Dr Martin Dudley, Rector of Great St Bartholomew as it is now known, is retiring from the Smithfield parish after 21 years.
His last Sunday will be the Fourth Sunday of Advent but the farewell reception is being held earlier on Friday evening 16 December in the Great Hall of St Bartholomew’s Hospital.
Former churchwarden Ian Kelly wrote about the church’s growth during the past two decades at the time of the announcement.