Sport-loving dean to become the Bishop of Stepney
A dean who has played a pioneering role in urban churches and who has cycled the length of the country was appointed as the bishop for east London today.
Downing Street announced that the Very Revd Adrian Newman, the current Dean of Rochester, is to become the Bishop of Stepney.
He will formally take up the role following a consecration service at St Paul’s Cathedral in July.
The appointment marks his return to east London after starting his career in the Church of England as a curate at St Mark’s church in Forest Gate and urban churches have been at the heart of Adrian’s work.
He said: “Stepney embraces such challenges and opportunities in equal measure, and I will look forward to serving it with all my heart in the years ahead.”
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He previously worked at parishes in Sheffield and in the Bullring, in Birmingham’s city centre and he took a sabbatical in 2010 to research the role of the church in addressing urban poverty.
He has been the Dean of Rochester Cathedral since 2005 and will replace the Rt Revd Stephen Oliver who retired as Bishop of Stepney last year.
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Adrian will also bring a passion for sport to one of the Olympic boroughs - he ran the London marathon in 2006 and last year fulfilled a lifetime ambition to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
He is married to Gill, with three boys aged between 18 and 24.
The Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres, welcomed the announcement.
He said: “Adrian’s experience exactly matches the needs of the Stepney area.”
