Graham Dow
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Graham Dow | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Carlisle | |
| Diocese | Carlisle |
| In office | 2000 – April 2009 (retired) |
| Predecessor | Ian Harland |
| Successor | James Newcome |
| Other postTemplate:Pluralize from text | Bishop of Willesden (1992–2000) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1967 (deacon); 1968 (priest) |
| Consecration | 22 May 1992 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Script error: No such module "person date". Edmonton, London |
| Died | Script error: No such module "person date". |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Parents | Ronald and Dorothy Christie |
| Spouse | Molly Sturges (m. 1966) |
| Children | 3 adult sons; 1 adult daughter |
| Alma mater | The Queen's College, Oxford |
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| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Bishop of Carlisle Template:En dash range | |
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| Died | Script error: No such module "person date". |
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Geoffrey Graham Dow (born 4 July 1942) is a retired British Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Carlisle from 2000 to 2009, the 66th holder of the office.[1] He is a well-known Evangelical.
Early life
Born in 1942, in Edmonton, London, Dow was educated at St Albans School and The Queen's College, Oxford.
Ordained ministry
Dow was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1967 and as a priest in 1968.[2] From 1967 to 1972, he served his curacy at Tonbridge Parish Church in the Diocese of Rochester.[3] He was then chaplain to St John's College, Oxford from 1972 to 1975, and lecturer in Christian Doctrine at St John's College, Nottingham from 1975 to 1981.[3]
Dow was the vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Coventry[4] He was then appointed as Bishop of Willesden,an area bishopric in the Diocese of London, in 1992.[5] He was consecrated as bishop on 22 May 1992 at St Paul's Cathedral, by George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury.[6] He ordained the first group of women in Diocese of London on 16 April 1994.[7] By September 1995, he was still the only bishop of the diocese who would ordain women to the priesthood.[8]
Dow was made the Bishop of Carlisle in 2000 and retired from this position at the end of April 2009.[9] In retirement, he has been an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Chester since 2009 and the Diocese of Manchester since 2011.[3]
Position and statements
Dow was one of the rebel bishops who signed a letter against Rowan Williams' decision not to block the appointment of Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading in 2003.[10]
In 2005, Dow attracted media attention when he said that a stone in Carlisle inscribed with a 16th-century curse should be removed. The curse was pronounced on the Border Reivers by the Archbishop of Glasgow and was inscribed on a stone as part of the city's millennium celebrations. Subsequently, some Carlisle residents blamed disasters, such as an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, flooding and the relegation of the local football team from its league on the presence of the stone. Dow stated that "The original curse was not a godly act. For this reason I have always said that it would be better if the stone were not there" and said he intended to ask the current archbishop of Glasgow, Mario Conti, to come to Carlisle and perform a blessing to remove the curse.[11]
Dow's activities have included giving a blessing at the launch of HMS Astute in Barrow-in-Furness on 8 June 2007.[12]
Natural disasters as divine retribution
In July 2007, following widespread storms over parts of the United Kingdom, Dow stated that he believed the resulting flooding (in which several people were killed) was an act of divine retribution, the result of God's "strong and definite judgement" on the "moral degradation" of British society. In particular, he blamed the economic exploitation of poorer nations and the United Kingdom's introduction of laws aimed at reducing discrimination against gay people, notably the proposals to introduce same-sex marriage.[13] He stated that "the Sexual Orientation Regulations are part of a general scene of permissiveness. We are in a situation where we are liable for God's judgement."[14]
According to an article in The Times, Dow is a specialist in exorcism, explaining in a leaflet entitled Explaining Deliverance that "There is a view that both oral and anal sexual practice is liable to allow entry to spirits."[15][16]
Personal life
Dow is married to Molly and they have four adult children.[17]
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[Script error: No such module "London Gazette util". "No. 55920"]. The London Gazette (Script error: No such module "London Gazette util".). 21 July 2000. p. Script error: No such module "London Gazette util"..
{{cite magazine}}: Check|url=value (help); More than one of|pages=and|page=specified (help)Script error: No such module "London Gazette util". - ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."✠ The Rt Revd Geoffrey Graham DOW". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Article Dow, Rt Rev. Geoffrey Graham, (born 4 July 1942), Bishop of Carlisle, 2000–09; an Honorary Assistant Bishop: Diocese of Chester, since 2009; Diocese of Manchester, since 2011". Who's Who 2025. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
- ^ Holy Trinity history pages
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[Script error: No such module "London Gazette util". "No. 52923"]. The London Gazette (Script error: No such module "London Gazette util".). 15 May 1992. p. Script error: No such module "London Gazette util"..
{{cite magazine}}: Check|url=value (help); More than one of|pages=and|page=specified (help)Script error: No such module "London Gazette util". - ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."picture caption". Church Times. No. 6746. 29 May 1992. p. 2. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 3 September 2020 – via UK Press Online archives.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Canon Pam Wise. ""Is it your will…?" The First Ordination of Women to the Priesthood. - The Diocese of Salisbury". www.salisbury.anglican.org. The Diocese of Salisbury. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Brown, Andrew (4 September 1995). "New Bishop of London opposes women priests". The Independent. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
- ^ 'Diocese of Carlisle Script error: No such module "webarchive".
- ^ Telegraph – And suspicion begat spite, back-stabbing and schism
- ^ Bishop stands firm on 'ungodly' curse Script error: No such module "webarchive". The Cumberland News 11 March 2005
- ^ Astute launch pictures
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wynne-Jones, Jonathan (1 July 2007). "Floods are judgement on society, say bishops". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- ^ Article in The Times Online, July 4 2007[dead link] Retrieved July 2011
- ^ Ruth Gledhill, 'The face', The Times, 3 July 2007
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Rev. Dr. Malcolm Johnson (30 August 2013). Diary of a Gay Priest: The Tightrope Walker. Christian Alternative. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-78099-999-9.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Retirement of Bishop of Carlisle". Diocese of Carlisle website. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
External links
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