Chaplain general

This article focuses on the term "Chaplain General" within the Anglican Church. For information about the use of this term in numerous militaries around the world, see the Chaplain general section of military chaplain

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.

Outside Anglicanism

Chaplain General is also used as a term outside the Anglican Church, referring to the senior chaplain in a nation's military (sometimes called the Chief of Chaplains, as in the United States military). Some nations, like South Africa, Israel, and Canada, have one Chaplain General or Chief of Chaplains for the military as a whole; others, like the United States, have one for each branch of the armed forces; while others have one for each major religion or faith group represented among its military personnel.

List of Chaplains General

• 4 October 1796 – 1810 (res.): John Gamble (first CG)
• 10 March 1810 – 1824 (d.): John Owen
• 12 July 1824 – 1844 (d.): Robert Hodgson
• 2 July 1846 – 1875 (ret.): George Gleig
• 7 April 1875 – 1884 (d.): Piers Claughton
• 8 February 1885 – 1 November 1901 (ret.): Cox Edghill
• 1 November 1901 – 1925: John Taylor Smith
• 1925–1931 (res.): Alfred Jarvis
• 1931–1939: Ernest Thorold
• 1939–1944 (ret.): Charles Symons
• 6 November 1944 – 1951 (res.): Llewelyn Hughes
• 6 November 1951 – 1960 (res.): Victor Pike
• 11 June 1960 – 1966: Ivan Neill
• 8 February 1966 – 1974 (ret.): John Youens
• 1 July 1974 – 1980: Peter Mallett
• 1980–31 December 1986: Frank Johnston
• 1 January 1987 – 1995: James Harkness (Scottish Presbyterian, first non-Anglican Chaplain-General)
• 3 February 1995 – 2000: Victor Dobbin (Irish Presbyterian minister)
• 13 May 2000 – 2004: John Blackburn
• 2004–2008: David Wilkes (Methodist)
• 2008–2011: Stephen Robbins
• 29 July 2011 – 2014: Jonathan Woodhouse (Baptist)
• September 2014 – present David Coulter (Church of Scotland)

Deputy Chaplain General

• 1941 to 1945 : Alfred Thomas Arthur Naylor
• 1985 to 1986: James Harkness
• 1986 to 1989: Tom Robinson
• 1989 to 1993: Graham Roblin
• 1993 to 1995: Alan Dean
• 1996 to 1999: John Holliman
• 1999 to 2000: John Blackburn
• 2000 to 2004: David Wilkes
• 2008 to 2011: Jonathan Woodhouse
• 2011 to 2014: David Coulter
• 2014 to 2017: Peter Eagles
• 2017 to present: Clinton Langston

See also

• Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) (U.K.)
• Chaplain Branch (Canadian Forces)
• Chiefs of Chaplains of the United States
• International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference
• Military chaplain#Military chaplains by country

Sources

• Crockford's Clerical Directory – Chapl Gen