Overview
David Hope will shortly retire as Archbishop of York.
The son of a builder from Wakefield in Yorkshire, Hopès rise to high office in the Church of England was meteoric. A man of deep piety and spiritual depth, Hope has also earned a reputation as a man who sorts out problems with Yorkshire briskness and efficiency. He sorted out the financial chaos of the Diocese of London and he has solved the problems of many an errant clergyman by the sound exercise of ecclesiastical discipline.
The undisputed leader of the Anglo Catholic wing of the Church of England, he has addressed Evangelical Rallies as well as Euchasistic Congresses.
In this biography, Rob Marshall paints the portrait of one of the great ecclesiatical figures of the post war years. Much of the book is extremely funny- not least the account of how Hope sorted out the corruption of St Stephen's House,the Anglo Catholic Seminary in Oxford.
Most moving of all is the chapter about the Tatchell affair. For the first time ever, here is a full account of how Hope coped with the personal strain of being hounded by Peter Tatchell, the founder of Outrage, who determined to 'out' him and in the process destroy his career.
At a time when the Church of England is torn apart by strife and dispute, this book demonstrates that Hope's Christian vision is one which may still give Anglicans courage to face the future.
Synopsis
"This portrait of David Hope, published as he contemplates his retirement as Archbishop of York, reveals an essentially private individual dedicated to public duty within the Church. His has been one of the most meteoric rises in the Church of England, yet he remains the down-to-earth Yorkshireman who speaks plainly and slips easily into self-deprecating humour. His plans to return to parish ministry once the responsibilities of high office are relinquished confirm his long-held priorities." "Hope relishes his Yorkshire roots, citing with amusement the fact that he was baptised from a Yorkshire pudding tin, the only receptacle available after a difficult birth. A choral scholarship provided early experience of Wakefield Cathedral where later, to a huge welcome, he returned to be consecrated Bishop. At 45, he was then the youngest Bishop in the Church of England, having proved himself a formidable administrator and gifted priest." It was as Bishop of London, the third most senior position in the Anglican Church, that he confronted the difficult issues of the ordination of women and of homosexuality in the Church. Over the first, he put the unity of the Church before his own standpoint against ordination. Over the second, he had to cope with the personal strain of being hounded by Peter Tatchell, the founder of Outrage!, who was determined to 'out' him. The story of how he responded is one of the most moving in the book.