Editing Cosmo Gordon Lang (section)

==Bishop and canon==
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 | image1 = Bishop of Stepney.jpg
 | alt1 = Black-and-white photo of a dark-haired white man, seated and resting his left hand around his chin, dressed in bishop's robes (rochet and chimere, pectoral cross and clerical shirt)
 | caption1 = Lang as Bishop of Stepney, photograph
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 | alt2 = Drawing of a dark-haired man, facing right, dressed in long black coat, black stockings and white collar. He is grasping his lapels as if about to speak.
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In March 1901 Lang was appointed [[suffragan]] [[Bishop of Stepney]] and a [[Canon (priest)|canon]] of St Paul's Cathedral.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27308|page=2856|date=26 April 1901}}</ref> These appointments reflected his growing reputation and recognised his successful ministry in working-class parishes. He was [[Consecration#Various Christian churches|consecrated]] bishop by the Archbishop of Canterbury, [[Frederick Temple]], in St Paul's Cathedral, on 1 May;<ref name="Lockhart, p. 147">Lockhart, p. 147</ref> his time would subsequently be divided between his work in the Stepney region and his duties at St Paul's.<ref name="Lockhart, p. 147"/>
The [[University of Oxford]] honoured him with the degree of [[Doctor of Divinity]] in late May 1901.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=University intelligence |date=29 May 1901 |page=4 |issue=36467}}</ref>

===Stepney===

Lang's region of Stepney within the Diocese of London extended over the whole area generally known as London's East End, with two million people in more than 200&nbsp;parishes. Almost all were poor, and housed in overcrowded and insanitary conditions. Lang knew something of the area from his undergraduate activities at Toynbee Hall, and his conscience was troubled by the squalor that he saw as he travelled around the district, usually by bus and tram.<ref>Lockhart, pp. 153–56</ref>

Lang's liberal conservatism enabled him to associate easily with Socialist leaders such as [[Will Crooks]] and [[George Lansbury]], successive mayors of [[Poplar, London|Poplar]]; he was responsible for bringing the latter back to regular communion in the Church.<ref name= Wilk2/> In 1905 he and Lansbury joined the Central London Unemployed Body, set up by the government to tackle the region's unemployment problems.<ref>{{cite web|title= Central London Unemployed Body|publisher= Aim25 (Archives in London and the M25 area)|url= http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=12966&inst_id=118&nv1=search&nv2=|access-date= 2 August 2009|archive-date= 6 June 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110606131718/http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=12966&inst_id=118&nv1=search&nv2=|url-status= dead}}</ref> That same year Lang took as his personal assistant a young Cambridge graduate and clergyman's son, [[Hugh Richard Lawrie Sheppard|Dick Sheppard]], who became a close friend and confidante. Sheppard was eventually ordained, becoming a radical clergyman and founder of the [[Peace Pledge Union]].<ref>Hastings, pp. 332–36</ref> Lang believed that socialism was a growing force in British life, and at a [[Church Congress]] in [[Great Yarmouth]] in 1907 he speculated on how the Church should respond to this. His remarks reached ''[[The New York Times]]'', which warned that modern socialism was often equated with unrest, that "the cry of the demagogue is in the air" and that the Church should not heed this cry.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bishop and Suffragan|work=The New York Times|date= 4 October 1907|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1907/10/04/archives/bishop-and-suffragan.html| access-date=2 August 2009}} {{subscription required}}</ref>

Much of the work in the district was supported by the East London Church Fund, established in 1880 to provide for additional clergy and lay workers in the poorest districts.{{sfn|Inglis|2013|loc= Ch 1: § Parish, Diocese and Nation}} Lang preached in wealthier parishes throughout Southern England, and urged his listeners to contribute to the Fund.<ref name= L161>Lockhart, pp. 161–64</ref> He resumed his ministry to the army when, in 1907, he was appointed Honorary Chaplain to the [[City of London Imperial Yeomanry (Rough Riders)]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28029|page=4012|date=11 June 1907}}</ref> He became chairman of the [[Church of England Men's Society]] (CEMS), which had been founded in 1899 by the merger of numerous organisations doing the same work. Initially he found it "a very sickly infant", but under his leadership it expanded rapidly, and soon had over 20,000&nbsp;members in 600&nbsp;branches. Later he became critical of the Church's failure to use this movement effectively, calling it one of the Church's lost opportunities.<ref name= L161/>

===St Paul's Cathedral===
Lang's appointment as a canon of St Paul's Cathedral required him to spend three months annually as the canon in residence, with administrative and preaching duties.<ref name= L149>Lockhart, pp. 149–50</ref> Following his appointment as canon, he was also appointed treasurer of the cathedral.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27331 |date=9 July 1901 |page=4569}}</ref> His preaching on Sunday afternoons caught the attention of [[William Temple (bishop)|William Temple]], Lang's future successor at both York and Canterbury, who was then an undergraduate at Oxford. Temple observed that, in contrast to the Bishop of London's sermons, listening to Lang brought on an intellectual rather than emotional pleasure: "I can remember all his points, just because their connexion is inevitable.... And for me, there is no doubt that this is the more edifying by far."<ref>Iremonger, p. 52</ref> Lang was a member of the cathedral's governing body, the Dean and Chapter, and was responsible for the organisation of special occasions, such as the service of thanksgiving for King [[Edward VII]]'s recovery from [[appendicitis]] in July 1902.<ref name= L149/>