Peal of Bells marks Retirement of the Dean of Lichfield

A chime will ring this February to mark the resignation of the Dean of Lichfield, Very Revd Adrian Dorber, former Chair of the Association of English Cathedrals.

The Lichfield and Walsall Archdeaconry Society will ring a special bell on Saturday 18th February 2023 to mark Adrian’s retirement after over 17 years as Dean of Lichfield.

During his tenure, Dean Adrian made a lasting impact on the cathedral world as Chairman of the Association of English Cathedrals, his congregation and cathedrals across Britain.

Adrian became Chair of the then Dean of York, now Bishop Vivienne Faull, in 2015 and describes his seven years as a time of “extreme ups and downs”

During his tenure as Chair, Adrian has overseen the expansion of the AEC, securing grant funding for the Cathedrals Projects Support Panel, which has given Cathedrals the expertise and resources of around 60 industry professionals, and established the Communications Support Project, which is helping to raise the profile sharpening the cathedrals and sharing their stories, the peer review program, launching a project to support chapters’ strategic leadership and displaying their accountability, and more importantly, he has brought cathedrals together under one roof to learn and exchanging wisdom by initiating two national cathedral conferences.

Adrian said:

“It has been an honor and a privilege to lead the Association of English Cathedral. I am proud of what I have achieved and thank all the cathedrals and everyone who has walked this path with me.”

“I pray that the more we reach out and meet the needs of those who visit us and those who reach out to us, and the more we come across as edgy and prophetic, the more good story we have to tell.” be noticed. a visible, actively Christian history”, he added.

Adrian looks back on seven years as Chair of the Association of English Cathedrals, read his words here.

As Dean of Lichfield, Adrian commissioned a five-year artist-in-residence position with artist Peter Walker and was instrumental in leading imaginative art programs and securing new digital light and sound art installations for Lichfield Cathedral.

Under his direction, Lichfield Cathedral was one of the first cathedrals to serve as a COVID-19 vaccination clinic and just last November saw the reinstatement of the shrine of St Chad on the site of the cathedral’s original medieval shrine and return from a relic for Lichfield as a gesture of unity between the Catholic Church and the Church of England.

The Dean’s last Sunday at the Cathedral is Sunday 19 February. He will retire on March 31 and Right Reverend Jan McFarlane has been appointed acting dean.

Bishop Michael Ipgrave said:

“Adrian has served the Cathedral, the wider Lichfield community and our diocese with great dedication, faith and passion over the past 17 years and we will be sad to see him go but happy for him in his well-deserved retirement. We look forward to celebrating Adrian’s time in Lichfield on February 19th.”