Anthony Priddis - Ministry

Ministry

Priddis was ordained in 1972 and began his ordained ministry as a deacon at New Addington, Surrey. In 1975 he moved to High Wycombe in the Diocese of Oxford and held a number of positions including St John's in High Wycombe and St Mary's in Amersham. He became the Bishop of Warwick in 1996. He was appointed the Bishop of Hereford in March 2004; this appointment was the first time a bishop had been appointed by the Church of England following external advertising.

In April 2007, Priddis was in the news as having vetoed the appointment of a practising homosexual youth officer who then brought Employment Tribunal proceedings against him claiming unlawful sexual orientation discrimination. The youth officer was not in a sexual relationship but could not assure Priddis that he would remain celibate. The proceedings were successful and Priddis was found to have acted unlawfully by discriminating against the youth officer because of his sexuality. Although English law refers to "orientation", the EU interprets orientation to also include behaviour. The diocese failed to agree to a settlement and was, therefore, ordered by the Employment Tribunal to pay the youth worker over £47,000 in compensation in February 2008. The Employment Tribunal also said that it expected Priddis to undergo equal opportunities training. Priddis was subsequently named "Bigot of the Year" by the gay equality group Stonewall.

Priddis had previously attracted attention in the media for ordaining a transsexual woman to the priesthood in 2005, a decision that he defended against criticism from the Evangelical Alliance.

Priddis has three children.