Hope the Archbishop

David Hope has recently retired as Archbishop of York.

The son of a builder from Wakefield in Yorkshire, Hope`s rise to high office in the Church of England was meteoric. A man of deep piety and spiritual depth, Hope has also earned a reputation as a man who sorts out problems with Yorkshire briskness and efficiency. He sorted out the financial chaos of the Diocese of London and he has solved the problems of many an errant clergyman by the sound exercise of ecclesiastical discipline.

The undisputed leader of the Anglo Catholic wing of the Church of England, he has addressed Evangelical Rallies as well as Euchasistic Congresses.

In this biography, Rob Marshall paints the portrait of one of the great ecclesiatical figures of the post war years. Much of the book is extremely funny- not least the account of how Hope sorted out the corruption of St Stephen's House, the Anglo Catholic Seminary in Oxford.

Most moving of all is the chapter about the Tatchell affair. For the first time ever, here is a full account of how Hope coped with the personal strain of being hounded by Peter Tatchell, the founder of Outrage, who determined to 'out' him and in the process destroy his career.

At a time when the Church of England is torn apart by strife and dispute, this book demonstrates that Hope's Christian vision is one which may still give Anglicans courage to face the future.

Rob Marshall, an Anglican priest, has been David Hope's Press Secretary for nearly 20 years. A regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's 'Thought for the Day', he is author of The Transfiguration of Jesus (DLT, 1994).