Stephen Platten

Stephen George Platten (born 17 May 1947 in Southgate) is an Anglican bishop. He was the last diocesan Bishop of Wakefield in the Church of England. He was consecrated in this role on 19 July 2003 and immediately prior to that was Dean of Norwich from 1995. He was installed at Wakefield Cathedral on 19 July 2003.

His homepage states that he:

It also states that his interests include reading, walking, Northumberland and music.

Platten is married to Rosslie, whose work is focused particularly on children with special needs. They have two sons – Aidan and Gregory – who have both studied at Cuddesdon Theological College and were made deacons in 2003 and ordained priests in 2004. Gregory is Vicar of All Saints' Church, Friern Barnet, and Aidan is the Vicar of St Mark's North Marylebone

Platten was educated at the Stationers' Company's School. He has a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree from the Institute of Education and a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Theology from Cuddesdon College. He was awarded a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree at Trinity College, Oxford. He is also an honorary Doctor of Letters (Hon DLitt).

Platten was made deacon in 1975 and ordained priest in 1976 in the Diocese of Oxford. His ministry positions include being a residentiary canon at Portsmouth Cathedral and the Diocese of Portsmouth's Director of Ordinands (1983–1990), Archbishop of Canterbury’s Secretary for Ecumenical Affairs (1990–1995) and Minister Provincial of the Third Order of St Francis in its European Province (1991–1996).

Platten was admitted to sit in the House of Lords as one of the Lords Spiritual on 22 June 2009.

It was announced on 3 November 2013 that the Diocese of Wakefield, and therefore the post of Bishop of Wakefield, would be dissolved on 20 April 2014. In July 2014, he became Rector or St Michael's, Cornhill in the City of London and an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of London.

Since 2013, Platten has been Chairman of the Council of Hymns Ancient and Modern, Ltd. On 11 February 2017, he was one of fourteen retired bishops to sign an open letter to the then-serving bishops of the Church of England. In an unprecedented move, they expressed their opposition to the House of Bishops' report to General Synod on sexuality, which recommended no change to the Church's canons or practises around sexuality. By 13 February, a serving bishop (Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham) and nine further retired bishops had added their signatures; on 15 February, the report was rejected by synod.

• The Reverend Stephen Platten (1975–1983)
• The Reverend Canon Stephen Platten (1983–1995)
• The Very Reverend Stephen Platten (1995–2003)
• The Right Reverend Stephen Platten (2003—present)

• Pilgrims, Fount, London 1996
• Augustine’s Legacy, Darton, Longman and Todd 1997
• Pilgrim Guide to Norwich Cathedral, Canterbury Press, Norwich 1998
• Cathedrals and Abbeys of England, Jarrold Publishing, Norwich 1999
• Deacons in the Ministry of the Church (with Mary Tanner) Church House Publishing 1988
• Spirit and Tradition: An Essay on Change (with George Pattison), Canterbury Press, Norwich 1996
• Vocation: Singing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land, SPCK, London 2007
• Rebuilding Jerusalem: The Church's hold on hearts and minds, SPCK, London, 2007

He has also edited:

• Marriage, Helen Oppenheimer, Mowbray, London 1990
• Good for the Poor, Michael Taylor, Mowbray, London 1990
• Working with God, Andrew Stokes, Mowbray, London 1992
• The Ethics of I.V.F., Anthony Dyson, Mowbray, London 1995
• Dreaming Spires?: Cathedrals in a New Age, London, 2006

He has edited and contributed to eight books:

• New Surroundings, Darton, Longman and Todd 1997
• Flagships of the Spirit, Darton, Longman and Todd 1998
• Seeing Ourselves: Who are the Interpreters of Contemporary Society, Canterbury Press Norwich 1998
• The Retreat of the State: Nourishing the Soul of Society, Canterbury Press, Norwich 1999
• Ink and Spirit: Literature and Spirituality, Canterbury Press, Norwich 2000
• Open Government, Canterbury Press, Norwich 2000
• Runcie: On Reflection, Canterbury Press 2002
• Anglicanism and the Western Christian Tradition, Canterbury Press 2003