George Clive Handford (born 17 April 1937) is an English Anglican bishop. He was the fourth
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 ...
Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf
The Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf is one of four dioceses in the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, a province in the Anglican Communion. It covers Cyprus and the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Yemen. The bishop in Cyprus and the G ...
.
[‘HANDFORD, Rt Rev. (George) Clive’, Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 201]
accessed 30 June 2012
Early life
Handford was born on 17 April 1937. He studied at
Hatfield College
, motto_English = Either the first or with the first
, scarf =
, named_for = Thomas Hatfield
, established =
, senior_tutor =
, master = Ann MacLarnon (2017–)
, undergraduates = 1010 (2017/18)
, postgradu ...
,
Durham University
, mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1)
, established = (university status)
, type = Public
, academic_staff = 1,830 (2020)
, administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19)
, chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen
, vice_chan ...
, graduating with a 2:1 degree in Modern Arabic Studies. He then underwent ministerial formation at
Queen's College, Edgbaston
The Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education (also called the Queen's Foundation, Birmingham and formerly the Queen's College, Birmingham) is an ecumenical theological college which, with the West Midlands Ministerial Training Cou ...
.
Religious life
Handford was made a deacon at
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 ...
in 1963 (22 September), by
Morris Gelsthorpe
Alfred Morris Gelsthorpe, DSO (26 February 189222 August 1968) was an English Anglican bishop and missionary. Known popularly as 'Gelly', he was the first Bishop in the Sudan.
Early life
He was educated at The King's School, Canterbury and matri ...
, Assistant Bishop of Southwell, and ordained a priest at the
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christianity, Western Christian liturgical year, liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the ...
following (24 May 1964), by
Gordon Savage,
Bishop of Southwell
__NOTOC__
The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham in the Province of York.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. .
The ...
, both times at
Southwell Minster
Southwell Minster () is a minster and cathedral in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated miles from Newark-on-Trent and from Mansfield. It is the seat of the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Diocese of Southwell and N ...
;. He then began his ministry as a
curate
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
in
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
. He then started what was to be a long association with the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
by becoming a
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 ...
in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
before
Dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
of
St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem
St. George's Cathedral is an Anglican (Episcopal) cathedral in Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem, established in 1899. It became the seat of the Bishop of Jerusalem of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, having taken the title from Ch ...
.
Often embroiled in centuries old disputes, he clearly stated his own view in a letter to ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' in 1977:
Returning to England, he became
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 pref ...
of
Kneesall
Kneesall is a village and civil parish in the East Midlands of England in the county of Nottinghamshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 221. Forming part of the Newark and Sherwood district, Kneesall is situated on th ...
,
Archdeacon of Nottingham
The Archdeacon of Nottingham is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, who exercises supervision of clergy and responsibility for church buildings within the Archdeaconry of Nottingham.
Histor ...
.
Then in 1990, he was elected
Bishop suffragan of Warwick and consecrated a bishop on 6 December 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 ...
. He was then
translated
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
to the Mediterranean
Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf
The Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf is one of four dioceses in the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, a province in the Anglican Communion. It covers Cyprus and the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Yemen. The bishop in Cyprus and the Gul ...
where he served the
Anglican Community until retirement in 2007. During much of that time, he served as
Presiding Bishop of the
Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East
The Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East is a province of the Anglican Communion. The primate of the church is called President Bishop and represents the Church at the international Anglican Communion Primates' Meetings. The Centra ...
.
In retirement, he still maintains his links with the church and serves as an honorary assistant bishop in the
Diocese of Ripon and Leeds
The Diocese of Ripon (Diocese of Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014) was a former Church of England diocese, part of the Province of York. Immediately prior to its dissolution, it covered an area in western and northern Yorkshire as well as ...
.
[Crockfords online]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Handford, Clive
1937 births
Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham
Archdeacons of Nottingham
Bishops of Warwick
Anglican bishops in Cyprus and the Gulf
Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
English Anglicans
Living people
Deans of Jerusalem