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The Church of England - Diocese of Chichester

The Parish and Priory Church of St Nicholas, Arundel
with Tortington, and South Stoke

Parish Clergy

The Right Revd R David Farrer, Vicar Bishop David Farrer, Vicar of Arundel
Born in Surrey, UK, Fr David moved to Australia as a child. He trained as a horticulturalist before entering St Barnabas College, Adelaide in 1964 as a candidate for the Diocese of Adelaide. He was ordained to the diaconate in 1968 and to the priesthood in 1969 and served his curacy in the Parish of Plympton with Richmond.

After three years as Priest-in-Charge of the Mission District of Hillcrest he returned to Melbourne in 1973 to become Assistant Priest at the Parish Church of the City of Melbourne, St Peter's, Eastern Hill. In 1975 he was inducted as Vicar of Christ Church, Brunswick and during his fourteen years there did a six-month exchange with the Vicar of St Mary's Church in the City of Nottingham, UK. In 1990 he returned to Eastern Hill as Vicar and Director of the Institute for Spiritual Studies. He served as a Canon of St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, as Archdeacon first of La Trobe and then of Melbourne, and as the first Chaplain to the Parliament of Victoria.

He was consecrated bishop at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne on 1 February 1998 and enthroned the next day at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Wangaratta, in North-East Victoria. After completing ten years as Bishop of the Diocese of Wangaratta he returned both to parish ministry and to the country of his birth and in September 2009 was inducted as Vicar of the Parish and Priory Church of St Nicholas, Arundel, with Tortington and South Stoke, West Sussex. He also serves as an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Chichester.


The Revd Canon Brian E Cook, Honorary Assistant Priest
Fr Brian Cook, Honorary Assistant Priest
Fr Brian studied for the priesthood at Salisbury and Wells Theological College and served his Title in the Diocese of Southwark. He moved to the Diocese of Portsmouth to be Priest-in-Charge of St Mary Magdalene, Sheet, in Hampshire and spent fifteen years as rector of the Parish of Liss. He served as Rural Dean of Petersfield and is a Canon Emeritus of Portsmouth Cathedral. He and his wife Yvette retired into the Chichester Diocese and after visiting St Nicholas' Church, Arundel, for a Mass on the Fest of Candlemas, they have never really been away for very long.

Fr Brian was a 'late' ordinand, having previously trained at RADA and worked in the theatre as an actor, director and, for ten years, as head of the Drama Department of ArtsEd. He is a member of the Society of Theatre Research and is Chairman of the Council of the Religious Drama Society.


The Revd John F Smith, Honorary Assistant Deacon

The Revd John F Smith, Honorary Assistant Deacon John comes to the Parish of Arundel via a year as Deacon in Slindon and after a sojourn of thirty years in Australia, most of that time in Western Australia. He spent his childhood in Flamstead in Hertfordshire and then in Hampstead. Both of these were formative influences, as the former was on his grandparents' farm and the latter very close to Hampstead Heath which John could explore and thereby develop his sense of adventure. This was to lead in later life to a trip overland to Australia on a motorcycle at the age of thirty. The time spent on a farm means that John is now very much at home living in the rural community surrounding our parish.

While on the boat from Sri Lanka to Australia, John met his wife-to-be, Lorraine, and they have now been married for nearly thirty-one years. John's ordination to the diaconate came as a result of his being encouraged to join the Team Training Programme by his then rector, Steve Warren. After reading for a BA in Theology part-time and then an MA in Theological Studies, John was ordained in August 2005 in Perth. His current position here in Arundel is as Curate serving a title. This involves assisting with services; taking turns with Morning and Evening Prayer; visiting the sick and taking home communion; helping out with planning liturgy and other esoteric items in the office; involvement with the new Youth Group and generally taking God's word to those who have yet to encounter it.