on Friday, 20 March 2026 at 4.55 pm by Peter Owen
categorised as Church of England, News
The Very Revd Jonathan Greener, Dean of Exeter, has announced that he is to retire in July 2026. He has been the dean since 2017, and before that he was Dean of Wakefield from 2007 to 2017.
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Clifford Jones
22 days ago
Jonathan Greener studied at Mirfield. Another cathedral dean of whom that is true is Alan Jones (1940-1924), Dean of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, over the period 1985 to 2009. Another is Aidan Cross (1918-1989), Dean of Bloemfontein in the Church of the Province of South Africa from 1958 to 1982. A remarkable length of service in each case.
As a former precentor and a former Dean, I’d say that for most of my ministry in cathedrals finding people with the right range of gifts, knowledge and experience has become more and more problematic. But it’s going to be inevitable if liturgy is treated as a “nice to do” side hustle for people who like that sort of thing, rather than seeing it as a crucial and fundamental part of the formational matrix. “Worship teaches us how to live” is basic to the Anglican understanding of how we are formed in faith, so it’s hardly surprising that when we… Read more »
“Liturgy is play, but play has rules, as we know from the games of both children and adults,” Robert Hovda. For Michael Perham, the first rule was to ‘inhabit the liturgy’. Yesterday I watched what could have been a very good CofE worship video, but for the priest losing eye contact at the greeting (Grace, mercy and peace…), the absolution and the blessing. When ministers put down their books and look at us for the greeting, the absolution, the invitation to communion and the dismissal, we are left in little doubt that we are welcomed, absolved, invited to the feast… Read more »
A glance around cathedral “who’s who” lists will show up a lot of interim posts. It is good to remember that a good Precentor these days will need training in liturgy (Mirfield and St Stephens both do non-residential MAs in liturgy) but they also need to know so many other things! They need to understand choirs and musicians; risk assessments and hymnals; canon law (especially where it relates to worship); “event” management (where it relates to worship) including health and safety and logistics; staff management and the dynamics of working in a team. Those are a lot of skills and… Read more »
That is quite a list! A precentor who can’t sing does seem rather strange. But, then, how many deacons sing even the dismissal in today’s Church? Perhaps they should be reminded that Lenin sent the priests into the gulags, the deacons into the opera.
A precentor who can’t sing does indeed seem strange. But I would think that very few clergy sing any liturgy at all these days. Even in some of the few parish churches that manage to maintain Evensong, it is often a member of the back row of the choir who sings the versicles; and I doubt many clergy sing the preface of the eucharistic prayer outside explicitly catholic parishes. It’s a shame that our musical tradition is in such decline, but since I write this as someone who can’t sing a note, I recognise that I’m part of the problem.
The Ite is the most complicated bit of singing in the mass though.
Homeless Anglican
21 days ago
I remember Jonathan at Wakefield. He was a good and kind dean and clearly has done fine work and ministry north and south of the country. I wish him well in retirement by the seaside.
I’m surprised no mention has been made that Jonathan Greener came to Exeter at an unhappy time in the cathedral’s life. Although I didn’t know him, I hear that he has been in the fine pastoral tradition of Exeter deans, such as Richard Eyre and Keith Jones.
You were closer to the ‘action’ which was probably largely unknown to most outsiders. It’s something of a shock to find that it was more than nine years ago, but when I last visited Exeter a bishop (retired SEC I believe) was both Acting Dean and acting Precentor, and the only priest priest officiating at Evensong. It’s good to learn that the great traditions of Exeter, liturgical and musical, were restored.
Jonathan Greener studied at Mirfield. Another cathedral dean of whom that is true is Alan Jones (1940-1924), Dean of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, over the period 1985 to 2009. Another is Aidan Cross (1918-1989), Dean of Bloemfontein in the Church of the Province of South Africa from 1958 to 1982. A remarkable length of service in each case.
And in Alan Jones a highly engaging mind. I still re read his remarkable book “Soul Making” A neglected classic
Alan Jones supervised my Deacons Retreat in 1970 at Kelham. He was then a tutor at Ljncoln. Gave me a prayer I have never forgotten.
How many Deans trained non-residentially?
The word on the streets is that cathedrals are struggling to appoint canon precentors as there are fewer candidates who have studied liturgy.
Most residential colleges no longer teach liturgy. Most regional courses do.
Heavens! There’s no wonder so much worship is no better than a dog’s dinner.
The periodic review does not pick this up; the liturgical commission is concerned – but no-one seems able or willing to act…
As a former precentor and a former Dean, I’d say that for most of my ministry in cathedrals finding people with the right range of gifts, knowledge and experience has become more and more problematic. But it’s going to be inevitable if liturgy is treated as a “nice to do” side hustle for people who like that sort of thing, rather than seeing it as a crucial and fundamental part of the formational matrix. “Worship teaches us how to live” is basic to the Anglican understanding of how we are formed in faith, so it’s hardly surprising that when we… Read more »
“Liturgy is play, but play has rules, as we know from the games of both children and adults,” Robert Hovda. For Michael Perham, the first rule was to ‘inhabit the liturgy’. Yesterday I watched what could have been a very good CofE worship video, but for the priest losing eye contact at the greeting (Grace, mercy and peace…), the absolution and the blessing. When ministers put down their books and look at us for the greeting, the absolution, the invitation to communion and the dismissal, we are left in little doubt that we are welcomed, absolved, invited to the feast… Read more »
A glance around cathedral “who’s who” lists will show up a lot of interim posts. It is good to remember that a good Precentor these days will need training in liturgy (Mirfield and St Stephens both do non-residential MAs in liturgy) but they also need to know so many other things! They need to understand choirs and musicians; risk assessments and hymnals; canon law (especially where it relates to worship); “event” management (where it relates to worship) including health and safety and logistics; staff management and the dynamics of working in a team. Those are a lot of skills and… Read more »
That is quite a list! A precentor who can’t sing does seem rather strange. But, then, how many deacons sing even the dismissal in today’s Church? Perhaps they should be reminded that Lenin sent the priests into the gulags, the deacons into the opera.
A precentor who can’t sing does indeed seem strange. But I would think that very few clergy sing any liturgy at all these days. Even in some of the few parish churches that manage to maintain Evensong, it is often a member of the back row of the choir who sings the versicles; and I doubt many clergy sing the preface of the eucharistic prayer outside explicitly catholic parishes. It’s a shame that our musical tradition is in such decline, but since I write this as someone who can’t sing a note, I recognise that I’m part of the problem.
The Ite is the most complicated bit of singing in the mass though.
I remember Jonathan at Wakefield. He was a good and kind dean and clearly has done fine work and ministry north and south of the country. I wish him well in retirement by the seaside.
I’m surprised no mention has been made that Jonathan Greener came to Exeter at an unhappy time in the cathedral’s life. Although I didn’t know him, I hear that he has been in the fine pastoral tradition of Exeter deans, such as Richard Eyre and Keith Jones.
You were closer to the ‘action’ which was probably largely unknown to most outsiders. It’s something of a shock to find that it was more than nine years ago, but when I last visited Exeter a bishop (retired SEC I believe) was both Acting Dean and acting Precentor, and the only priest priest officiating at Evensong. It’s good to learn that the great traditions of Exeter, liturgical and musical, were restored.