Christopher Russell Campling (4 July 1925 – 9 December 2020) was a British

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest who was the Dean of Ripon.

Early life and education

Campling was born on 4 July 1925 and educated at Lancing College and St Edmund Hall, Oxford.

Ordained ministry

Ordained in 1952 he began his career with a curacy in

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

after which he was a ''Minor Canon'' at

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...

. He was then appointed

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

of his old school. Later Vicar then Rural Dean of Pershore, his next appointment was as Archdeacon of Dudley in 1975 — a post he held jointly with his role as director of education for the Anglican Diocese of Worcester and priest-in-charge of St Augustine's Church, Dodderhill, Droitwich. Then, in 1984, he was appointed

Dean of Ripon The Dean of Ripon is a senior cleric in the Church of England Diocese of Leeds. The dean is the head of the chapter at Ripon Cathedral – his predecessors were deans of the same church when it was previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Ripo ...

. After 11 years as head of Ripon Cathedral, he retired from full-time ministry. Campling belonged to the liberal wing of the Church of England. He was a supporter of

ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

, the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

, the remarriage of divorcees in church. An eminent author, he retired to Worthing where he wrote his memoir, ''I Was Glad''. He continued to preach and lecture occasionally in retirement. He died on 9 December 2020 at the age of 95.Campling
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References

1925 births 2020 deaths People educated at Lancing College Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Archdeacons of Dudley Deans of Ripon {{Canterbury-archdeacon-stub