THE new man in charge of a group of Dales churches is returning to his rural roots.

The Rev James Theodosius is due to take up his post as priest-in-charge of Kettlewell with Conistone, Hubberholme and Arncliffe with Halton Gill some time after Easter.

He is presently working as senior chaplain at the University of Exeter, where he has held a variety of roles for the past six years.

Moving from dealing with a community of 20,000 people at an international university to the heart of the Dales may seem a massive leap, but James pointed out he had spent much of his life and his career in rural areas.

Brought up on the North Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire border and schooled in the Worcestershire-Shropshire area, both in rural surroundings, he did a degree in English literature and taught in Norfolk before doing a postgraduate degree in philosophy and English at the University of Sussex in Brighton.

Though he comes from a family with a tradition in the priesthood it was during his time in Brighton that he felt his own calling - so much so that even when he was offered a job at Atlanta University in the USA he chose instead to study theology in Cambridge.

From there he moved to be a curate at a church in central Chichester, but fairly shortly after that went to oversee a small rural church on the city's outskirts. James stayed there for two years before the move to Exeter.

There his work has included overseeing theological education, hold two different chaplain roles and co-ordinating a multi-faith team. "That's fascinating work and a privilege to have done."

But he said: "The countryside is in my heart really, that's where I find my foundations. There is also the fact that I felt called to be a parish priest and that's important to me."

He was keen to listen and learn and to get to know people, whether they went to church or not. "I want people to feel that their priest within the community is accessible, and they can approach me and I can get to know them. I'm interested in hearing about people's work and their lives."

Married to Mona-Karina, the couple have three children - Charlie, 12, and twins Samuel and Isabella, 10, and James said the whole family was keen to move to the Dales. "It's a big excitement for the children to go to a new place," he said.