Anthony John Russell (born 25 January 1943) is a retired Anglican

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

. He was the Diocesan Bishop of Ely from 2000 to 2010, having previously served as an

area bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdict ...

in the

Diocese of Oxford The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. It contains ...

from 1988.

Early life

Russell was educated at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. The headm ...

St Chad's College, Durham , motto_English = Not what you have, but who you are , scarf = , established = 1904 , principal = Margaret Masson , senior_tutor = Eleanor Spencer-Regan , undergraduates = 409 , postgraduates = 150 , website = , coordinates = , location_map ...

(he gained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree) and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, where he earned a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(DPhil) degree. He studied for ordination at Ripon College Cuddesdon.

Ecclesiastical career

Russell was made a deacon during

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

1970 (13 December) by Launcelot Fleming,

Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher. The see is in t ...

, and ordained a priest the

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, a ...

following (26 September 1971) by William Llewellyn, Bishop of Lynn — both times at

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedr ...

; he was then a curate in the Hilborough group of parishes in the

Diocese of Norwich The Diocese of Norwich is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England that forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. History It traces its roots in an unbroken line to the diocese of the Bishop of the East ...

from 1970 to 1973. From 1973 to 1976 he was

priest-in-charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent. Such priests are not legally responsible for the churches and glebe, but simply hold a ...

of Preston-on-Stour with Whitchurch and of

Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire wh ...

on Stour in the

Diocese of Coventry The Diocese of Coventry is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Coventry, who sits at Coventry Cathedral in Coventry, and is assisted by one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Warwick. The dioc ...

. For the next 11 years he was the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

of Preston-on-Stour and Whitchurch with Atherstone and also canon theologian of Coventry Cathedral. From 1973 to 1982 he was chaplain of the Arthur Rank Centre and its director from 1983 to 1988. From 1983 to 1988 Russell served as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. In 1987, he was nominated as

Bishop Suffragan of Dorchester The modern Bishop Suffragan of Dorchester in the Diocese of Oxford, usually contracted to Bishop of Dorchester, is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The ...

in the Diocese of Oxford and was consecrated on 2 February 1988 by

Robert Runcie Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, (2 October 1921 – 11 July 2000) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991, having previously been Bishop of St Albans. He travelled the world widely ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury, at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

; before being nominated as the

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...

in 2000. Russell initiated proceedings in the church courts against the Vicar of Trumpington, Tom Ambrose. He retired on 28 February 2010.

Works and personal life

Russell has published a number of books, especially on the role of the church in the countryside. These include ''The Country Parson'' (1993), ''The Country Parish'' (1986) and ''The Clerical Profession'' (1980). He is a leading spokesman for the church on rural and farming matters. Russell, as a keen horseman, upon appointment as area Bishop of Dorchester, changed his Oxfordshire episcopal residence in order to secure suitable stabling.

Other positions

*Member of the Rural Development Commission and was the Archbishops' Commissioner on Rural Areas. *Vice president of the Royal Agricultural Society. *RASE President from 2004 to 2005. *President of the East of England Agricultural Society from 2007 to 2008. **He was made a fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies in 2008. *Governing council of

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, an ...

. *President of the Woodard Corporation, a federation of 44 Anglican schools in the private and maintained sectors. *Member of the Rural Development Commission (1991–99). *Trustee of the Rural Housing Trust (1983–2006). *President of the Cambridgeshire Rural Community Council. *Admitted to the House of Lords in 2007 and left upon his retirement. *Honorary fellow of Wolfson College and St Edmund's College at Cambridge University (2000) and St Chad's College at Durham University (2007). *Honorary fellow of Trinity College Oxford (2011)

References

External links

Diocese of Ely website profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Anthony 1943 births Living people People educated at Uppingham School Bishops of Ely Anglican bishops of Dorchester Alumni of St Chad's College, Durham Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Fellows of St Edmund's College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Oxford Fellows of Wolfson College, Cambridge Honorary Chaplains to the Queen 20th-century Church of England bishops 21st-century Church of England bishops