her Late Majesty The Queen approved her nomination for election as Bishop of Newcastle before her death.
Rt Rev Hartley's appointment was announced at Newcastle Cathedral at 10am on Thursday and her installation is likely to take place in early 2023. She will move to the North East, which is where she was raised, in the coming months to take up the role.
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And today Rt Rev Hartley was in the North East visiting parts of the community, including West End Foodbank and schools in Embleton and Alnwick, as well as Hexham Abbey.
Rt Rev Hartley said: "I'm really excited and delighted to be the next Bishop of Newcastle. What I've seen today has already given me a sense of the vibrancy and real courage of people and their stories.
"This is a great region and I grew up in the North East so it really feels like coming home in all sorts of ways."
Rt Rev Hartley, who was raised in Sunderland, added: "I grew up in Sunderland, so there's been a bit of banter about that, but a lot of my childhood and a lot of my life has been in Newcastle city and Northumberland region and my parents live in Durham and I've got family and friends around here, so this is home.
"Although I've always had connections to the region, I haven't lived in the North East since I left home over 20 years ago, so it's really amazing to be coming back."
Rt Rev Hartley was educated at the University of St. Andrews and Worcester College, Oxford and trained for ministry on the St Albans & Oxford Ministry Course. She was ordained Priest in 2006.
Rt Rev Hartley served her title at St Mary the Virgin, Wheatley, in the Diocese of Oxford, and was appointed Curate at St Mary the Virgin and St Nicholas, Littlemore, in 2007. During this time she was also Director of Biblical Studies and Tutor in New Testament at Ripon College, Cuddesdon.
In 2012, Rt Rev Hartley moved to New Zealand where she was Dean for the New Zealand Dioceses at the College of St John the Evangelist, Auckland, and in 2014 she was consecrated Bishop of Waikato, Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.
Rt Rev Hartley returned to the UK in 2018 when she was appointed to her current role as Suffragan Bishop of Ripon in the Diocese of Leeds.
Rt Rev Hartley said: "I'm most looking forward to leading with, collaborating with and enabling churches to have confidence in God and God's church, as well as being and advocate for the region, for its challenges, but also celebrating its joy. The role of the Bishop is very much about relating to people and relating between people and God and I'm really looking forward to enabling that to happen in lots of different ways."
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