4th January 2008

 

The Archdeacon of St Albans

 

The Archdeacon of St Albans, The Venerable Helen Cunliffe, is retiring early on grounds of ill health, the Bishop of St Albans, The Rt Revd Christopher Herbert has announced.

 

The Bishop said he was sad to be making the announcement and made a moving tribute to Helen and her work. He said:

 

“Helen was a loved and respected Archdeacon. You only had to be with her in any of the parishes of the St Albans Archdeaconry to see that.  She brought to her task, wisdom, sensitivity, a most generous and loving pastoral heart and a gentle but tough concern for the development of the mission of the Church. We shall miss Helen enormously and assure her and her family of our prayers for her well being.”

 

Archdeacon Helen suffered a breakdown last year. She became Archdeacon of St Albans in 2002 and her career spanned parish and cathedral ministry and university chaplaincy. She was one of the first women to be ordained to the priesthood in the Church of England, in 1994, and served as a deacon and a deaconess before that.

 

The diocese will be advertising for a successor to Archdeacon Helen shortly. She retired on 31 December 2007.

 

ends