Thomas Frederick Butler
Encyclopedia
Thomas Frederick "Tom" Butler (born 5 March 1940) was the ninth Anglican Bishop of Southwark
. He was enthroned in Southwark Cathedral
on 12 September 1998. He retired from this position in 5 March 2010.
, Butler attended King Edward VI Five Ways
school in Birmingham and the University of Leeds
, where he obtained a first class honours BSc
, an MSc
and PhD
in electronics. He trained for ordination
with the Mirfield
Fathers at the College of the Resurrection
in Yorkshire
.
and Canterbury dioceses
before spending 12 years as a lecturer in electronics and a chaplain at the University of Zambia
and then at the University of Kent
in Canterbury
. During this period he was on the staff of Lusaka and Canterbury Cathedral
s respectively. From 1980 until 1985 Butler, was the Archdeacon of Northolt in the Diocese of London
.
until he was appointed diocesan Bishop of Leicester
in 1991 and translated to Southwark in 1998.
Butler has been active at national and international level. Until 1995 he chaired the follow-up to "Faith in the City
", which published the controversial Staying in the City report. He chaired the General Synod
's Board of Mission from 1995 until 2001 and is now Vice Chair Public Affairs of the Mission and Public Affairs Council. He is also Chair of the Governors of Ripon College, Cuddesdon
. He served as the General Synod representative on the Inner Cities Religious Council, an initiative set up by the Department of the Environment
, until 2001. Since mid-2003 the Bishop has represented the Church of England
on the central committee of the World Council of Churches
. He entered the House of Lords
in 1997.
Butler is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4
's Thought for the Day
and has taken part in many other national and local TV and radio programmes. He has also co-authored two books with his wife Barbara: Just Mission and Just Spirituality in a World of Faiths. On 7 September 2009 he announced that he would retire on his 70th birthday, 5 March 2010.
" ordinations in his diocese. Andy Fenton, Richard Perkins and Loots Lambrechts were ordained in November 2005 at Christ Church, Surbiton
, London
, by Bishop Martin Morrison of the Church of England in South Africa
. Bishop Morrison was brought in by the Revd Richard Coekin, minister of Dundonald Church in Wimbledon
, due to a dispute with Butler over matters related to homosexuality
. Rev Coekin subsequently had his licence to preach revoked by Bishop Butler, but he was reinstated following an appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury
.
In an interview with John Humphrys
on BBC Radio 4
's Today Programme
on 19 December 2006, Butler reiterated his statement that he had not been drinking heavily and contended that someone who was greatly intoxicated could not have negotiated the complex tube route to his home from the reception location. He also stated that he was very worried that he still could not account for three hours of the evening in question and was undergoing medical tests. He gave the Thought for the Day
on the same date.
The episode proved to be very embarrassing for him, as he was known in the church as a strong disciplinarian, particularly when dealing with junior clergy caught under the influence of alcohol. Ruth Gledhill
in the Times Online said:
Alan Craig
, who is the head of the group known as the Christian People's Alliance on Newham Council in east London, is reported by The Independent
to have said:
Bishop of Southwark (Anglican)
The Bishop of Southwark is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Southwark in the Province of Canterbury.Until 1877, Southwark had been part of the Diocese of Winchester when it was transferred to the Diocese of Rochester...
. He was enthroned in Southwark Cathedral
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....
on 12 September 1998. He retired from this position in 5 March 2010.
Early life and education
Born in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Butler attended King Edward VI Five Ways
King Edward VI Five Ways
King Edward VI Five Ways is a selective, humanities specialist grammar school located in the Bartley Green area of south Birmingham, England. As of April 2008, the school has a second specialism, a specialist Science College.-Background:...
school in Birmingham and the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
, where he obtained a first class honours BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
, an MSc
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
and PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in electronics. He trained for ordination
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
with the Mirfield
Mirfield
Mirfield is a small town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is located on the A644 road between Brighouse and Dewsbury...
Fathers at the College of the Resurrection
College of the Resurrection
The College of the Resurrection, popularly known as Mirfield, is an Anglo-Catholic theological college of the Church of England at Mirfield, West Yorkshire, England, founded in 1903. The college has close links to the Community of the Resurrection...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
Ecclesiastical career
After ordination in 1964, he served three years as a curate in the ElyDiocese of Ely
The Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely. There is one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon. The diocese now covers Cambridgeshire and western Norfolk...
and Canterbury dioceses
Diocese of Canterbury
The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering eastern Kent, founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. It is centred on Canterbury Cathedral, and is the oldest see of the Church of England....
before spending 12 years as a lecturer in electronics and a chaplain at the University of Zambia
University of Zambia
The University of Zambia is Zambia's largest university, founded in 1966. It has a student population of about 10,000.-Academics:The University of Zambia is divided into the following faculties:*School of Agricultural Sciences *School of Engineering...
and then at the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
in Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
. During this period he was on the staff of Lusaka and Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
s respectively. From 1980 until 1985 Butler, was the Archdeacon of Northolt in the Diocese of London
Diocese of London
The Anglican Diocese of London forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.Historically the diocese covered a large area north of the Thames and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north and west. The present diocese covers and 17 London boroughs, covering most of Greater...
.
Episcopal career
In 1985, Butler became Area Bishop of WillesdenBishop of Willesden
The Bishop of Willesden is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Willesden, an area of the London Borough of Brent....
until he was appointed diocesan Bishop of Leicester
Bishop of Leicester
The Bishop of Leicester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Leicester in the Province of Canterbury.The first bishops of Leicester were originally prelates who administered an Anglo-Saxon diocese between the 7th and 9th centuries...
in 1991 and translated to Southwark in 1998.
Butler has been active at national and international level. Until 1995 he chaired the follow-up to "Faith in the City
Faith in the City
Faith in the City was a report published in the UK in Autumn 1985, authored by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Commission on Urban Priority Areas...
", which published the controversial Staying in the City report. He chaired the General Synod
General Synod
-Church of England:In the Church of England, the General Synod, which was established in 1970 , is the legislative body of the Church.-Episcopal Church of the United States:...
's Board of Mission from 1995 until 2001 and is now Vice Chair Public Affairs of the Mission and Public Affairs Council. He is also Chair of the Governors of Ripon College, Cuddesdon
Cuddesdon
Cuddesdon is an east Oxfordshire village about east of Oxford. It is notable as the location of Ripon College Cuddesdon....
. He served as the General Synod representative on the Inner Cities Religious Council, an initiative set up by the Department of the Environment
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...
, until 2001. Since mid-2003 the Bishop has represented the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
on the central committee of the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
. He entered the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
in 1997.
Butler is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Thought for the Day
Thought for the Day
Thought for the Day is a daily scripted slot on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 offering "reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news", broadcast at around 7.45 each Monday to Saturday morning...
and has taken part in many other national and local TV and radio programmes. He has also co-authored two books with his wife Barbara: Just Mission and Just Spirituality in a World of Faiths. On 7 September 2009 he announced that he would retire on his 70th birthday, 5 March 2010.
Views on Homosexuality and Irregular Ordinations
Butler's beliefs were cited as the reason for some "valid but irregularValid but irregular
Valid but irregular is a term applied in churches which have a concept of Holy Orders to acts carried out by someone who is able, due to their possession of the appropriate orders, to carry out the act, but does not have the necessary authority to do so...
" ordinations in his diocese. Andy Fenton, Richard Perkins and Loots Lambrechts were ordained in November 2005 at Christ Church, Surbiton
Surbiton
Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, by Bishop Martin Morrison of the Church of England in South Africa
Church of England in South Africa
The Church of England in South Africa was constituted in 1938 as a federation of churches. It is an Anglican church but it is not a member of the Anglican Communion. However, it relates closely to the Sydney Diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia, to which it is similar in that it sees itself...
. Bishop Morrison was brought in by the Revd Richard Coekin, minister of Dundonald Church in Wimbledon
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
, due to a dispute with Butler over matters related to homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. Rev Coekin subsequently had his licence to preach revoked by Bishop Butler, but he was reinstated following an appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
.
Allegation of drunkenness
On 5 December 2006, Butler returned home from a function at the Irish embassy in London with a head injury, which he claimed to be unable to remember sustaining. He contacted the police claiming that he had been mugged. However, it was subsequently suggested in the media that Butler, apparently under the influence of alcohol, had sustained the injury while being removed from a stranger's car into which he had apparently climbed and had begun throwing out the children's toys from the back seats. On being questioned about this seemingly eccentric behaviour, he is alleged to have responded, "I'm the Bishop of Southwark, it's what I do."In an interview with John Humphrys
John Humphrys
Desmond John Humphrys , is a Welsh-born British author, journalist and presenter of radio and television, who has won many national broadcasting awards...
on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Today Programme
Today programme
Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
on 19 December 2006, Butler reiterated his statement that he had not been drinking heavily and contended that someone who was greatly intoxicated could not have negotiated the complex tube route to his home from the reception location. He also stated that he was very worried that he still could not account for three hours of the evening in question and was undergoing medical tests. He gave the Thought for the Day
Thought for the Day
Thought for the Day is a daily scripted slot on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 offering "reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news", broadcast at around 7.45 each Monday to Saturday morning...
on the same date.
The episode proved to be very embarrassing for him, as he was known in the church as a strong disciplinarian, particularly when dealing with junior clergy caught under the influence of alcohol. Ruth Gledhill
Ruth Gledhill
Ruth Gledhill is an English journalist and the longstanding religion correspondent for The Times.Gledhill grew up in Gratwich, Staffordshire, a small village near Uttoxeter, as the daughter of the local vicar. She is married to Alan Franks, a Times feature writer...
in the Times Online said:
- "One issue, as far as I can see, is how this reflects on him given his own treatment of clergy in the Southwark diocese. As someone who has worshipped for the past 15 years at the very least at three different churches in the diocese, and who meets clergy from Southwark and neighbouring dioceses regularly at General SynodGeneral Synod-Church of England:In the Church of England, the General Synod, which was established in 1970 , is the legislative body of the Church.-Episcopal Church of the United States:...
, I have been witness to the effects of Bishop Tom's inimitable pastoral approach to his own errant and indeed inerrant clergy. Put simply, as one lay person said to me when they telephoned yesterday: "Ruth, I feel sorry for the man but let's face it, if my vicar had done this he probably would not have survived."
Alan Craig
Alan Craig
Alexander Alan Craig is the leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance party and a former councillor in the London Borough of Newham for Canning Town South....
, who is the head of the group known as the Christian People's Alliance on Newham Council in east London, is reported by The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
to have said:
- "If it's true he was drunk he ought to resign. He can be forgiven, but he can't carry on as Bishop. He's supposed to be a role model and being drunk in a gutter he can't be a good example. It's not comical; it's sad for him, and for the church."
Marriage and family
Barbara Butler, his wife, is the Executive Secretary of Christians Aware, a charity that is involved in education and development. They have two grown-up children and four grandchildren.Styles
- Tom Butler Esq (1940–?)
- Dr Tom Butler (?–1964)
- The Revd Dr Tom Butler (1964–1980)
- The Ven Dr Tom Butler (1980–1985)
- The Rt Revd Dr Tom Butler (1985—present)