Stephen Lowe

Who is Stephen Lowe?

Stephen Richard Lowe was, until his retirement in July 2009, the suffragan Bishop of Hulme in the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, Link Bishop for Namibia and Chair of the Urban Bishops Panel. Whilst retaining these roles, he was released from all pastoral oversight in the diocese in order to concentrate on his 2006 appointment as the Church of England's first Bishop for Urban Life and Faith, promoting and disseminating the conclusions of the Faithful Cities report.

From 1988 to 1999 he had served as Archdeacon of Sheffield.

Lowe is noted for his comments on the hymn I Vow to Thee, My Country in August 2004, when he called for its first verse to be removed from Church of England services, calling it "totally heretical". He believed it placed national loyalties above religious ones and encouraged racism and an unquestioning support of governments. His words sparked a debate on the wider implications of the hymn. He has also defended the Church's review of its shares in Caterpillar Inc. and other companies used in the occupied territories by Israel, and the Church's planned sale of Jacob And His Twelve Sons by Francisco de Zurbarán.