Christopher William Herbert (born 7 January 1944) is a British

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop. From 1996 to 2009, he was the

Bishop of St Albans The Bishop of St Albans is the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The bishop is supported in his work by two suffragan bishops, the Bishop of Hertford and the Bishop o ...

Early life

Herbert was born on 7 January 1944, in

Lydney Lydney is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is on the west bank of the River Severn in the Forest of Dean District, and is 16 miles (25 km) southwest of Gloucester. The town has been Bypass ( ...

in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

. His father helped run the family road haulage business, but was also very proud of his roots as a foundryman in a local iron works. Herbert was educated at Monmouth School and went on to read Biblical Studies and Philosophy at the

University of Wales, Lampeter University of Wales, Lampeter () was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest Academic degree, degree awarding institution in Wales, with limited degree awarding powers sinc ...

. He studied for the ordained ministry at

Wells Theological College Wells Theological College began operation in 1840 within the Cathedral Close of Wells Cathedral. It was one of several new colleges created in the nineteenth century to cater not just for non-graduates, but for graduates from the old universiti ...

, and also obtained a

Postgraduate Certificate in Education The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and South Africa -where it can take up to three years- which provides training in order to allow graduate ...

at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

Ordained ministry

Herbert was ordained in 1967 and from 1967 to 1971 was Assistant Curate at St Paul's, Tupsley,

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

, and Assistant Master at the Bishop's School in Tupsley. From 1971 to 1976 he was Adviser in Religious Education, and from 1976 to 1981 Director of Education, for the

Diocese of Hereford The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England, and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales. The cathedral i ...

. From 1981 to 1990 he was Vicar of St Thomas on the Bourne, near

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

, Surrey. He was appointed Director of Post-Ordination Training and honorary

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Guildford Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford, commonly known as Guildford Cathedral, is the Anglican cathedral in Guildford, Surrey, England. Richard Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow, Earl Onslow donated the first of land on which the cathedral ...

before becoming Archdeacon of Dorking in 1990.

Episcopal ministry

Herbert became

in 1995: he was consecrated a bishop by

George Carey George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells. During his time as archbishop the C ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, at

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ), formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, is a Church of England cathedral in Southwark, London, near the south bank of the River Thames and close to London Bridge. It is the mother c ...

on 17 November 1995; and was enthroned and installed at

St Albans Cathedral St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, also known as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Normans, Norman times. It ceased to be an abb ...

on 20 January 1996.St Albans diocese – The Bishops of St Albans
/ref> During his tenure as a diocesan bishop, he served as chairman of The Council of Christians and Jews and was a member of a Lords' select committee that considered a

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

pertaining to

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

and

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

. During this time he was awarded honorary doctorates by the Universities of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, and his own PhD from the University of Leicester in 2008. Herbert retired from his post as Bishop of St Albans on 7 January 2009 – his 65th birthday.Bishop announces retirement, ''Herts Advertiser'', January 23, 2008
/ref>

Publications

* ''The new creation: a dramatic project for integrated studies'' (Religious Education Press, 1971) * ''A place to dream – a new way of looking at churches and cathedrals'', with John Hencher (Church Information Office, 1976) * ''St Paul's: a place to dream – a new way of looking at St Paul's Cathedral'' (Friends of St Paul's, 1982) * ''The Edge of Wonder'' (anthology) (Church Information Office, 1981) * ''Listening to children: a fresh approach to religious education in the primary years'', with Mary Ellison (Church Information Office, 1983) * ''On the Road (Beginnings)'' (

Bible Society A Bible society is a non-profit organization, usually nondenominational in makeup, devoted to translating, publishing, and distributing the Bible at affordable prices. In recent years they also are increasingly involved in advocating its credi ...

, 1984) * ''Be Thou My Vision: Diary of Prayer'' ( Collins, 1985) * ''This Most Amazing Day'' (anthology) (Church House Publishing, 1986) * ''The Question of Jesus'', with Colin Alves and Alan Dale (Church House Publishing, 1987) * ''Alive to God'' (Collins, 1987) * ''Ways into Prayer'' (Church House Publishing, 1987) * ''Help in Your Bereavement'' (Collins, 1988.) * ''Prayers for Children'' (anthology) National Society, 1993) * ''Pocket Prayers'' (anthology) (Church House Publishing, 1993) * ''The Prayer Garden: an anthology of children's prayers'' (HarperCollins, 1994) * ''Words of Comfort'' (anthology) (National Society/Church House Publishing, 1994) * ''A Little Prayer Diary'' (republication of ''Be Thou My Vision'') (HarperCollins, 1996) * ''Pocket Prayers for Children'' (anthology, illustrated by Christina Forde) (National Society/Church House Publishing, 1999) * * ''Pocket Prayers: the classic collection'' (anthology) (Church House Publishing, 2009) * ''Pocket Prayers for Commuters'' (anthology) (Church House Publishing, 2009) * ''Foreshadowing the Reformation: Art and Religion in the 15th Century Burgundian Netherlands'' (Routledge, 2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Christopher William 1944 births Living people Alumni of the University of Wales, Lampeter Archdeacons of Dorking Bishops of St Albans People educated at Monmouth School for Boys People from Lydney People from St Albans