Glyn Hamilton Webster (born 3 June 1951) is a retired British Anglican bishop who was the Bishop of Beverley in the

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 Britai ...

from 2013 to January 2022. He was previously the canon chancellor (a canon residentiary) and Acting

Dean of York 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 * ...

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archb ...

in the

Diocese of York The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The diocese is headed by the ...

Early life and education

Webster was born in 1951. He was educated at Darwen Secondary Technical School in

Darwen Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners". The A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the south ...

, Lancashire, England. His first career was in National Health Service, working at the

Blackburn Royal Infirmary The Blackburn Royal Infirmary was an acute District General Hospital in Blackburn, Lancashire. It was managed by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust. History Although the foundation stone was laid on 24 May 1858, because of the depressed stat ...

and qualifying as a State Registered Nurse in 1973. He then trained for ordination at

Cranmer Hall, Durham Cranmer Hall is a Church of England theological college based at Durham, England. Cranmer Hall forms part of St John's College, Durham which is a recognised college of Durham University. It stands in the Open Evangelical tradition. Cranmer Ha ...

between 1974 and 1977.

Ordained ministry

Webster 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 var ...

in the

as 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 ...

in 1977 and as 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 ...

in 1978. He was a curate at All Saints' Church, Huntington in the

from 1977 to 1981. From 1981 to 1992, 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 pr ...

of St Luke's Church, York. From 1981 to 1992, he was a chaplain at the

York Hospital York Hospital is a National Health Service teaching hospital in York, England. It is managed by the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, an NHS foundation trust which also runs several other hospitals in North Yorkshire ...

, known at the time as York District Hospital, and from 1992 to 1999, he was the Senior Chaplain for the York Health Services NHS Trust. He was additionally a canon and

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of t ...

from 1994 to 1999 and also

Rural 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 ...

for the

City of York The City of York is a unitary authority area with city status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The district's main settlement is York, and it extends to the surrounding area including the town of Haxby and the villages o ...

from 1997 to 2004. From 2005 to 2010, he was also Associate Diocesan Director of Ordinands. From 1999 his main role was as canon residentiary of York Minster — firstly as Treasurer until 2003, and then as Chancellor, and twice as Acting Dean during vacancies. He was elected as a member of

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church of ...

in 1995. From 2000 to January 2013, he served as prolocutor of the Lower House of the Convocation of York and also as a member of the Crown Nominations Commission and the

Archbishops' Council The Archbishops' Council is a part of the governance structures of the Church of England. Its headquarters are at Church House, Great Smith Street, London. The council was created in 1999 to provide a central executive body to co-ordinate and lead ...

. He was an

Honorary Chaplain to the Queen An Honorary Chaplain to the King (KHC) is a member of the clergy within the United Kingdom who, through long and distinguished service, is appointed to minister to the monarch of the United Kingdom. When the reigning monarch is female, Honorary Ch ...

(QHC) from 2010 until he was made a bishop.

Episcopal ministry

In August 2012, his appointment as the next Bishop of Beverley was announced following the announcement in December 2011 that Martyn Jarrett would retire as Bishop of Beverley on 30 September 2012. Beverley is the see reserved for the

Provincial Episcopal Visitor A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction, "are unable to receive the ministry of ...

for the

Province of York The Province of York, or less formally the Northern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England and consists of 12 dioceses which cover the northern third of England and the Isle of Man. York was elevated to ...

. Webster is a retired member of the Council of Bishops of The Society. On 21 March 2021, it was announced that Webster would retire from full-time ministry and step down as Bishop of Beverley at Epiphany (6 January) 2022.

Safeguarding Investigations and Past Case Reviews

In May 2016, Webster was one of six bishops accused of misconduct by an alleged victim of

child sex abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (wheth ...

. He was cited in the

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

and

Church Times The ''Church Times'' is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper based in London and published in the United Kingdom on Fridays. History The ''Church Times'' was founded on 7 February 1863 by George Josiah Palmer, a printer. It fought for the ...

along with

Peter Burrows Peter Burrows (born 27 May 1955) is a British retired Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Doncaster — the sole suffragan bishop in the Church of England Diocese of Sheffield — from 2012 until his 2019 retirement; from July 2016 until Jun ...

, Steven Croft, Martyn Snow, Roy Williamson and Archbishop of York,

John Sentamu John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, Baron Sentamu, (; ; born 10 June 1949) is a retired Anglican bishop and life peer. He was Archbishop of York and Canterbury–York dispute, Primate of England from 2005 to 2020. Born near Kampala in Protectorate of ...

as subject of Clergy Disciplinary Measure complaints owing to their inaction on the alleged victim's disclosure. The bishops contested the complaints because they were made after the church’s required one-year limit. All six bishops were pictured on a protest brochure which the alleged victim handed out at Steven Croft's enthronement as Bishop of Oxford later that year. Webster was heavily criticised at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) within the Church of England, and doubts were raised regarding the veracity of the evidence he gave to the inquiry after a victim had alleged that he had spoken with Webster about historical abuse by another Anglican bishop, and that the victim had “been advised by him not to report it” and to move on. In October 2020, a report was published, entitled "A Betrayal of Trust" – an independent past case review requested by The Church of England, chaired by David Pearl. This found on the balance of probabilities that Webster had lied to the Independent Inquiry and had failed to act in a serious safeguarding breach within the Church. On 23 October 2020 the Church Times reported the above findings and other national newspapers, including The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Times all published articles suggesting that Webster might lose his office as Bishop of Beverley and might be banned from episcopal and priestly ministry within the Church of England. Webster resigned in 2022 whilst the accusations were still being investigated. He retired in January 2022 and was replaced as Bishop of Beverley by Stephen Race

Styles

* ''

The Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

'' Glyn Webster (1977–1994) * ''The Reverend'' Canon Glyn Webster (1994–2013) * ''The Right Reverend'' Glyn Webster (2013–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Glyn Hamilton 1951 births Living people Anglican suffragan bishops of Beverley Honorary Chaplains to the Queen People from Darwen Alumni of Cranmer Hall, Durham Anglo-Catholic bishops English Anglo-Catholics