Richard Charles "Ric" Thorpe (born 3 February 1965) is a British

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

bishop and an expert in

church planting Church planting is a term referring to the process (mostly in Protestant frameworks) that results in a new local Christian congregation being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, worship center or ...

. Since September 2015, he has been the

Bishop of Islington The Bishop of Islington is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Islington, an inner-city district of London, and the fir ...

, a

suffragan 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 jurisdiction ...

in the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames. For centuries the diocese covered a vast tract and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north ...

, and the "bishop for church plants". From 2005 to 2015, he led

St Paul's Church, Shadwell St Paul's Church, Shadwell, is a Grade II* listed Church of England church, located between The Highway and Shadwell Basin, on the edge of Wapping, in the East End of London, England. The church has had varying fortunes over many centuries, and ...

, first as

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 ...

and from 2010 as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

. From 2012 to 2015, he was the

Bishop of London 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 ...

's Adviser for Church Planting. From 2015, he leads Centre for Church Multiplication.

Early life

Thorpe was born on 3 February 1965. He was educated at

Stowe School , motto_translation = I stand firm and I stand first , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent school, day & boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster ...

, an

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

Stowe, Buckinghamshire Stowe is a civil parish and former village about northwest of Buckingham in the unitary authority area of Buckinghamshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Boycott, Dadford and Lamport. Stowe House is a Grade I listed country hou ...

. He studied

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

and graduated with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1987. His first career was as a marketing manager with

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

. From 1990 to 1992, Thorpe was a lay

worship leader Contemporary worship is a form of Christian worship that emerged within Western evangelical Protestantism in the 20th century. It was originally confined to the charismatic movement, but is now found in a wide range of churches, including many w ...

Holy Trinity Brompton Holy Trinity Brompton with St Paul's, Onslow Square and St Augustine's, South Kensington, often referred to simply as HTB, is an Anglican church in London, England. The church consists of six sites: HTB Brompton Road, HTB Onslow Square (former ...

(HTB) in the

. In 1993, he entered

Wycliffe Hall Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England theological college and a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was master of Balliol College, Oxfo ...

, an

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

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 ...

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, ...

, to study theology and train for ordained ministry.

Ordained ministry

Thorpe was

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 va ...

in the

: 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 Churc ...

Petertide Petertide (also known as St Peter's Tide) refers to the Sunday nearest to St Peter's Day on 29 June and to the period around that day. In Anglicanism, Petertide is the major one of two traditional periods for the ordination of new priests (the ot ...

1996 (30 June) by

Richard Chartres Richard John Carew Chartres, Baron Chartres , FBS (; born 11 July 1947) is a retired bishop of the Church of England. He was area Bishop of Stepney from 1992 to 1995 and Bishop of London from 1995 to 2017. He was sworn of the Privy Council in t ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

and ordained a

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 particu ...

the Petertide following (29 June 1997), by

Michael Colclough Michael John Colclough (born 29 December 1944) is a retired British Anglican bishop. He served as area Bishop of Kensington in the Diocese of London (1996–2008) then Canon Pastor of St Paul's Cathedral, London (2008–2013). Early life and ...

Bishop of Kensington The Bishop of Kensington is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The Bishop of Kensington is responsible for a part of Greater London, including Kensingt ...

at Holy Trinity Church,

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...

. He 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 ...

at Holy Trinity Brompton in the Diocese of London. After almost 10 years of ordained ministry, he was chosen to lead a

church plant Church planting is a term referring to the process (mostly in Protestant frameworks) that results in a new local Christian congregation being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, worship center or ...

from HTB to

. This involved moving 100 parishioners and a number of clergy from HTB to St Paul's to revitalise the flagging church. He was appointed

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 St Paul's with St James, Ratcliffe, in 2005 and made

in 2010. From 2010 to 2014, he was also priest in charge of

All Hallows, Bow All Hallows, Bow (also known as All Hallows, Devons Road), is an Anglican church in Bow, London, England. It is within the Diocese of London. History The church was built in 1873–1874 to the design of Ewan Christian, an eminent Victorian chur ...

. In addition to St Paul's, Thorpe has been involved with a further four church plants. Since 2012, he has been the

's Adviser for Church Planting. He is a tutor in church planting at

St Mellitus College St Mellitus College is an English theological college established in 2007 by the Diocese of London and the Diocese of Chelmsford of the Church of England. It has campuses in Earl's Court, Chelmsford, Liverpool and Plymouth, with growing links wit ...

, an Anglican theological college, and leader of its church planting course.

Episcopal ministry

In May 2015, it was announced that the See of Islington would be brought out of

abeyance Abeyance (from the Old French ''abeance'' meaning "gaping") is a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the true owner. ...

to create a "bishop for church plants". The bishop is to be based in the Diocese of London but would be free from territorial responsibilities and would work with the whole Church of England. On 9 July 2015, it was announced that Thorpe would be the next

of Islington. On 29 September 2015, he was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

a bishop by

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for jus ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, at

Personal life

Thorpe is married to Louise Rachel "Louie" Arden-White. Together they have three children: Zoe, Barny and Toby.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, Ric 1965 births Living people Church of England priests 20th-century English Anglican priests 21st-century English Anglican priests Evangelical Anglican bishops Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford People educated at Stowe School Holy Trinity Brompton people Staff of St Mellitus College