The Right Reverend Christine Hardman, after six years as Bishop of Newcastle, has announced that she is to retire from her role at the end of November.
Bishop Christine, the 12th Bishop of Newcastle, said: “I am reaching my 70th birthday at the end of August and my time as Bishop of Newcastle is drawing to a close. Her Majesty the Queen has graciously accepted my resignation, and with the Archbishop of York’s permission I will be stepping down as Bishop of Newcastle on 30th November, 2021.
“I am profoundly grateful for the six years I have served this Diocese, the depth of welcome and relationships in this region has been inspirational and encouraging. We have all been called to minister together, lay and ordained, at a time of extraordinary challenge, and I am very proud of the way in which our clergy and laity have responded to this. I give thanks for all of you. It has been a privilege to be your Bishop.
“My husband Roger and I have been incredibly blessed by the generosity and support that has been shown to both of us in our time in Newcastle Diocese. Its people, history, and landscape have an enduring place in our hearts, and we will always treasure the years we have spent here.”
Bishop Christine became a Deaconess in 1984 and was ordained Deacon in 1987, serving in the Diocese of St Albans. From 1987 to 1996 she was a Tutor, and then Course Director for the St Alban’s and Oxford Ministry Course. In 1996, she was appointed Vicar of Holy Trinity and Christ the King, Stevenage, also Rural Dean of Stevenage in 1999, and in 2001 served as Archdeacon of Lewisham and Greenwich in the Diocese of Southwark. In 2012, she retired only to return to active full-time ministry when she was consecrated Bishop of Newcastle.
As Bishop of Newcastle, Christine is a Member of the House of Bishops in the Church of England’s General Synod. Her major area of work on General Synod was the legislation to allow women to be bishops. She is also a Church Commissioner, Chair of the Archbishops’ Pastoral Advisory Group, sits in the House of Lords and chair of the North of Tyne Combined Authority Inclusive Economy Board.
