The Right Reverend

Martin Seeley
Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
ChurchChurch of England
DioceseDiocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
In office2015–present
PredecessorNigel Stock
David Thomson (Acting)
Orders
Ordination1978 (deacon)
1979 (priest)
Consecration14 May 2015
by Justin Welby
Personal details
Born (1954-05-29) 29 May 1954
Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom
NationalityEnglish
DenominationAnglican
ResidenceBishop's House, Ipswich[1]
Spouse
Cynthia McLean
​
(m. 1980⁠–⁠1989)​

Jutta Brueck
​
(m. 1999)​
Childrentwo
Previous post(s)Principal of Westcott House, Cambridge (2006–2015)
Alma mater
Member of the House of Lords
(Lord Spiritual)
Assumed office
21 March 2022

Martin Alan Seeley (born 29 May 1954) is a British Church of England bishop. Since May 2015, he has been the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. From 2006 to 2015, he was the Principal of Westcott House, Cambridge.

Early life and education

Seeley was born in Portsmouth on 29 May 1954.[2] He studied at Jesus College, Cambridge. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1976 and a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree in 1978. In 1976, he entered Ripon College Cuddesdon to study for ordained ministry. He then attended Union Theological Seminary, New York City, from which he graduated with a Master of Sacred Theology (STM) degree in 1978.[2][1] On 16 October 2018[3] he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, New Haven, where he was also invited to deliver the 2018 Cheney Lecture.

Ordained ministry

Seeley was ordained in the Church of England: made a deacon at Michaelmas 1978 (24 September), by David Tustin, Bishop of Grimsby, at St Paul's Ashby,[4] and as a priest the Michaelmas following (30 September 1979), by Simon Phipps, Bishop of Lincoln, at Lincoln Cathedral.[5] His first appointment was as a curate at St Peter's Church, Bottesford, Lincolnshire (1978–1980).[1]

In 1980, Seeley returned to the United States where he was a curate at the Church of the Epiphany and assistant director of Trinity Church, Manhattan, New York City (1980–1985) and then executive director of the Thompson Center, an ecumenical lay and clergy education programme in St Louis, Missouri (1985–1990).

In 1990, Seeley returned to England, where he was a selection secretary at the advisory board of Ministry and secretary for Continuing Ministerial Education (1990–1996). From 1996 to 2006, he was the vicar of the Isle of Dogs, a parish in the Diocese of London. In September 2006, he was appointed Principal of Westcott House, Cambridge, a theological college in the Liberal Catholic tradition of the Church of England.[6] In 2008, he was appointed an honorary canon of Ely Cathedral.[1]

Episcopal ministry

In November 2014, it was announced that Seeley would become the 11th Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.[7] His canonical election was confirmed on 7 May 2015.[8][9][10] On 14 May 2015, he was consecrated a bishop by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury during a service at Westminster Abbey.[11][12] On 20 June 2015, he was installed as Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich at St Edmundsbury Cathedral.[13] He has also been an honorary assistant bishop of the Diocese of Ely since 2015.[2] He was introduced as a member (Lord Spiritual) of the House of Lords on 21 March 2022.[14]

Views

In January 2023, Seeley welcomed the Church of England's introduction of blessings of same-sex couples but expressed disappointment that it did not go further: "the faithful, pastoral, loving and just way forward is to extend Holy Matrimony to same-sex couples".[15]

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".[16]

Personal life

Seeley was married to Cynthia McLean from 1980 until 1989. He married Jutta Brueck who was his curate at Christ Church with St Luke's, Isle of Dogs on 23 January 1999; she is also a priest. They have two children.[2][7]

Styles

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Martin Alan Seeley". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Seeley, Martin Alan". Who's Who. Vol. 2017 (November 2016 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 29 June 2017. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ↑ "Martin Seeley is Cheney Lecturer 2018 | Berkeley Divinity School". berkeleydivinity.yale.edu. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "Michaelmas ordinations". Church Times. No. 6033. 29 September 1978. p. 5. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 29 June 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
  5. ↑ "Ordinations". Church Times. No. 6086. 5 October 1979. p. 4. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 29 June 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
  6. ↑ Lennard, David (20 November 2014). "New bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is named". EDP24. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Bishop of Saint Edmundsbury and Ipswich: Martin Alan Seeley". News. GOV.UK. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  8. ↑ Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich — New Bishop of St Eds & Ips Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 12 May 2015)
  9. ↑ Church of England report Working with the Spirit: Choosing Diocesan Bishops: a Review of the Operation of the Crown Appointments Commission and Related Matters p. 81 para. 5.34 (Accessed 12 May 2015)
  10. ↑ Diocesan web-site Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ "Eucharist with the Ordination and Consecration of Bishops". Special services. Westminster Abbey. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "Westcott Episcopal Double!". Westcott House. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "New bishop is ordained at abbey as Suffolk prepares big welcome". Ipswich Star. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich introduced". The Church of England in Parliament. 21 March 2022. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  15. ↑ "A message from Bishop Martin and Bishop Mike". Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  16. ↑ 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.
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