Record-breaking Norwich Bishop hits 20 years
Twenty years ago, the Bishop of Norwich made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest bishop in the Church of England.
The
Rt Rev Graham James has now marked 20 years as a bishop with an interview in the
Eastern Daily Press.
Highlights have included the role he has played in the ordination of around 200 priests and his move to
Norfolk from
Truro in
Cornwall in 1999.
“That was a wonderful moment,” he said. “There are over 500 parishes within the diocese. Over the course of the time I have been here, the majority of the clergy I have either ordained or instituted – put into their parishes. I’m the longest-serving member of my senior staff.”
“Of course, fewer people go to church regularly than they did years ago,” said Bishop Graham. “People don’t do things habitually in quite the same way,” he said. “Sunday trading began the time I became a bishop. Sunday was a day of rest. Now it’s a day of leisure activity and shopping. I have noticed a very different attitude to Sunday. That’s a huge challenge to the Church.”
“I’m the Bishop of Norwich, not just the bishop for the people who go to church,” he said. “I think a bishop should be a bishop for the whole county and do as much as he can to be part of the wider community.”
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