Two places he feels particularly close to God are by the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus lived and worked, and at St Benet’s Abbey in the heart of the Broads. As Abbot of St Benet’s he arrives by boat every August to lead an open-air service beside the scattered ruins.
“I’m not really a sea-going person but there is something about where land and water meet, and an atmosphere hallowed by prayer,” he said.
When he first became a Bishop there was no Google, Facebook, or women priests. Today 35pc of priests in the diocese are female – and one of the first to be ordained, the Rt Rev Jan MacFarlane, now Bishop of Repton, will be back to preach at his celebration service.
In 2012 Bishop Graham was tipped as the next Archbishop of Canterbury – and admitted to praying that he would not be appointed. “I love being Bishop of Norwich and having a community, and churches, over which to minister and getting to know a lot of people.”
From a focus on the disadvantaged of his diocese to chatting to the Queen about corgis – the Bishop of #Norwich reflects on 25 years as a bishop https://t.co/uccUdjIN7z #Anglican #religion #uk 'I love the mix of the urban and the very rural. Above all it’s the people' pic.twitter.com/6FbksCZ9Ye
— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) February 20, 2018