Chaplain General
In the Anglican Church, chaplains general are the seniormost Anglican chaplains in otherwise non-Anglican organizations. Chaplains general are most commonly appointed in Commonwealth Realms, and are responsible for conducting religious services and ceremonies, and generally representing the Anglican faith in an organization.
During World War I, 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.
During World War II 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. An Assistant Chaplain-General was a Chaplain 1st class (full Colonel) and a senior Chaplain was a Chaplain 2nd class (Lieutenant Colonel).
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. The current holder of the office is the Right Reverend Stephen Venner. 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".
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.
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.
Read more about Chaplain General: Outside Anglicanism, Chaplains-General and Bishops To The Forces
Other articles related to "chaplain, chaplains, chaplain general":
... The current form of military chaplain dates from the era of the First World War ... A chaplain provides spiritual and pastoral support for service personnel, including the conduct of religious services at sea or in the field ... The Army Chaplains Department was granted the prefix "Royal" in recognition of the chaplains' wartime service ...
... See also Chaplain General and International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference ...
... Chaplains-General When the Chaplain-General is an Anglican (as was always the case before 1987), she or he is also Archdeacon for the Army ... Otherwise, the most senior Anglican army chaplain holds that appointment ... William Johnston 1 January 1987–1995 James Harkness (Scottish Presbyterian, first non-Anglican Chaplain-General) Archdeacons for the Army 1987–1990 Tom Robinson (Deputy Chaplain-General) 1990–1993 ...
Famous quotes containing the words general and/or chaplain:
“We raised a simple prayer
Before we left the spot,
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That place might be forgot;
Or if not all so favored,
Obtain such grace of hours
That none should mow the grass there
While so confused with flowers.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Though I had not come a-hunting, and felt some compunctions about accompanying the hunters, I wished to see a moose near at hand, and was not sorry to learn how the Indian managed to kill one. I went as reporter or chaplain to the hunters,—and the chaplain has been known to carry a gun himself.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)