Chaplain general

This article is about the term "Chaplain General" within the Anglican Church. For information about the use of this term in numerous militaries around the world, see Military chaplain § Chief of chaplains/chaplain general.

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The chaplain general is a senior chaplain in non-church organisations, such as the British and Canadian armies, and is responsible for the supervision of chaplains conducting religious services and ceremonies, representing the Christian faith in that organisation, and providing pastoral care and support within the organisation.

## History

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The post of Chaplain-General in the British Army dates from 1796, when the Army Chaplains' Department was formed.[1]

During the First World War, the chaplain-general John Taylor Smith was equivalent to a major general and under the control of the Permanent Under-Secretary of State. Llewellyn Henry Gwynne was from July 1915 deputy chaplain-general of the army in France, with the relative rank of major-general. Both had been colonial bishops prior to appointment.

In the Second World War, the head of chaplaincy in the British Army was an (Anglican) chaplain-general, who was formally under the control of the Permanent Under-Secretary of State.[2] An Assistant Chaplain-General was a Chaplain 1st class (full Colonel) and a senior Chaplain was a Chaplain 2nd class (Lieutenant Colonel).[3]

In 1948 the first Bishop to the Forces was appointed; the Bishop is a suffragan of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the full title of the Bishop to the Forces is "The Archbishop of Canterbury's Episcopal Representative to the Armed Forces". The Bishop to the Forces is not a military chaplain.[4] The current holder of the office is Tim Thornton, Bishop at Lambeth. There is sometimes confusion between the (Anglican) "Bishop to the Forces" and the (Roman Catholic) "Bishop of the Forces": for this reason the latter is normally given his title in full, i.e. "The Roman Catholic Bishop of the Forces".[5]

Each of the three armed services has a chief chaplain (ranking as an archdeacon), for the navy the Chaplain of the Fleet, for the army the Chaplain-General, and for the Royal Air Force the Chaplain-in-Chief.[6]

The Museum of Army Chaplaincy holds archive material and information relating to the history of the Chaplains General to the British Army both past and present.

## Outside Anglicanism

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Chaplain General is also used as a term outside the Anglican Church, referring to the senior chaplain in a nation's military (sometimes called the Chief of Chaplains, as in the United States military). Some nations, like South Africa, Israel, and Canada, have one Chaplain General or Chief of Chaplains for the military as a whole; others, like the United States, have one for each branch of the armed forces; while others have one for each major religion or faith group represented among its military personnel.

## See also

[edit]

* Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) (U.K.)
* Royal Canadian Chaplain Service
* Chiefs of Chaplains of the United States
* International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference
* Military chaplain#Military chaplains by country

## References

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1. ^ Roper, Michael (1998). The Records of the War Office and Related Departments, 1660–1964. Kew, Surrey: Public Record Office.
2. ^ C. D. Symons, Chaplain-General to the Forces, 1939-44
3. ^ Brumwell, P. Middleton (1943) The Army Chaplain: the Royal Army Chaplains' Department; the duties of chaplains and morale. London: Adam & Charles Black
4. ^ Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th ed.), London: Church House Publishing ISBN 978-0-7151-1030-0
5. ^ "Bishopric of the Forces / The Church in England and Wales / Catholic Church / Root - the Catholic Church for England and Wales". Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-13.. The Catholic Church in England and Wales: the Bishopric of the Forces. Retrieved on 9 September 2010.
6. ^ Whitaker's Almanack; 1972; 1988. London: J. Whitaker & Sons; pp. 459; (1988) 464

## External links

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* Crockford's Clerical Directory – Chapl Gen

* v
* t
* e

Chaplains-General to HM Land Forces
(formerly Chaplains-General to the Forces)

* John Gamble
* John Owen
* Robert Hodgson
* George Gleig
* Piers Claughton
* Cox Edghill
* John Taylor Smith
* Alfred Jarvis
* Ernest Thorold
* Charles Symons
* Llewelyn Hughes
* Victor Pike
* Ivan Neill
* John Youens
* Peter Mallett
* Frank Johnston
* James Harkness
* Victor Dobbin
* John Blackburn
* David Wilkes
* Stephen Robbins
* Jonathan Woodhouse
* David Coulter
* Clinton Langston
* Michael Parker

Archdeacons for the Army (since 1987)|

* Tom Robinson, Deputy Chaplain-General
* Graham Roblin, DCG
* Alan Dean, DCG
* John Holliman, DCG
* Stephen Dunwoody, ACG

* v
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* e

Archdeacons in the Church of England

Current|

| northern
province|

* Auckland
* Blackburn
* Bolton
* Bradford
* Carlisle
* Chester
* Cleveland
* Doncaster
* Durham
* East Riding (York)
* Halifax
* Lancaster
* Leeds
* Lindisfarne
* Liverpool
* Knowsley and Sefton
* Macclesfield
* Man
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* Pontefract
* Richmond and Craven
* Rochdale
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* Salford
* Sheffield and Rotherham
* Stoke
* Sunderland
* Walsall
* West Cumberland
* Westmorland and Furness
* Wigan and West Lancashire
* York (West Riding)

|

southern
province|

* Ashford
* Aston
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* Eastern Archdeaconry (Europe)
* Exeter
* France
* Germany and Northern Europe
* Gibraltar
* Gloucester
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* Northampton
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* Sarum
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* Southend
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* Sudbury
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* Switzerland
* Taunton
* Tonbridge
* Totnes
* Wandsworth
* Warwick ("Archdeacon Missioner")
* Wells
* West Ham
* Westminster
* Wilts
* Winchester
* Worcester

non-territorial|

* Military archdeacons: Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force
* Prison Service
* "Archdeacon Missioner" (see Warwick) & "Archdeacon Pastor" (see Coventry)
* Rural Mission (Eds & Ips diocese)

Former|

| England|

* Basingstoke
* Bromley
* Chesterfield
* Cirencester
* Craven
* Derby
* Ely
* Essex
* Furness
* Generous Giving and Stewardship (York diocese)
* Halifax (old)
* Harlow
* Huddersfield
* Huntingdon
* Kingston-on-Thames
* Lewes
* Lewes & Hastings
* Lewisham
* Lindsey
* Mission Resources (Leeds diocese)
* North Wilts
* Portsmouth
* Richmond
* Ripon
* Salisbury
* Shropshire/Salop (Hereford diocese)
* Stafford
* Stow
* Swindon
* Warrington
* Westmorland
* Winchester (ancient)
* Wisbech

|

* Archdeacons in the Diocese in Europe: The Aegean
* Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
* Europe
* Italy
* Malta
* Northern France
* the Riviera
* Scandinavia
* Scandinavia and Germany
* South-Eastern Europe
* Spain (or the Peninsula) and North Africa

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