Nicholas Baines (born 13 November 1957) 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. He has served as Bishop of Leeds since 2014,Number 10 – Diocese of Leeds: the Right Reverend Nicholas Baines approved
(Accessed 4 February 2014) having previously been Bishop of Bradford from 2011 to 2014 and

Bishop of Croydon The Bishop of Croydon is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Southwark, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The Croydon Archdeaconry was transferred from the Canterbury Diocese to Southwark in 1984. ...

from 2003 to 2011.

Early life

Baines was educated at Holt Comprehensive School in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

from 1969 to 1976 before studying at the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

, where he obtained 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 ...

degree in German and French in 1980. He then worked as a linguist at

GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the United Kingdom. Primar ...

for four years, where he also learned Russian.John Worne, "John Worne Meets Bishop Nick Baines", '' The Linguist'', issue 61/3 (June–July 2022), pp. 26–27. He trained for ordination at

Trinity College, Bristol Trinity College, Bristol is an Evangelicalism, evangelical Anglican theological college located in Stoke Bishop, Bristol, England. It offers a range of full-time and part-time taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses which are validated by ...

, where he gained a

degree in theological studies.

Ordained ministry

Baines was ordained a deacon at

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 one of two major traditional periods for the ordination of new priests (the other ...

on 5 July 1987 by George Hacker,

Bishop of Penrith The Bishop of Penrith is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title named after the town of Penrith, Cumbria, Penrith in Cumbria. The title was first mentioned "as Pereth" in the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (alongside a see for Penreth – now called Bi ...

, and was ordained a priest the following Petertide, on 3 July 1988, by

David Halsey Henry David Halsey (27 January 1919 – 16 May 2009) was an Anglican bishop. During his tenure, Bishop Halsey's focus was as a pastoral bishop, and the care of the clergy and their wives was his first priority. By supporting the clergy, he was a ...

Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The Episcop ...

, both times at

Carlisle Cathedral Carlisle Cathedral, formally the , is a Listed building, Grade I listed Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of Carlisle, Cumbria, Carlisle, Cumbria, England. It was founded as an Augustinian priory and became a cathedral in 1133. It is a ...

. His first appointments were as assistant curate at St Thomas' Church, Kendal, and St Catherine's,

Crook Crook is slang for criminal. Crook or Crooks may also refer to: Places Canada * Crooks Inlet, former name of Kangiqturjuaq, Nunavut England * Crook, County Durham, a town * Crook, Cumbria, a village and civil parish * Crook Hill, Derby ...

. He then moved to

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, serving briefly as associate minister of Holy Trinity Church before becoming vicar of

Rothley Rothley ( ) is a village and civil parish within the Borough of Charnwood in Leicestershire, England. Situated around west of the River Soar and north of Leicester, it had a population of 3,612 inhabitants . The population measured at the 20 ...

(1992–2000), during which time he was also chaplain to an adult mental health unit. In 1995 he was appointed rural dean of

Goscote Goscote was a wapentake in the county of Leicestershire, England; consisting of the north and north-west of the county. It was recorded in the Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript ...

. In 2000 Baines became Archdeacon of Lambeth in the

Diocese of Southwark The Diocese of Southwark ( ) is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient ...

, where he oversaw the diocese's children and youth policies. He was a member of the

General Synod of the Church of England The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

from 1995 to 2005.

Episcopal ministry

Baines was appointed

in 2003, succeeding Wilfred Wood. He was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet, who served as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002 to 2012. Previously the Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of W ...

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

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

and installed in

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 8 May 2003. The

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

of Baines's election to the see of Bradford was on 1 April 2011 and he was enthroned at

Bradford Cathedral Bradford Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter, is an Anglican cathedral in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, one of three co-equal cathedrals in the Diocese of Leeds alongside Ripon and Wakefield. Its site has been used for Christ ...

on 21 May 2011. In 2011 Baines said that "Christians should learn from Muslims how to exist as a 'minority' culture in British cities that are increasingly dominated by immigrant communities". On 29 May 2013 he consecrated Nick Dill as

Bishop of Bermuda The Bishop of Bermuda is an episcopal title given to the ordinary of the Anglican Church of Bermuda, one of six extra-provincial Anglican churches within the Church of England overseen by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The present Bishop is Nic ...

on behalf of

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is an Anglican bishop who served as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 2013 to 2025. After an 11-year career in the oil industry, Welby trained for ordination at St John ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury. On 4 February 2014 it was announced that Baines would become the diocesan and area Bishop of Leeds upon the confirmation of his election on 8 June; he was acting diocesan and area bishop from 22 April 2014 (he was licensed as an

honorary assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...

of 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 ar ...

to facilitate the acting role). On 2014 he took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

as one of the

Lords Spiritual The Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who sit in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. Up to 26 of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual (not including retired bish ...

. Baines is an experienced broadcaster, regularly appearing on ''Pause for Thought'' on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

. While in Leicester he broadcast regularly on

BBC Radio Leicester BBC Radio Leicester is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Leicestershire, City of Birmingham, South Staffordshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth and Rutland. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at ...

and

Leicester Sound Leicester Sound was an Independent Local Radio station which broadcast to Leicestershire. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Trent FM and Ram FM to form Capital FM East Midlands (part of Global's The Capital FM Network, C ...

and twice received a commendation in the Andrew Cross Awards for religious broadcasting. In 2022, in the wake of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Baines suggested that the Ukrainian military should cease fighting and entertain the prospect of the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

and the eastern

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

region being annexed by Russia in order to achieve peace. While conceding that the long-term goal should be for Ukraine to control all its territory, Baines suggested that this might be achieved through diplomacy and easing sanctions. Baines has announced his intention to retire effective 30 November 2025.

Personal life

Baines married his wife, Linda, in 1980, and they have three children. An accomplished linguist, he has preached and presented academic papers in German and in 2022 was awarded the

Chartered Institute of Linguists Founded as the ''Institute of Linguists'' in 1910, the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL) received its royal charter in 2005, and is the UK's not-for-profit royal charter body for languages and linguists. CIOL supports linguists in their ...

David Crystal David Crystal, (born 6 July 1941) is a British linguist who works on the linguistics of the English language. Crystal studied English at University College London and has lectured at Bangor University and the University of Reading. He was aw ...

Award.

Selected works

* * ** ''Am Rande bemerkt'' (German edition) * * * * ** ''In hoechsten Toenen'' (German edition) * *

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 ...

'' Nick Baines (1987–2000) *''The

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

'' Nick Baines (2000–2003) *''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 ...

'' Nick Baines (2003–present)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baines, Nicholas 1957 births Living people 21st-century Church of England bishops Alumni of the University of Bradford Anglican bishops of Leeds Anglican Diocese of Leeds Archdeacons of Lambeth Bishops of Bradford (diocese) Bishops of Croydon GCHQ people Lords Spiritual Alumni of Trinity College, Bristol