Background
Langstaff was born on 27 June 1956.
Langstaff was born on 27 June 1956.
He was educated at Cheltenham College, a public school in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Street Catherine"s College, Oxford, and graduated from the University of Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts (Bachelor) degree in 1977. As per tradition, his Bachelor was promoted a Master of Arts (Master of Arts (Oxfordshire)) degree in 1981.
He studied theology at the University of Nottingham and graduated with a Bachelor degree in 1980.
Since December 2010, he has been Bishop of Rochester. From 2004 to 2010, he was Bishop of Lynn, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Norwich. In 1978, he entered Street John"s College, Nottingham, an Anglican theological college in the open evangelical tradition.
He then remained for a further year at Street John"s College to study for ordained ministry and completed a Diploma in Pastoral Studies.
He began his ordained ministry with a curacy at Street Peter"s Farnborough, Hampshire, after which he was Vicar of Street Matthew"s Church, Duddeston and Nechells and Street Clement"s Church, Nechells. He was the then chaplain to Mark Santer, Bishop of Birmingham, and Area Dean of Sutton Coldfield before his appointment as Bishop of Lynn in 2004.
Langstaff was installed as the Suffragan Bishop of Lynn on 26 June 2004. On 22 June 2010, Langstaff"s translation to the See of Rochester was announced, where he succeeded Michael Nazir-Ali.
He was consecrated at Rochester Cathedral on 11 December 2010.
In April 2013 Langstaff became one of the patrons of West Kent Young Men’s Christian Association, a charity supporting young people in parts of the Rochester diocese, drawing on his interest in social housing and development. In 2013 Langstaff also became the Bishop to Prisons and in February 2014 became one of the bishops in the House of Lords. Langstaff is also Chair of the Board for Housing Justice, a national Christian charity which seeks to give voice to the church on issues of housing and homelessness.
The Reverend James Langstaff (1981–2004)
The Right Reverend James Langstaff (2004–present).
