Martin Dudley

Martin Raymond Dudley (born 31 May 1953) is an Anglican priest. He is the current Rector of St Bartholomew-the-Great in the City of London. He has held this position since 1995.

Life and career

Dudley was born on 31 May 1953 Birmingham and educated at King Edward’s School. After a year at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, he returned to Birmingham and worked for Horizon Midland, the Birmingham-based tour operator. In 1974 he went to King's College London, and gained a Bachelor of Divinity and a Master of Theology. He prepared for the priesthood at St. Michael's College, and was ordained deacon in 1979 and priest in 1980 in Llandaff Cathedral. After a curacy in Whitchurch, Cardiff, he became Vicar of Weston, North Hertfordshire in 1983 and Vicar of Owlsmoor, Berkshire, where he was responsible for building a new church, 1988-1995. He was awarded a PhD from King's College in 1994.

Rector of St Bartholomew-the-Great since 1995, Dudley was elected to the City of London Court of Common Council for the Ward of Aldersgate in January 2002. In addition to a number of Corporation committees, he is a Governor of the Museum of London and a trustee of the Trust for London (formerly the City Parochial Foundation).

Dudley also studied at the City University, London Cass Business School receiving an MSc in Voluntary Sector Management in 2006. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Farriers.

Blessing of a Civil Partnership Controversy

Dudley made the news in 2008 when he blessed the civil partnership of two Anglican priests and received a public rebuke from the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres. In Riazat Butt’s Guardian profile, the late Colin Slee, Dean of Southwark said: "He is very bright. He is a very consistent person in that he knows his own mind and doesn't mind if everyone else disagrees with him. He is very intelligent and prepared to take a stand for something he believes in, even if it's not going with the mainstream."^[1] He justified his approach in an article in the New Statesman.^[2]

Married in 1976 to Paula; they have two sons.

References

External links

• The Priory Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great web site
• City of London Corporation committees
• Museum of London governors
• Trust for London trustee