The Archbishop of York will consecrate the Venerable Paul Slater (formerly the Archdeacon of Richmond & Craven) as the new Bishop of Richmond on Sunday 19 July at Ripon Cathedral (4pm).
This is a new suffragan bishop post for the Diocese of West Yorkshire & the Dales. Paul Slater will be the first Bishop of Richmond in nearly 100 years and it will be the first consecration of a bishop in Ripon Cathedral since 1293. (Consecrations in the Northern Province of the Church of England normally take place in York Minster.)
The See of Richmond has been dormant since 1921 but has been revived, adding a sixth bishop to the diocesan leadership team. The Rt Revd Nick Baines is Diocesan Bishop (the Bishop of Leeds) and Paul Slater will mainly cover his work in the Leeds Episcopal Area, working with clergy and parishes.
The Archbishop of York, the Most Revd Dr John Sentamu, said: “I am delighted that the Venerable Paul Slater is to be consecrated as Bishop Suffragan of Richmond at Ripon Cathedral on Sunday 19 July. His great gifts of ministry and mission, coupled with his deep-rooted knowledge of the diocese, will equip him well for this new role. I know that he will be a tremendous support to Bishop Nick and the Diocese of Leeds (West Yorkshire & the Dales) in this exciting stage of their pilgrimage. I wish him, his wife Beverley and their sons every blessing.”
Dr Sentamu will lead the service, with bishops from across the Northern Province attending. The preacher will be the Revd Canon Felicity Lawson, and the service will be sung by the visiting choir of St Jude’s Anglican Church, Oakville, Ontario in Canada.
Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd John Dobson, said, “We are delighted that Archbishop Sentamu has invited us to host the consecration of the Ven Paul Slater as Bishop of Richmond. This is a huge privilege when such services in the Northern Province of the Church of England usually take place at York Minster.”
Bishop Nick Baines says, "Paul Slater brings unrivalled experience of West Yorkshire at every level of the church, and has walked the journey of the last few years with us with great practical wisdom. He will hit the ground running and add great capacity to diocesan leadership, especially in the Leeds Episcopal Area for which he will largely take responsibility."
Paul Slater says, "As a new diocese we have a unique opportunity to shape the Church in this region for the benefit of all, and so I’m delighted to take on this new role.
“Leeds is one of our five episcopal areas, and in the 1980s I worked there with homeless men at St George's Crypt. Today, Leeds is an exciting place to live with ambitious plans for itself, and I believe the Church has an important role to play in fostering its wellbeing and welfare."
Before the creation of the Diocese of West Yorkshire & the Dales in 2014, Paul, who is 57, had served all his ministry in the former Diocese of Bradford, including being Rector of Haworth, Bishop's Officer for Ministry and Mission and Archdeacon of Craven.
He attended Bradford Grammar School and after graduating in Chemistry from Corpus Christi, Oxford, trained for the ministry at St John’s College in Durham.
Paul is married to Beverley, a manager in the NHS leading service improvement, and they have two grown up sons. His interests include tennis, cricket, cooking and workplace mediation.