The Rt Revd Dr John Inge writes:
BISHOP Anthony Russell, or Tony as he was known to his family and friends, who died on 9 July after a long and brave struggle against the dreadful progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), was a distinguished churchman, academic, and agriculturalist who was devoted to his wife of 58 years, Sheila, their four children and spouses, and nine grandchildren.
Anthony was born in 1943, the eldest of three. He was educated at Uppingham School, St Chad’s College, Durham, and Trinity College, Oxford, where he gained a D.Phil. while lecturing on the sociology of religion, and finally at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, where he trained for ordination. That he was destined for high office in the Church was prophesied by his contemporaries at Uppingham who nicknamed him “The Bishop”, as his photo album testifies.
Those who knew Bishop Anthony for his wisdom, distinguished presence, and sartorial elegance may be surprised to learn that in his youth he was a keen drummer, who played for a Durham University band and, when home, practised incessantly on the dining-room table, much to his mother’s annoyance.
A few years later, when he was a parish priest, one of the churchwardens got wind of the fact that he was handy on the drums and asked him to perform at the village play. He was, apparently, a roaring success, and no one could believe how “cool” their new vicar was. As he once poignantly observed in later life: “I was a Fresh Expression once.”
Ordained deacon in 1970, he served his title in a rural group benefice (a new innovation in those days) in the diocese of Norwich, after which he was appointed vicar of four rural parishes in the diocese of Coventry, alongside acting as Chaplain of the Arthur Rank Centre. He later became Director of the latter: coming from a farming family, he was a countryman through and through.
It was during this time that several of his books on the part that the Church played in the countryside were published. These included The Clerical Profession, The Country Parish, and The Country Parson. He became an acknowledged expert on the rural Church and was instrumental in the formation of the Rural Theology Association, an organisation that continues to encourage serious thinking about the rural future through its journal. He was a major influence in persuading Archbishop Runcie to set up the Archbishops’ Commission on Rural Areas, which enabled great good. In recognition of his contribution to agriculture, in 2004-05 he was President of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, whose main event was the Royal Show. It is hardly surprising that, when he appointed to the episcopate, he was often known as “The Country Life Bishop”.
Not unconnected with this is the fact that an overriding memory of his family is his constant sartorial elegance. One of those rare men who loved shopping, he was always well turned out, sometimes too well turned out. Not many could be seen on Daymer Bay in a tie as he could, or, in winter, cross-country skiing in full tweed, plus-fours, deerstalker hat, and a woolly tie. Gardening, on which he was keen, was always undertaken in a tie. Many people wear a tie for work; he always wore one when not working.
In 1988, Anthony was consecrated bishop for the see of Dorchester, in the diocese of Oxford. He, Sheila, and their family spent 12 happy and fruitful years in Sibford Ferris, until he became Bishop of Ely in 2000. Though leaving Oxfordshire was a wrench for them, the largely rural diocese of Ely was an ideal appointment for him.
He steered the diocese through difficult times with characteristic dignified presence and wisdom. People trusted him. As a fellow bishop observed, he was the sort of person to whom you would feel confident entrusting the crown jewels. He was at ease with himself, a vital trait of good leaders, who had a great gift of not feeling compelled to talk at every opportunity. He would not leap into discussions: he had about him an air of wisdom, but would usually say nothing until asked to do so. Only then, if he felt that he had something useful to say, would he quietly speak a few sentences of transforming wisdom. He also had an acute sense of humour, invaluable for retaining sanity while ministering in the Church.
Alongside his passion for family, the Church and the countryside was an enduring commitment to education. He spent 13 years as President of the Woodard Corporation and was a longstanding governor of Radley College. He held honorary fellowships of Wolfson College and St Edmund’s College, Cambridge, St Chad’s College, Durham, and Trinity College, Oxford.
Bishop Anthony Russell had many gifts. He was a man of deep, if understated, faith who knew exactly where those gifts came from. He served the God who had endowed him with them in an exemplary ministry that touched countless people in Church and society. Thanks be to God.
