James Henry Langstaff (born 27 June 1956) is a British 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 c ...

. He served as Bishop of Rochester from 2010Official notification of appointment
until 2021; he was previously the Bishop of Lynn, a suffragan bishop 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 Eas ...

, from 2004 to 2010.

Early life

Langstaff was born on 27 June 1956. He was educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Hugget ...

, a public school in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at

St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is the newest college admitting both undergraduate and graduate students. Tracing its roots back to 1868 (although t ...

, and graduated from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

with 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 year ...

(BA) degree in 1977; as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA (Oxon)) degree in 1981. In 1978, he entered

St John's College, Nottingham St John's College, Nottingham, founded as the London College of Divinity, was an Anglican and interdenominational theological college situated in Bramcote, Nottingham, England. The college stood in the open evangelical tradition and stated that i ...

, an Anglican

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

in the open evangelical

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

. He studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

and graduated with a BA degree in 1980. He then remained for a further year at St John's College to study for ordained ministry and completed a Diploma in Pastoral Studies.

Ordained ministry

Langstaff was made a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

at Petertide 1981 (28 June) and

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

the Petertide following (27 June 1982) — both times by David Brown,

Bishop of Guildford The Bishop of Guildford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Guildford in the Province of Canterbury. The title had first appeared as a suffragan See in the Diocese of Winchester in 1874. The Bishop suffragan of Guildford assis ...

, at

Guildford Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford, commonly known as Guildford Cathedral, is the Anglican cathedral at Guildford, Surrey, England. Richard Onslow donated the first of land on which the cathedral stands, with Viscount Bennett, ...

. He began his ordained ministry with a

curacy 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 ...

at St Peter's Farnborough, Hampshire, after which he was

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 pre ...

of St Matthew's Church, Duddeston and Nechells and St Clement's Church, Nechells. He was then chaplain to Mark Santer,

Bishop of Birmingham 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 ca ...

, and

Area Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...

of Sutton Coldfield.

Episcopal ministry

Langstaff was appointed Bishop of Lynn in 2004. He was consecrated a bishop at

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwar ...

on 24 June and installed as the suffragan Bishop of Lynn on 26 June 2004. On 22 June 2010, Langstaff's translation to the

See of Rochester The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in the English county of Kent and the Province of Canterbury. The cathedral church of the diocese is Rochester Cathedral in the former city of Rochester. The bishop's Latin episcopal signa ...

was announced, where he succeeded

Michael Nazir-Ali Michael James Nazir-Ali ( ur, ; born 19 August 1949) is a Pakistani-born British Roman Catholic priest and former Anglican bishop who served as the 106th Bishop of Rochester from 1994 to 2009 and, before that, as Bishop of Raiwind in Pakistan ...

. He was installed at

Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an English church of Norman architecture in Rochester, Medway, Rochester, Kent. The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester in the Church o ...

on 11 December 2010. He retired effective 31 July 2021. In April 2013 Langstaff became one of the patrons of West Kent YMCA, a charity supporting young people in parts of the Rochester diocese, drawing on his interest in social housing and development. In 2013, Langstaff also became the Bishop to Prisons and in February 2014 became one of the bishops in the House of Lords. In March 2020 Langstaff threatened his clergy with disciplinary action if they entered their churches to pray or livestream services. Langstaff is also Chair of the Board for Housing Justice, a national Christian charity which seeks to give voice to the church on issues of housing and homelessness. He is also Patron of the charity Prisoners Abroad, Which provides a lifeline for British citizens and their families during and after imprisonment overseas.

Personal life

Langstaff is married to Bridget, with two children."Biography - Bishop James Langstaff"
Anglican

Styles

*''

The Reverend The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

'' James Langstaff (1981–2004) *''The Right Reverend'' James Langstaff (2004–present)

External links

''Debrett's People of Today'' profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langstaff, James Henry 1956 births Living people People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford 21st-century Church of England bishops Bishops of Lynn Bishops of Rochester Lords Spiritual People from Rochester, Kent Bishops to HM Prisons