Known as “the most bishopy bishop in the Church of England”, Richard Chartres, aged 58, is a favourite of Anglicans from the Queen downwards for his statesmanlike gravitas, his twinkly spirituality and his general air of ecclesiastical holiness. With a grand manner that stops just short of pomposity, he was the first choice of many for Archbishop of Canterbury.
But his time as chaplain to the late Robert Runcie made him more aware than many of the taste of that poison chalice. If he had not ruled himself out of the running, he would almost certainly have fallen at the last because of his refusal to ordain women priests.
And if he had gone to Canterbury, he would have been unable to indulge his predilection for Swan Hellenic cruises — even to the point of abandoning his pulpit at St Paul’s at Easter for life on the high seas.
From his student days at Cuddesdon Chartres was Runcie’s most gifted protégé. His nickname in ecumenical circles is “quiverfull”, a reference, taken from psalm 127, to the four children he has with his wife Caroline, who has written regularly for the Church Times. Caroline is the daughter of Sir Alan McLintock, former chairman of the Church’s central board of finance, and former president of the Woolwich.
The Bishop of London is, in fact, a great ecumenist, and has developed the strongest relations with the Eastern Orthodox. His liturgical mannerisms, the liberal sprinklings of holy water at incense-filled services, betray a distinctly Orthodox influence.
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His present passion is to save the country’s hundreds of listed medieval churches from closure, and he is using his influence in government circles in a bid to secure £55 million funding a year. He is also a confidant of the Prince of Wales since their time as contemporaries at Cambridge. He was key in persuading the indecisive Prince to settle for a civil wedding with Camilla, followed by a church blessing.
While it is easy to criticise a clergyman for floating off on a cruise while his Church is struggling to stay afloat, it can be a bit much, even for a bishop, to have to spend every Christmas and Easter “in the office”. Chartres has not had a sabbatical for 33 years and, technically, bishops do not have pulpits of their own. Chartres preached at St Paul’s last year but as the Dean, Dr John Moses, is retiring this summer Moses presumably wants the pulpit to himself this Easter for a valedictory. We journalists jump at the chance to criticise bishops. And of course none of us has taken freebies. Ever.