Richard Ian Cheetham (born 18 August 1955) is a retired

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 ...

bishop and former teacher. He served as the

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while ''surface area'' refers to the area of an open su ...

Bishop of Kingston 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 Dio ...

, 2002–2022.

Early life

He was educated at

Kingston Grammar School Kingston Grammar School is an independent co-educational day school in Kingston upon Thames, England. The school was founded by Royal Charter in 1561 but can trace its roots back to at least the 13th century.

. He studied physics and philosophy at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 1 ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

(BA) degree. He remained at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a 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 world's second-oldest university in contin ...

to study for a

Postgraduate Certificate in Education The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which provides training in order to allow graduates to become teachers within maintained schools. In ...

(PGCE). Having qualified, he taught science at a comprehensive school in

Richmond, North Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated o ...

, from 1978 to 1980. He then moved to

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

, Windsor, where he was Assistant Physics Master from 1980 to 1983. After five years teaching, he left the profession to become an

investment analyst A financial analyst is a professional, undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job. The role may specifically be titled securities analyst, research analyst, equity analyst, investment analyst, o ...

Church career

Cheetham left his career and in 1985 began preparation for ordination at

Ripon College Cuddesdon Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local ordained and lay mi ...

. Having completed a Certificate in Theology, he was made 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 the

at Petertide (5 July) 1987. The following year, at Petertide (3 July 1988), he was ordained 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 ...

; both times by

Alec Graham Andrew Alexander Kenny Graham (7 August 1929 – 9 May 2021) was an English Anglican bishop. Graham was educated at Tonbridge School and St John's College, Oxford. After studies at Ely Theological College he was ordained in 1956. He was ordai ...

, Bishop of Newcastle. He began his career as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at Holy Cross,

Fenham Fenham is an area of the west-end of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It lies to the west of the city centre, and is bounded on the north and east by a large area of open land known as the Town Moor. To the south lies Benwell, West Denton lies ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

and from 1990 until 1999 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 Augustine of Canterbury's Church,

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

and additionally (from 1995)

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 ...

of the

. From 1999 to 2002 he was

Archdeacon of St Albans The Archdeacon of St Albans is an ecclesiastical post in the Church of England Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The post has been held by Jane Mainwaring since March 2020. History Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries an ...

. On 17 October 2002, at

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwar ...

, he was one (with

David Hamid David Hamid (born 18 June 1955) is an Anglican bishop with British and Canadian citizenship. He has been the Suffragan Bishop in Europe since 2002. Early life Hamid was born on 18 June 1955 in Scotland, to Scottish and Burmese parents. He hold ...

and David Hawkins) of the last three people to be ordained and 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 Ch ...

before his retirement as Archbishop of Canterbury; Cheetham was then enthroned as

Bishop of Kingston in Southwark Cathedral on 27 October 2002. As the senior suffragan bishop in post at the time of Tom Butler's retirement on 5 March 2010, Cheetham served as Acting Bishop of Southwark from then until his fellow suffragan

Christopher Chessun Christopher Thomas James Chessun (born 5 August 1956) is a British Anglican bishop. Since 2011, he has been Bishop of Southwark in the Church of England. Early life and education Chessun is a twin and was born on 5 August 1956. He was educated ...

became Bishop of Southwark on 17 January 2011. In 1999, Cheetham completed his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree (PhD) as an external student of King's College London. His thesis was entitled, 'The nature and status of religious belief in contemporary Britain (with particular reference to the concept of 'truth') as reflected by acts of collective worship in a sample of Luton schools since the 1988 Education Reform Act'. A book, ''Collective Worship: issues and opportunities'', followed in 2004. He became an Honorary Research Fellow of King's College London in 2011. Cheetham is also a keen sportsman. Cheetham is Chair of the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education, Anglican President of the Christian Muslim Forum, Patron of the Fircroft Trust, the Curriculum for Cohesion and Kingston Bereavement Service. Until 2012 he was a member of the

Roehampton University The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Roehampton was formerly an e ...

Council. He is President of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

London South West who have a large multi-function building in

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it h ...

and became Chair of the British Regional Committee of

St. George's College, Jerusalem St George's College Jerusalem (SGCJ) is a continuing education center of the Anglican Communion. It is an agency of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, with a mission to the local church within the Diocese, to the wider Anglican Church in the Midd ...

, in May 2013. He announced on 8 February 2022 that he would resign his See and retire effective 17 October 2022, the twentieth anniversary of his consecration. As of 8h March 2023, it has been announced that he will take a position as Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Guildford.

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 ...

'' Richard Cheetham (1987February 1999) *''The

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cat ...

'' Richard Cheetham (FebruaryOctober 1999) *''The Venerable''

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles * ...

Richard Cheetham (October 19992002) *''The Right Reverend'' Doctor Richard Cheetham (2002–present)

References

External links

Official website

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheetham, Richard 1955 births Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Alumni of King's College London Archdeacons of St Albans Bishops of Kingston Living people People educated at Kingston Grammar School 21st-century Church of England bishops Schoolteachers from Yorkshire YMCA leaders Teachers at Eton College