A CHURCH of Scotland minister who became Chaplain-General to the
Forces in face of strong opposition from the Archbishop of Canterbury is
to be the next Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland, it was announced in Edinburgh yesterday.
He is the Rev James Harkness, a native of Thornhill, Dumfriesshire,
who has served with the Royal Army Chaplains Department for 33 years and
is the first ''career soldier'' to be appointed to the Kirk's highest
office.
In 1985 he was appointed deputy chaplain-general which until then was
the highest rank any Church of Scotland minister could obtain, but three
years later he became the first non-Anglican to be appointed
chaplain-general despite the stern opposition of Archbishop Robert
Runcie.
Mr Harkness, 58, is due to retire next spring and immediately
afterwards he will take up the post of Moderator.
Speaking from London last night, he said he had been surprised and
overwhelmed by the appointment although he knew his name had been put
forward. ''I am greatly honoured and just hope I will fulfil all that is
required of me by the Church and the people in it.''
Mr Harkness was nominated by a former Moderator, the Very Rev Dr
Duncan Shaw.
He said: ''He has managed in many ways to establish a much more open
and ecumenical spirit within the chaplain's department welding the
chaplains from all the churches under his administration into an even
deeper fellowship.
''His pastoral dedication to the spiritual well-being of all ranks and
their families has always been the first claim on his time.''
Mr Harkness is based at Bagshot, Surrey, but has kept his roots in
Scotland. He has a flat in Edinburgh and plans to return north when he
retires.
Dr Shaw said Mr Harkness had always played a significant part in the
Church of Scotland despite his commitments at home and abroad. He was
moderator of the Presbytery of England while assistant chaplain-general.
He attended Morton Primary School and Dumfries Academy before taking
an MA degree at Edinburgh University. A student assistant at St
George's, Edinburgh, he later became full-time assistant at North
Morningside Church before being commissioned in the Army in 1961. He has
served in the Far East, Northern Ireland, and Germany.
Mr Harkness's wife Anne comes from Inverness. He has a married
daughter and a son serving with the Army in Germany.
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