The Right Reverend

Arun Arora
Bishop of Kirkstall
Arora preaching at St Nicholas' Church, Durham in 2022
ChurchChurch of England
DioceseAnglican Diocese of Leeds
In office2022–present
Orders
Ordination2007 (deacon)
2008 (priest)
Consecration15 July 2022
by Stephen Cottrell
Personal details
Born (1971-10-10) 10 October 1971
Birmingham, England
Spouse
Joanne
​
(m. 2006)​
Children1
Education
Director of Communications
Church of England
In office
September 2012 – April 2017
Preceded byPeter Crumpler
Succeeded byTashi Lassalle

Arun Arora (born 10 October 1971) is a British Anglican bishop and solicitor. Since, 2022 he has served as Bishop of Kirkstall in the Diocese of Leeds. From 2012 to 2017, he served as Director of Communications of the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, then until 2022 as vicar of St Nicholas' Church, Durham.

Early life

Arora was born on 10 October 1971 in Birmingham, England.[1] His mother was a Hindu and his father a Sikh.[2] He was educated at King Edward VI Five Ways School, a state grammar school in Birmingham.[1] He studied law and politics at the University of Birmingham,[3] graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in 1993.[4]

Arora's early career was in employment law.[5] From 1996 to 2000, he worked with Thompsons Solicitors in Birmingham.[1][2] After completing his training contract, he was admitted as a solicitor in 1998.[1] He co-authored The Rule of Lawyers, which was published in 1998.[6]

Career in the Church of England

Arora then moved into working in public relations in the Church of England. From 2000 to 2004, he was the Diocesan Communications Officer of the Diocese of Birmingham and press officer for the Bishop of Birmingham.[2]

From 2004 to 2007, he trained for ordained ministry at Cranmer Hall, Durham.[4] During this time, he also studied theology at the University of Durham, and he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 2006.[1]

In parallel with his studies and curacies, he was Director of Communications for the Archbishop of York from 2006 to 2009.[1]

Arora was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 2007 and as a priest in 2008.[4] He served his curacy at St Mark's Church, Harrogate in the then Diocese of Ripon and Leeds (now in the Ripon Episcopal Area of the Diocese of Leeds) between 2007 and 2010.[1][4] From 2010 to 2012, he was a Team Leader of Wolverhampton Pioneer Ministries,[1] a fresh expression of church aimed at young adults and run jointly by the Anglican and Methodist churches.[7]

He was Director of Communications for the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England from September 2012 to 7 April 2017,[2][8] based at Church House in Westminster, London.[3] From 2013 to 2017, he also held the position of public preacher in the Diocese of St Albans.[1]

On 12 December 2016, Arora was announced as the next vicar of St Nicholas' Church, Durham in the Diocese of Durham.[5][9] On 24 June 2017, he was instituted and inducted as vicar.[10][11] From 2020 to 2021, he was co-chair of the Church of England's Anti-Racism Taskforce, and appeared in the 2021 Panorama episode 'Is the Church Racist?'.[12] In April 2021, he was made an honorary canon of Durham Cathedral.[13]

Episcopal ministry

On 27 May 2022, it was announced that Arora was to become suffragan Bishop of Kirkstall in the Diocese of Leeds.[14][15][16] He was consecrated as a bishop by Stephen Cottrell during a service at York Minster on 15 July 2022.[17]

In January 2023, he was installed as an honorary canon of Ripon Cathedral.[18]

Views

In November 2023, he was one of 44 Church of England bishops who signed an open letter supporting the use of the Prayers of Love and Faith (i.e. blessings for same-sex couples) and called for "Guidance being issued without delay that includes the removal of all restrictions on clergy entering same-sex civil marriages, and on bishops ordaining and licensing such clergy".[19]

Personal life

In 2006, Arora married Joanne Logan.[20] She is also an Anglican priest and is a tutor at the Lindisfarne College of Theology.[21][22] Together they have one daughter.[1][23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 'ARORA, Rev. Arun', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 30 Aug 2017 Archived 1 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 3 4 Crown, Hannah (17 December 2012). "Arun Arora – Comms from a higher place". PR Week. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Director of Communications appointed". Media Centre. Church of England. 16 April 2012. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Arun Arora". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Church Communicator Announced As New Durham Vicar". Media Centre. Church of England. 12 December 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  6. ↑ Arun Arora; Andrew Francis (1998). The Rule of Lawyers. Fabian Society. ISBN 978-0716330424. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  7. ↑ "About". Wolverhampton Pioneer Ministries. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  8. ↑ Smith, Robert (11 April 2017). "CofE comms director Arun Arora steps down to become vicar". PR Week. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  9. ↑ White, Andrew (12 December 2016). "Appointment is a return to familiar territory for Revd Arun Arora". The Northern Echo. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  10. ↑ "Events". St Nics Church. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2017. The Institution and Induction of Rev Arun Arora as Vicar of the Parish of St Nicholas was held at 4 pm on Saturday 24th June.
  11. ↑ Farley, Harry (22 April 2021). "Church told it must shortlist ethnic minorities for senior posts". BBC News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  12. ↑ "Appointments". Church Times. 23 April 2021. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  13. ↑ "Appointment of Bishop of Kirkstall: 27 May 2022". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 27 May 2022. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "Downing Street has announced this morning the appointment of the Revd Canon Arun Arora as the new Bishop of Kirkstall in the Anglican Diocese of Leeds". The Diocese of Leeds. Church of England. 27 May 2022. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  15. ↑ "Durham vicar to become the next Bishop of Kirkstall". Diocese of Durham. 27 May 2022. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  16. ↑ "Revd Canon Arun Arora Consecrated as New Bishop of Kirkstall". Diocese of Durham. 18 July 2022. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  17. ↑ "Honorary Canons are installed at Ripon Cathedral". Diocese of Leeds. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  18. ↑ Martin, Francis (1 November 2023). "Don't delay guidance allowing priests to be in same-sex marriages, say 44 bishops". Church Times. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  19. ↑ "Arora, Rev. Arun, (born 10 Oct. 1971), Vicar, St Nicholas', Durham, since 2017". Who's Who 2022. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2021. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  20. ↑ "Our People". Lindisfarne. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  21. ↑ "Joanne Logan". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  22. ↑ "News Archive 2008". North Yorkshire Churches. 16 May 2008. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
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