James Harold Bell (born 20 November 1950) is a retired 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. He was the area

Bishop of Ripon The Bishop of Ripon is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. The bishop is one of the area bishops of the Diocese of Leeds in the Province of York. The area bishop of Ripon has oversight o ...

in the Diocese of Leeds.

Early life

Bell studied modern history at

St John's College, Durham St John's College is one of the Colleges of Durham University#Types of College, recognised colleges of Durham University. The college was established in 1909 as a Church of England theological college and became a full constituent college of th ...

(BA 1972). Then began a 10-year residence in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, where from 1972 until 1975 he studied for ordination at

Wycliffe Hall Wycliffe Hall () is a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford affiliated with the Church of England, specialising in philosophy, theology, and religion. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was mast ...

, meanwhile

matriculating Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

in the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

as a member of

St Peter's Hall St Peter's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Located on New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom, it occupies the site of two of the university's medieval halls dating back to at least the 14th century. The moder ...

, taking a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) in Theology in 1974 (having read for the

Final Honour School The undergraduate education at the University of Oxford in England involves weekly tutorials at the colleges and halls, supported by classes, lectures and laboratory work provided by university faculties and departments. Admission Historically, it ...

alone) and incepting as an Oxford Master of Arts (MA Oxon) in 1978.

Ordained ministry

Upon his ordination as a deacon in 1975 he was appointed Honorary Curate of Oxford St Michael with St Martin and All Saints and the following year, having been ordained priest, he because Chaplain and Lecturer of

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

until 1982. He held several pastoral posts in West London before moving to the

Diocese of Ripon and Leeds The Diocese of Ripon (Diocese of Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014) was a former Church of England diocese, part of the Province of York. Immediately prior to its dissolution, it covered an area in western and northern Yorkshire as well as ...

in 1997. Initially ''Director of Mission'' (and an

Honorary Canon Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct of ...

Ripon Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, ...

) he was appointed suffragan Bishop of Knaresborough following the death of Frank Weston. Bell was consecrated a bishop by David Hope,

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

, during a service at

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

on 2 March 2004. He was installed as Bishop of Knaresborough at

on 14 March 2004. From 2004 until the creation of the Diocese of Leeds in 2014, Bell was suffragan Bishop of Knaresborough in the

; upon the dissolution of the Ripon diocese and the erection of the Leeds diocese, Bell became

area bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the Metropolitan ...

for the Ripon area. His title remained Bishop of Knaresborough until that See was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to Ripon (i.e. the title changed to

) by

Order in Council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...

of 19 March 2015. On 23 October 2016, it was announced that Bell was to retire effective 30 April 2017.Diocese of Leeds — Bishop of Ripon to retire
(Accessed 25 October 2016).

Styles

*''

The Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

'' James Bell (1975–1997) *''The Reverend''

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 ...

James Bell (1997–2004) *''The

Right Reverend The Right Reverend (abbreviated as The Rt Revd or The Rt Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian ministers and members of clergy. It is a variant of the more common st ...

'' James Bell (2004–present)

References

External links

archived
website that contains information about James Bell, as of 23 September 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, James Bishops of Knaresborough Anglican Diocese of Leeds 1950 births Living people Alumni of St John's College, Durham Alumni of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Alumni of St Peter's College, Oxford Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford Bishops of Ripon (modern area bishops)