Helen-Ann Hartley

The Right Reverend                    Helen-Ann Hartley
Bishop of Waikato
Church	Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
Diocese	Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki
In office	February 2014–present
Predecessor	David Moxon
Orders
Ordination	2005 (deacon) 2006 (priest)
Consecration	22 February 2014
Personal details
Birth name	Helen-Ann Macleod Francis
Born	1973 (age 50–51) Edinburgh, Midlothian, United Kingdom
Nationality	British (Scottish)
Denomination	Anglican
Residence	New Zealand
Spouse	Myles Hartley
Profession	Bishop and educationalist

Helen-Ann Macleod Hartley (born 1973) is an Anglican bishop and educationalist. Since 2014, she has served as Bishop of Waikato. She is the first woman to have trained as a priest in the Church of England to join the episcopate, and is the third woman to become a bishop of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.

Early life and education

Hartley was born Helen-Ann Francis in 1973 in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was baptised in Coldingham Priory, Coldingham, Berwickshire, where her father was the minister. She spent her childhood in Sunderland, England. Her father was a Church of Scotland minister but the family moved to Anglicanism in the 1980s. In 1987, her father became a Church of England priest and served in the Diocese of Durham. He was later made an honorary canon of Durham Cathedral. She was educated in Sunderland at Benedict Biscop Primary School (a Church of England primary school) and St Anthony’s Secondary School (an all-girls Roman Catholic secondary school) before attending university.

She has attended a number of universities where she studied theology. She graduated from the University of St Andrews with an undergraduate Master of Theology (MTheol) degree in 1995, and from Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) with a Master of Theology (MTh) degree in 1996. PTS is a seminary associated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Later, she studied at the University of Oxford and graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in applied theology, a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in 2000, and a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in 2005. Her DPhil thesis concerned the portrayal of manual labour in Judaism and Early Christianity.

Ordained ministry

Hartley is a fourth generation cleric. She was an acolyte at Durham Cathedral during her youth. She attended the Oxford Ministry Course at Ripon College Cuddesdon to undergo ministerial formation.

Hartley was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 2005 and a priest in 2006. She then began her ministry as a curate in a group of parishes in Wheatley, Oxfordshire. In 2007, she became curate at St Mary and St Nicholas Church, Littlemore. In addition to serving as a curate, she worked as a lecturer in New Testament studies at Ripon College Cuddesdon. After spending five years at the theological college she became Director of Biblical Studies.

In November 2011, Hartley was selected to become Dean of Tikanga Pakeha, i.e. European heritage, students at St John's College, Auckland in New Zealand. The college is co-deputised by three deans who represent the three main peoples of New Zealand: Pakeha, Maori and Polynesians. She originally went to St John's College in 2010 to research for a book, Making Sense of the Bible (SPCK 2011), before moving to New Zealand to take up the appointment of Dean in early 2012.

Episcopal ministry

In September 2013, Hartley was elected Bishop of Waikato. She was consecrated on 22 February 2014, becoming the seventh Bishop of Waikato. She is the first woman who has trained and served as a priest in the Church of England to become a bishop. At the time of her election, women could not join the episcopate of the Church of England. The Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki is unique within the Anglican Communion as it is led by co-presiding bishops. Hartley and the Bishop of Taranaki, Philip Richardson, have joint oversight of the diocese.

Personal life

Hartley is married to Myles Hartley, a musician and church organist.

External links

• Hartley's Twitter account