THE RT Rev Neville Chamberlain, Episcopalian Bishop of the Diocese of Brechin, has announced that he is to retire early next year.

Bishop Chamberlain, who will be 65 in October, has been the leader of the Episcopalian community in Dundee, Angus and south Aberdeenshire since 1997.

He said last night he was giving nine months notice of his retirement to give his church time to select a successor.

He continued, “I believe the diocese is in better shape now than it has been for seven years and it is a good time for me to leave when things are going so well.

“It will also give my successor—and there are many fine priests in the wings waiting for God’s calling who will make excellent bishops—a good opportunity to build on the strong foundations here.

“I will have been 42 years in ministry and I think that my retirement will give me a chance to spend the time with my grandchildren that I wasn’t able to spend with my four children.”

Bishop Chamberlain said he and his wife Diana have enjoyed their time in Dundee immensely and have made many friends throughout the diocese in the city, Angus and Aberdeenshire. They would, he said, be quite sad to leave.

The strong connections built with the city council and the academic institutions—the town and gown links—had been a highlight, and he cherished the friendships he had forged with several lord provosts as well as Principal Sir Alan Langlands at Dundee University and Principal Bernard King at Abertay.

His term in office has been marked by two controversies—the conviction for embezzlement of the Very Rev Dr Michael Bunce, provost of St Paul’s Cathedral, Dundee, in 1997, and the appointment in 1998 of the Very Rev Miriam Byrne as the next provost.

Provost Byrne was the first woman to hold the position of provost in the Scottish Episcopal Church but the unhappiness of some of her congregation over her appointment led to a disagreement with Bishop Chamberlain and a pastoral breakdown leading to her suspension.

These difficulties ended after a meeting in the United States with Bishop Chamberlain and the Nobel Peace prizewinner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, after which she was reinstated.

Bishop Chamberlain commented, “Since Michael Bunce left here he has done very well in his parish in Menorca and has kept up strong links with myself as bishop.

“Since Miriam Byrne went to Atlanta and met Archbishop Tutu and myself, relationships between myself and Miriam Byrne as provost have been very good. I go to the cathedral every week and celebrate communion.

“We meet easily and we have a very good, productive and creative working relationship. As bishop I have been very keen to establish the cathedral as a very positive and strong influence in the life of the diocese.”

Bishop Chamberlain, who succeeded Bishop Robert Halliday in the diocese, was educated at Salford Grammar School and went on to Nottingham and Oxford Universities where he gained degrees in theology and applied sociology.

He was ordained a deacon in 1963 and his first appointment in the Anglican communion was as priest at St Paul’s in Birmingham.

He was later made rector at Deer Creek, Maryland, in the United States and became vicar at St Michael’s Anglican/Methodist Church in Birmingham.

He served in the wider community as a probation officer in Grimsby for two years before returning to active ministry as canon and director of social responsibility at Lincoln Cathedral.

He then became rector of St John’s Church, Princes Street, in Edinburgh for 16 years before being appointed to the Diocese of Brechin.

He and his wife intend to return to Edinburgh after his retirement.