The Corporation of London and their representatives in the Church of England look all set to evict the Occupy London encampment sometime this week. For anyone approaching the Occupy London protest from the east along St Paul’s Churchyard, the sight of the tents with a branch of camping equipment shop Blacks also in clear view is probably enough to raise a chuckle. The manager of Blacks couldn’t have arranged a better advert for the store’s winter sale. Less hilarious is the effect of The Church of England on the protest. When I was down there on Saturday, some religious nutcase was banging on and on about how she’d become a more effective activist after finding Jesus five years earlier. Rather than concentrating on real issues, Occupy London has at times been diverted into debates that are about as relevant to the working class as theological hair-splitting about ‘how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?’
That said, these arguments are not simply turning the focus away from how the City of London operates, they’re also causing splits in the utterly repugnant Church of England. First Dr Giles Fraser resigned from his post at St Paul’s Cathedral (canon chancellor), and he’s now been followed by the Rt Rev Graeme Knowles (the dean). Despite their insane religious delusions, these characters are apparently more sympathetic to anti-capitalist protests than the likes of the power mad and equally bonkers Richard Chartres (Bishop of London). Chartres may claim he is sympathetic to Occupy London’s views but he remains hard-line about removing their camp from outside St Paul’s precisely because his interests are completely aligned to those of both the City of London and the parasitic House of Windsor. Understanding that Chartres’ manoeuvres are necessary if he is to retain the support of his influential City backers goes a long way towards explaining the actions of this establishment toady. The City operates through unofficial ambassadors like Chartres, who it seeks to place in positions of power.
Richard Chartres (born 11 July 1947) has been Bishop of London since 1995. Before this appointment he was Bishop of Stepney (1992–1995) and Gresham Professor of Divinity (1987–1992). Gresham College is ‘an institution of higher learning’ located at Barnard’s Inn Hall off Holborn in the City of London. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham (the founder of the stock exchange). Gresham professorships are handed out to City of London insiders. During a lecture Chartres gave on the History of Gresham College at Barnard’s Inn Hall, he described the institution as a ‘magical island like Atlantis’ which disappeared and re-emerged from the ocean. This was a reference both to the Invisible College of the Rosicrucians and Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis. In a non-Gresham lecture in east London a few years later, Chartres let slip he wanted to build a church in the pyramid at the top of Canary Wharf. Chartres may or may not be a genuine ‘Christian’, but he’s clearly influenced by barking mad occult ideas, and will invoke them to please his influential City of London friends.
Chartres was born in Ware, Hertfordshire and educated at Hertford Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge (where he read history). After that he went on to study at Cuddesdon and Lincoln theological colleges. Chartres was ordained as a priest in 1973. He was chaplain to Robert Runcie, then Bishop of St Albans and later Archbishop of Canterbury. Subsequently he’s sucked up to the British royal family, and his faux ‘green’ church campaigns seem designed to make him attractive to ultra-reactionary tossers like Prince Charles. In 1997 he was one of the executors of the will of Princess Diana and he also delivered the address at her memorial service in 2007. He confirmed Prince William. On 12 September 2009 he presided at the marriage of Lord Frederick Windsor to actress Sophie Winkleman at the Chapel Royal in Hampton Court Palace. More recently he preached the sermon at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Here’s how Wikipedia describes Chartres in relation to Occupy London: “In October 2011, the Occupy London group camped in front of St Paul’s Cathedral in order to protest at the use of taxpayers’ money to reward bankers who were perceived to have initiated the financial crises leading to draconian cuts in public spending which had affected the poorest hardest. Canon Giles Fraser requested the police to withdraw and condoned the actions of the demonstrators. This was in stark contrast to Chartres who wanted the protesters to leave – he offered to mediate between the demonstrators and a panel of representatives from the financial sector but only if the protesters disbanded – he also stated he was considering asking the police to evict the demonstrators – this prompted Canon Fraser to resign on the grounds that he could not condone violence against peaceful demonstrators.”
From the above it should be obvious that Richard Chartres is a greedy and ambitious toe-rag who is acting in the interests of the City of London and the British establishment. His offer to mediate between protesters and the financial sector is a sick joke. Anti-capitalists shouldn’t trust Chartres any further than they can throw him. He’s a City of London puppet. It’s high time some real pressure was put on wankers like Chartres who act as secret ambassadors for The City. If we really want to Occupy London then we need to bash this bishop!
And while you’re at it don’t forget to check – www.stewarthomesociety.org – you know it makes (no) sense!