confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
of his election on 6 July 2016.Diocese of Oxford — Legal ceremony brings Bishop Steven a step closer & Diocese of Oxford — Letter from Bishop Steven (Both accessed 8 July 2016) He was the Bishop of Sheffield from 2008 until 2016; previously he was Archbishops’ Missioner and Team Leader of Fresh Expressions, a joint Church of England and Methodist initiative. He falls within the
open evangelical An open evangelical attempts to uphold evangelical doctrines, morality, and spirituality, while also being inclusive of others. It is a term which is commonly used in the United Kingdom in reference to both individuals and institutions.
Uses
Open ...
tradition of
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
.
Early life and education
Croft was born on 29 May 1957. He attended Heath Grammar School in Halifax and studied classics and theology at
Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...
, graduating in 1980. From 1980 to 1983, he 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 ...
. The University of Durham awarded him a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1984 for a thesis titled ''The identity of the individual in the Book of Psalms ''.
Diocese of London
The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England.
It lies directly north of the Thames. For centuries the diocese covered a vast tract and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north ...
on 25 September 1983 by
Bill Westwood
William John Westwood (28 December 1925 – 15 September 1999) was the 36th Anglican Bishop of Peterborough.
Life
Born at Saul, Gloucestershire, Westwood was educated at Grove Park Grammar School, Wrexham and Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Aft ...
St Andrew's Enfield
St Andrew's Enfield is a Church of England church in Enfield, London, and the original parish church of Enfield. It is a grade II* listed building with Historic England.priest by Graham Leonard, Bishop of London, at
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
on 23 September 1984. From 1983 to 1987 he was curate of the parish church of St Andrew's Enfield. After that, he became vicar of Ovenden, an Urban Priority Area parish in the Diocese of Wakefield, from 1987 to 1996. In 1997, Croft was made a member of the
Church of England Evangelical Council
The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) is an association of evangelical Anglican members of the Church of England. It self-describes as the collective voice of all evangelicals within the Church of England, and states its aim "to promote ...
, which he was a part of until 2000.
1996–2004: Warden (i.e. head) of Cranmer Hall
2004–2008: Archbishops' Missioner and first Team Leader of Fresh Expressions
Croft was appointed by the archbishops of Canterbury and York to help found Fresh Expressions, a joint Church of England and Methodist initiative "to help Christians of any denomination think about ways of starting and growing fresh expressions of church in their area" where a fresh expression is defined as "a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church". In recognition of this work he was awarded the silver Cross of St Augustine by the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
.
Episcopal ministry
Croft was nominated as the next bishop of Sheffield, succeeding
Jack Nicholls
John Nicholls (born 16 July 1943) is a British Anglican bishop who was formerly the Bishop of Sheffield.
Early life and education
Nicholls was born on 16 July 1943, the son of James and Nellie Nicholls. He was educated at Bacup and Rawtenstal ...
, who retired in July 2008, and formally elected by the Chapter of Sheffield Cathedral in November 2008 (and that election having been confirmed in the interim), he was consecrated as a bishop by
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 Primate of England from 2005 to 2020.
Born near Kampala in Uganda, Sentamu studied law at Makerere U ...
, Archbishop of York, on 25 January 2009, at York Minster; and started work in the diocese following his formal enthronement on 9 May 2009. This was followed by three Welcome
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
s celebrated in various locations around the diocese to allow more people to meet the new bishop.
In 2012, Croft was nominated by Rowan Williams,
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, to be the Anglican fraternal delegate to the Synod of Bishops in Rome.
Croft became a member of the House of Lords on 15 July 2013. On 12 April 2016, it was announced that he was to be translated to become Bishop of Oxford in "autumn" 2016; he was duly elected to that see and that election was confirmed at
Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...
on 6 July 2016, at which point Croft became the bishop of Oxford. He was (re-)introduced to the Upper House as Bishop of Oxford on 19 July 2016. Croft is the first bishop of Oxford to reside at the new Bishop's Lodge, Kidlington; "for decades" previously, bishops had resided at Linton Road in North Oxford.
Views
In November 2022, he became the most senior Church of England figure to back same-sex marriage, saying clergy should be free to bless or marry same-sex partners and to enter into a same-sex marriage themselves, in contrast to the Church's official position. As a result of this, some evangelicals within his diocese may seek alternative oversight.
Two survivors of clerical child sexual abuse staged a peaceful protest outside Croft's inauguration as Bishop of Oxford on 30 September 2016. One of them said that he had told Croft three times in 2012 and 2013, when Croft was Bishop of Sheffield, of his rape by a serving priest, but the bishop and other senior figures had failed to respond or take action despite the abuser still being alive. The cover of the protest brochure handed out to the public pictured all six bishops who the survivor claimed had failed to respond, including
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 Primate of England from 2005 to 2020.
Born near Kampala in Uganda, Sentamu studied law at Makerere U ...
, Archbishop of York. The survivor commented to the ''Church Times'' that he was angry that the church had the "nerve" to enthrone bishops after safeguarding complaints had been made against them. He went on to say The protest was shown on ITV and the BBC. Croft met with one of the survivors in front of the news cameras.
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 ...
, for failure to respond properly to a report of clerical child abuse. The priest against whom the allegation was made committed suicide the day before he was due in court in June 2017. The archbishop of York's office said:
A ''
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 ...
'' editorial contrasted Sentamu's response to a statement from Archbishop Justin Welby at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, in which Welby stated
Matt Ineson, the victim of the alleged abuse, called for the resignations of Sentamu and Croft. In May 2018, Archbishop Welby declined to discipline Croft,
and said he "will take no further action" other than ensuring that Croft received further safeguarding training and understood his responsibilities as a diocesan bishop.
Styles
*'' The Reverend'' Steven Croft (1983–1984)
*''The Reverend'' Doctor Steven Croft (1984–2009)
*'' The Right Reverend'' Doctor Steven Croft (2009–present)
Works
*''The Identity of the Individual in the Psalms'', Sheffield Academic Press, 1987
*''Growing New Christians'', CPAS/Marshall Pickering, 1993
*''Making New Disciples'', Marshall Pickering, 1994
*''Emmaus: the Way of Faith'' (with
Stephen Cottrell
Stephen Geoffrey Cottrell (born 31 August 1958) is a Church of England bishop. Since 9 July 2020, he has been the Archbishop of York and Primate of England; the second-most senior bishop of the church and the most senior in northern England. He ...
, John Finney, Felicity Lawson and Robert Warren), NS/CHP, six volumes, 1996; two volumes, 1998; second edition 200–2003.
*''Man to Man: Friendship and Faith'', Scripture Union, 1999
*''Ministry in Three Dimensions: Ordination and Leadership in the Local Church'', DLT, 1999, second edition, 2008
*''Travelling Well: A companion guide to the Christian faith'' (with Stephen Cottrell), NS/CHP, 2000.
*''The Lord is Risen: Luke 24'', Emmaus Bible Resources 1, NS/CHP, 2002
*''Missionary Journeys, Missionary Church: Acts 13-20'', Emmaus Bible Resources 2, NS/CHP 2002
*''Transforming Communities: Re-Imagining the Church for the 21st Century'', DLT, 2002
*''A Theology of Christian Leadership in Focus on Leadership'', Foundation for Church Leadership, 2005.
*''Learning for Ministry'' (with Roger Walton), CHP, 2005
*''Evangelism in a Spiritual Age'' (with Rob Frost, Mark Ireland, Anne Richards, Yvonne Richmond and Nick Spencer), CHP, 2005
*''Moving on in a Mission Shaped Church'' (booklet with George Lings), CHP, 2005
*''Starting a Fresh Expression'' (booklet with George Lings and Claire Dalpra), CHP 2006
*''Listening for Mission'' (booklet with Bob Hopkins and Freddy Hedley) CHP, 2006
*''Bishops’ Mission Orders: a beginners’ guide'' (booklet with Paul Bayes) CHP, 2008
*''Encouraging fresh expressions'' (booklet), Fresh Expressions, 2008
*''The Future of the Parish System: shaping the Church of England for the 21st Century'' (editor and contributor), CHP, 2006
*''The Advent Calendar'' (a novel for adults and children), DLT, 2006
*''Mission-shaped Questions: defining issues for today's church'', (editor and contributor), CHP, 2008
*''Reflections for Daily Prayer: Advent to 2 before Lent''(section on Ecclesiastes), CHP, 2008
*''Jesus' People - What the church should do next'', CHP, 2009