Rt Rev Nick Baines
The Rt Revd Nick Baines has been the Bishop of Leeds since 2014. He was previously the Bishop of Bradford and the Bishop of Croydon. He read German and French at Bradford University and, before ordination, worked for four years as a Russian linguist at GCHQ. Nick has a particular expertise in communication. He has 16.5 thousand followers on X and his blog has been viewed more than 2 million times. He is regularly heard on Radios 2 & 4, is often asked to comment nationally on topical issues, and has written seven books on Christian faith. Nick has been a member of the House of Lords since 2014, leading on Europe, Russia, Sudan, security & intelligence. He has represented the Archbishop of Canterbury at international faith conferences and for 11 years was the English Co-chair of the Meissen Commission which develops relationships between the Church of England and the EKD (Protestant Church in Germany). He also preaches frequently in Germany — in German. He has a keen interest in music, literature, art, film, theatre and Liverpool FC. He’s married to Linda (an artist and retired health visitor) and they have three adult children and four grandchildren.