Graham Dow
{{Short description|British Anglican bishop}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| honorific-prefix = The Right Reverend
| name = Graham Dow
| title = Bishop of Carlisle
| diocese = Carlisle
| term = 2000 – April 2009 (retired)
| predecessor = Ian Harland
| successor = James Newcome
| other_post = Bishop of Willesden (1992–2000)
| ordination = 1967 (deacon); 1968 (priest)
| consecration = 22 May 1992
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1942|7|4}}
| birth_place = Edmonton, London
| nationality = British
| religion = Anglican
| parents = Ronald and Dorothy Christie
| spouse = Molly Sturges (m. 1966)
| children = 3 adult sons; 1 adult daughter
| alma_mater = The Queen's College, Oxford
}}
Geoffrey Graham Dow (born 4 July 1942) is a retired British Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Carlisle from 2000 to 2009, the 66th holder of the office.{{London Gazette|issue=55920 |page=8033|date=21 July 2000}} He is a well-known Evangelical.
Early life
Born in 1942, in Edmonton, London, Dow was educated at St Albans School and The Queen's College, Oxford.
Religious appointments
Before his arrival in Carlisle, Dow was the vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Coventry[http://members.aol.com/htchrch/dow.html Holy Trinity history pages] prior to his appointment as Bishop of Willesden (an area bishopric in the Diocese of London) in 1992.{{London Gazette|issue=52923|page=8409|date=15 May 1992}} He was consecrated as bishop on 22 May 1992 at St Paul's Cathedral, by George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury.{{Church Times | title = picture caption | archive = 1992_05_29_002 | issue = 6746 | date = 29 May 1992 | page = 2 | accessed = 3 September 2020 }}
Dow was made the Bishop of Carlisle in 2000 and retired from this position at the end of April 2009.'[http://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/news/257/124/Retirement-of-Bishop-of-Carlisle.html Diocese of Carlisle] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928131855/http://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/news/257/124/Retirement-of-Bishop-of-Carlisle.html |date=28 September 2011 }}
Position and statements
Dow was one of the rebel bishops who signed a letter against Rowan Williams' decision not to block the appointment of Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading in 2003.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1434356/And-suspicion-begat-spite-back-stabbing-and-schism.html Telegraph – And suspicion begat spite, back-stabbing and schism] The other diocesan bishop signatories (referred to, since there were nine, as the Nazgûl) were: Michael Scott-Joynt (Bishop of Winchester), Michael Langrish (Exeter), Michael Nazir-Ali (Rochester), Peter Forster (Chester), James Jones (Liverpool), George Cassidy (Southwell & Nottingham), John Hind (Chichester) and David James (Bradford).[http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/jan2008/nazir_ali.html Frost's Meditations – Nazir-Ali] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026232425/http://martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/jan2008/nazir_ali.html |date=26 October 2011 }}
In 2005, Dow attracted media attention when he said that a stone in Carlisle inscribed with a 16th-century curse should be removed. The curse was pronounced on the Border Reivers by the Archbishop of Glasgow and was inscribed on a stone as part of the city's millennium celebrations. Subsequently, some Carlisle residents blamed disasters, such as an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, flooding and the relegation of the local football team from its league on the presence of the stone. Dow stated that "The original curse was not a godly act. For this reason I have always said that it would be better if the stone were not there" and said he intended to ask the current archbishop of Glasgow, Mario Conti, to come to Carlisle and perform a blessing to remove the curse.[http://www.cumberland-news.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=188837 Bishop stands firm on 'ungodly' curse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928091913/http://www.cumberland-news.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=188837 |date=28 September 2007 }} The Cumberland News 11 March 2005
Dow's activities have included giving a blessing at the launch of HMS Astute in Barrow-in-Furness on 8 June 2007.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6735315.stm Astute launch pictures]
=Natural disasters as divine retribution=
File:Severn flood 2007 Interview with ITV (central).jpg
In July 2007, following widespread storms over parts of the United Kingdom, Dow stated that he believed the resulting flooding (in which several people were killed) was an act of divine retribution, the result of God's "strong and definite judgement" on the "moral degradation" of British society. In particular, he blamed the economic exploitation of poorer nations and the United Kingdom's introduction of laws aimed at reducing discrimination against gay people, notably the proposals to introduce same-sex marriage.{{cite news|last=Wynne-Jones|first=Jonathan|title=Floods are judgement on society, say bishops|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1556131/Floods-are-judgment-on-society-say-bishops.html|access-date=7 July 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=1 July 2007}} He stated that "the Sexual Orientation Regulations are part of a general scene of permissiveness. We are in a situation where we are liable for God's judgement."[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/libby_purves/article2022874.ece Article in The Times Online, July 4 2007]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Retrieved July 2011
According to an article in The Times, Dow is a specialist in exorcism, explaining in a leaflet entitled Explaining Deliverance that "There is a view that both oral and anal sexual practice is liable to allow entry to spirits."Ruth Gledhill, '[https://web.archive.org/web/20091016013543/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2015726.ece The face]', The Times, 3 July 2007{{cite book|author=Rev. Dr. Malcolm Johnson|title=Diary of a Gay Priest: The Tightrope Walker|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ocTgAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT207|date=30 August 2013|publisher=Christian Alternative|isbn=978-1-78099-999-9|page=207}}
Personal life
Dow is married to Molly and they have four adult children.{{cite web|title=Retirement of Bishop of Carlisle|url=http://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/news/257/124/Retirement-of-Bishop-of-Carlisle.html|work=Diocese of Carlisle website|access-date=7 July 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928131855/http://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/news/257/124/Retirement-of-Bishop-of-Carlisle.html|archive-date=28 September 2011}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20041115155812/http://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/people/bishops/ Diocese of Carlisle website]
{{Bishops of Willesden}}
{{Bishops of Carlisle}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dow, Graham}}
Category:People educated at St Albans School, Hertfordshire
Category:21st-century Church of England bishops
Category:Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford