Giles Fraser

File:London Thinks- A Scientist, an Atheist Biblical Scholar and a Vicar Walk into an Ethical Society.webm, Francesca Stavrakopoulou and Adam Rutherford at Conway Hall in 2015.]]

Fraser was born to a Jewish father and a Christian mother and was circumcised according to Jewish tradition.{{cite web|last=Fraser|first=Giles|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/jul/17/german-circumcision-affront-jewish-muslim-identity |title=This German circumcision ban is an affront to Jewish and Muslim identity |work=The Guardian|date=17 July 2012|access-date=17 July 2012}}

He was educated at Hollingbury Court preparatory school in Sussex, where he was beaten several times a week by the headmaster for minor misdemeanours,{{cite news|last=Fraser|first=Giles|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/05/john-smyth-public-school-christianity-brutality-thrashings-evangelical-decency|title=Like John Smyth's accusers, I bear the scars of a muscular christian education|work=The Guardian|date=5 February 2017|access-date=7 February 2017}} and at Uppingham School, a fee-paying Christian school, where he became a Christian.{{cite news|url=https://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/features/the-anglican-priest-who-had-a-bris-1.7146|title=The Anglican priest who had a bris|work=The Jewish Chronicle|date=15 January 2009|access-date=28 October 2023}} He studied at Newcastle University before training for ordained ministry at Ripon College Cuddesdon, near Oxford. He continued his studies at the University of Lancaster, where he was awarded a PhD in 1999 with a thesis entitled Holy Nietzsche: Experiments in Redemption.

Fraser was ordained as a deacon in 1993 and as a priest in 1994, serving as curate of All Saints' Church in Streetly, Birmingham, from 1993 to 1997. From 1997 to 2006 he was a chaplain and then a lecturer in philosophy at Wadham College, Oxford.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

In 2000 he became Team Rector of St Mary's Church, Putney, where he campaigned to raise the profile of the Putney Debates of 1647.{{cite news|last=Hunt|first=Tristram|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/oct/26/humanrights.past|title=Tristram Hunt on the Putney debates of 1647 | work= The Guardian|date=26 October 2007|access-date=27 October 2011|location=London}} While he was vicar there, St Mary's hosted the foundational meeting of Inclusive Church — which campaigns for all kinds of inclusion within the church — on 11 August 2003; Fraser served as its first chair of trustees until 2005.{{cite book |last=Barnes-Davies |first=Dan |date=2023 |editor-last=Wilde |editor-first=Ruth |title=How to Build the Church of the Future: 20 Years of Inclusive Church |publisher=SCM Press |pages=xi–xvii |chapter=Introduction |isbn=978-0-334-06519-7 }}

From 2009 to 2011 he was canon chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral in London,{{cite web|date = 18 May 2009|access-date = 17 August 2024|url=http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/archives/003795.html |website=Thinking Anglicans|title= Giles Fraser becomes a canon of St Paul's}} with special responsibility for contemporary ethics and engagement with the City of London as a financial centre. In October 2011 Occupy London based its protest outside the cathedral, where Fraser said that he was happy for people to "exercise their right to protest peacefully".{{Cite news|date=16 October 2011|access-date = 17 August 2024|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/oct/16/occupy-london-protest-second-day|title=Occupy London protest continues into second day|work=The Guardian|location=London|first=Caroline|last=Davies}} However, he resigned, as he could not sanction any policy of the cathedral chapter that involved using force to remove the protesters.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/oct/27/giles-fraser-occupy-london-st-pauls|title=Canon of St Paul's 'unable to reconcile conscience with evicting protest camp |last=Rusbridger|first=Alan|author-link = Alan Rusbridger|date=27 October 2011|access-date = 6 December 2022|work=The Guardian}} He has said that it was "a huge matter of regret to leave" St Paul's, "but not for one moment have I thought that I did the wrong thing".Thornton, Ed (12 October 2012) [http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2012/12-october/features/features/still-preoccupied-by-occupy "Still preocuppied by Occupy"], Church Times

He was also a visiting professor in the anthropology department at the London School of Economics and Director of the St Paul's Institute from 2009 to 2011.

In 2012 Fraser was appointed Priest-in-charge of St Mary's, Newington, in south London,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/apr/01/canon-st-pauls-parish-priest?newsfeed=true|title=Former canon of St Paul's appointed parish priest at inner-city church|last=Jones|first=Sam|date=1 April 2012|work=The Guardian}} and in 2022 he became Vicar of St Anne's Church, Kew, in south-west London.

Since 2009 he has been an honorary canon of the Diocese of Sefwi Wiawso in Ghana.{{Crockford

| surname = Fraser

| initials = Giles Anthony

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| accessed = 22 June 2018

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Fraser has been involved in social and political advocacy and, according to The Daily Telegraph, "would be the first to admit that he is fond of the sound of his own voice".{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8854463/Giles-Fraser-The-Churchs-own-radical-cleric-will-still-have-a-voice.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Damian | last=Thompson | title=Giles Fraser: The Church's own radical cleric will still have a voice | date=28 October 2011}} In 2019 he claimed that "all my political energy has been a reaction to Margaret Thatcher. I hated and continue to hate Thatcherism with a passion that remains undimmed".{{cite news |author= Fraser, Giles|title=Who broke the Left? |url=https://unherd.com/2019/05/who-broke-the-left/ |access-date=28 October 2023|work=UnHerd|date=30 May 2019}}

In the 2016 referendum Fraser supported leaving the European Union, commenting that he found it "amazing that progressives are so keen to offer support to a remote and undemocratic bureaucracy that locks in a commitment to neoliberal economics".{{cite news|last=Fraser|first=Giles|date=2016-06-15|title=Call me a liar, an idiot or a wrong 'un if you like, but I'm still voting leave |work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/15/liar-idiot-voting-leave-lefty-brexiter-eu-referendum|access-date=17 August 2024}} In 2019 he said he was "longing for a full-on Brexit – No Deal, please".{{cite news |url = https://unherd.com/2019/02/why-wont-remainers-talk-about-family/|first=Giles|last=Fraser|date=22 February 2019|access-date = 28 October 2023|newspaper =UnHerd|title =Why won't Remainers talk about family?}} In the 2019 general election he voted for the Conservative Party,{{cite tweet|number=1205175309575884800|user=giles_fraser|title=Because of Antisemitism. Because of Brexit. Voted Conservative.|date=12 December 2019}} even though he had just joined the Social Democratic Party.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/giles_fraser/status/1106282653966307328?s=21|title=Turned off the news in disgust. Can't watch how useless our politicians are any more. Applied to join the @TheSDPUK. Feel a lot better already.|first=Giles|last=Fraser|date=14 March 2019}}{{cite web |last1=Brierley |first1=Justin |title=Giles Fraser: How the journalist-priest discovered his Jewish roots |url=https://www.premierchristianity.com/giles-fraser-how-the-journalist-priest-discovered-his-jewish-roots/5507.article |website=Premier Christianity |access-date=10 January 2022}}

From 2004 to 2013 Fraser had a weekly column in the Church Times;[http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/8-february/comment/columnists/goodbye-i-am-letting-anger-drop 'Goodbye: I am letting anger drop'], Church Times, 8 February 2013 he is also a regular contributor to The Guardian.

Fraser is the author or co-author of several books and is a specialist on the writings of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. He has lectured on moral leadership for the British Army at the Defence Academy at Shrivenham.

Fraser has been married twice. With his first wife, Sally Aagaard, whom he married in 1993, he had two daughters and a son.

On 16 January 2016, Fraser announced his engagement to Lynn Tandler, an Israeli Jew,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2016/feb/18/think-love-knows-no-boundaries-try-getting-married-in-israel|title=Think love knows no boundaries? Try getting married in Israel|last=Fraser|first=Giles|date=18 February 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=12 July 2017}} who is a weaver and academic researcher.{{Cite web |title=Dr Lynn Tandler |url=https://www.rca.ac.uk/more/staff/dr-lynn-tandler/ |access-date=6 June 2022 |website=Royal College of Art}} They were married on 13 February 2016.{{cite tweet|number=698483359656312832|user=giles_fraser|title=Mr an Mrs Fraser. Just married. |access-date=12 July 2017|date= 13 February 2016}}{{Primary source inline|date=February 2020}} Their son was born in November of the same year.{{cite news|last=Fraser|first=Giles|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2016/dec/01/many-of-our-beliefs-are-not-chosen-we-are-born-into-them|title=Many of our beliefs are not chosen, we are born into them|work=The Guardian|date=2 December 2016}}

In June 2017 Fraser suffered a heart attack and successfully underwent surgery.{{cite news|last=Fraser|first=Giles|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/08/nhs-save-heart-danger-st-thomas-hospital|title=I'm having heart surgery in a few hours. I fear for myself – and the NHS|work=The Guardian|date=8 June 2017|access-date=8 June 2017}}

Fraser was awarded honorary doctorates by Edge Hill University, Lancashire, in 2013,{{cite web |author=United Kingdom |url=http://www.edgehill.ac.uk/news/2013/07/high-profile-church-leader-given-honorary-award/ |title=Church Leader Given Honorary Award |publisher=Edgehill University |date=17 July 2013 |access-date=23 January 2016 |archive-date=21 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221015826/https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/news/2013/07/high-profile-church-leader-given-honorary-award/ |url-status=dead }} and the Open University in 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.open.ac.uk/students/ceremonies/sites/www.open.ac.uk.students.ceremonies/files/files/Honorary%20graduate%20cumulative%20list(1).pdf|title=Honorary degrees |publisher=Open University |access-date=7 February 2017}}{{cite web |url=http://www.open.ac.uk/students/ceremonies/honorary-degrees |title=Honorary degrees; Degree ceremonies |publisher=Open University |year=2016 |access-date=7 February 2017 |archive-date=19 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119063218/http://www.open.ac.uk/students/ceremonies/honorary-degrees |url-status=dead }}

He was voted Stonewall Hero of the Year in 2012.{{Cite news|last1=Carrell|first1=Severin|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/02/stonewall-unrepentant-cardinal-bigot-award|title=Stonewall unapologetic over Scottish cardinal's 'bigot of the year' award|date=2 November 2012|work=The Guardian|access-date=17 August 2024}}

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Commons category|Giles Fraser}}

• [https://www.theguardian.com/profile/gilesfraser Giles Fraser] on The Guardian
• [https://unherd.com/author/gilesfraser/ Giles Fraser] on UnHerd
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110219000550/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jonathanwynne-jones/8109767/Progay_vicar_of_Putney_made_an_African_canon/ Wynne-Jones, Jonathan (15 January 2009). "Pro-gay Vicar of Putney made an African Canon", The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 October 2023]
• [http://www.putneydebates.com The Putney Debates: Permanent exhibition sited inside St Mary’s Church, Putney]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDjIDIFzbkk/ Giles Fraser in conversation with Henk de Berg from The University of Sheffield on Nietzsche, Kundera, the Church and Occupy London]. YouTube, 4 February 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2023

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{{S-bef|before=Edmund Newell}}

{{S-ttl|title=Canon chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral|years=2009–2011}}

{{S-aft|after=Mark Oakley}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Giles}}

Category:1964 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century English Anglican priests

Category:Alumni of Lancaster University

Category:Alumni of Newcastle University

Category:Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon

Category:Anglo-Catholic socialists

Category:Chancellors of St Paul's Cathedral

Category:English Christian socialists

Category:English LGBTQ rights activists

Category:English people of Jewish descent

Category:Nietzsche scholars

Category:People associated with Edge Hill University

Category:People associated with the Open University

Category:People educated at Uppingham School

Category:The Guardian people