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A man of such flexibility can scarcely be a prophet, nor can his church be a crusading force. Geoffrey Francis Fisher brilliantly suits the present needs of the World Council, which, in order to stay together, must compromise. "In the very best sense of the words, he has been all things to all men," wrote London's Laborite Daily Herald of him in 1939 when he was appointed Bishop of London. "He will never lead a great spiritual revival of the Church of England. Equally, he will never say or do anything that will shock or derange his fellow Anglicans."
The Headmaster. When Geoffrey Francis Fisher was appointed Bishop of Chester at the age of 45, one of the parish priests groaned: "He knows nothing about parochial work; he has no parochial experience . . . We prayed about this matter beforehand, and this is what we have got."
Fisher is somewhat touchy about his lack of parish experience. Recalling that his father was rector at St. Peter's Church, Higham-on-the-Hill in Leicestershire, he says: "I grew up in a country rectory. I was a part of the parish . . . I truly think I learned more about parish life and work in those 20 years than many priests ever learn."
Young Fisher went to Exeter College, Oxford, where he distinguished himself by rowing on his college eight, played a good, steady center at Rugby, and chalked up a triple first in moderations, classics and theology. His decision to enter the church was so natural that he barely noticed it, and he breezed through Wells Theological College with straight A's in a single year. Three years later, when he was only 27, he became headmaster of Repton, a first-rate English public school (known to U.S. moviegoers because part of Goodbye, Mr. Chips was filmed there).
Fisher stayed at Repton for 18 years. Old Boys remember the "Boss" for his dignified informality, his tremendous capacity for work, and his inexorable discipline. Learning that a boy had disobeyed a rule against departing for the holidays on a motorcycle, Headmaster Fisher dispatched a telegram to the boy's home: RETURN TODAY OR NEVER. Back came the boy on his motorcycle. Fisher caned him soundly and sent him home again—on his motorcycle.
Geoffrey's Whack. Headmaster Fisher became Bishop Fisher of Chester in 1932, seven years later Bishop of London. After that, his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury (ranking just below the Queen and the royal dukes and two above the Prime Minister) was almost a foregone conclusion. His predecessor, William Temple, told his wife a few months before he died: "I must give up in time to let Geoffrey have his whack." Archbishop Temple, one of the greatest churchmen of modern times, was what show people call "a hard act to follow." Prophet and preacher of social reform and church unity, he took England's fusty bishoprics into his impatient hands and shook them till the dust flew. Geoffrey Fisher mounted the throne of St. Augustine* with humility and reluctance.