| Bishopric | Southwark |
|---|---|
| Incumbent | Christopher Chessun |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Residence | Bishop's House, Streatham |
| Established | 1905 |
| Cathedral | St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark |
| Diocese | Southwark |
The Bishop of Southwark (/ˈsʌðərk/ SUDH-ərk)[1] is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Southwark in the Province of Canterbury.[2][3]
Until 1877, Southwark had been part of the Diocese of Winchester when it was transferred to the Diocese of Rochester. In 1891, the Bishop of Rochester appointed Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs the only suffragan bishop of Southwark and an ancient parish church in Southwark was restored to become a pro-cathedral in 1897, which later became Southwark Cathedral.[2] The bishop's residence is Bishop's House, Streatham.[4]
On 1 May 1905,[5] the Diocese of Southwark was created and covers Greater London south of the River Thames and east Surrey, broadly defined.[2] The Bishop of Southwark is assisted by the suffragan bishops of Croydon, of Kingston and of Woolwich who each oversee an episcopal area of the diocese.[6]
The current and previous bishops have been cited in canonical practice in its interpretation as "valid but irregular" of three ordinations of candidates ordained abroad, associated with a conservative evangelical church-forming group, the Anglican Mission in England, having expressed, in the church's view, extreme views on a complex subject.[7][8]
The current bishop is Christopher Chessun, the 10th Bishop of Southwark, who signs +Christopher Southwark. He had previously been the area Bishop of Woolwich (2005–2011). When the post-holder ranks among the longest-serving 21 bishops heading a diocese, he or she will qualify for a place in the House of Lords, joining the other five who qualify ex officio, including the two archbishops.
List of bishops
| Diocesan Bishops of Southwark | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 1905 | 1911 | Edward Talbot | Translated from Rochester, translated to Winchester |
| 1911 | 1919 | Hubert Burge | Translated to Oxford |
| 1919 | 1932 | Cyril Garbett | Translated to Winchester, and later to York |
| 1932 | 1941 | Richard Parsons | Translated from Middleton, translated to Hereford |
| 1942 | 1959 | Bertram Simpson | Translated from Kensington |
| 1959 | 1980 | Mervyn Stockwood | |
| 1980 | 1991 | Ronald Bowlby | Translated from Newcastle |
| 1991 | 1998 | Roy Williamson | Translated from Bradford |
| 1998 | 2010 | Tom Butler | Translated from Leicester |
| 2011 | incumbent | Christopher Chessun | Translated from Woolwich |
| Source(s):[9][10] | |||
Assistant bishops
Among those who have served as assistant bishops in the diocese have been:
- 1964–1968: Gething Caulton, former Bishop of Melanesia and Assistant Bishop of Auckland[11]
- 1968–1972 (d.): John Boys, former Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman[12]
- 1967 – 1971 (ret.): Lawrence Barham, Minister of Emmanuel Church, Wimbledon and former Bishop of Rwanda and Burundi. Edward Lawrence Barham (25 June 1901 – 5 June 1973) was a missionary in Uganda and Ruanda-Urundi. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge; and trained for the ministry at Ridley Hall, Cambridge.[13] He was made deacon on Trinity Sunday 1925 (7 June)[14] and ordained priest the following Trinity Sunday (30 May 1926) — both times by Cyril Garbett, Bishop of Southwark, at Southwark Cathedral.[15] After his curacy in Hatcham, County of London (1925–28), he went as a missionary of the Church Mission Society, first to Uganda until 1938, then to Ruanda-Urundi, 1938–57. He was additionally made a Canon of the Diocese of Uganda, 1939; and appointed Archdeacon of Nkore-Kigezi (in the same diocese), 1957–59. Returning to England, he served as General Secretary of the CMS Ruanda Mission until his appointment as Bishop of Rwanda and Burundi in 1964.[13] He was consecrated a bishop on 8 March 1964, by Leslie Brown, Archbishop of Uganda and Bishop of Namirembe, at Namirembe Cathedral;[16] and served until 1966, when he resigned and returned to London in 1966.[13]
- 1974 – 1975: Br John-Charles SSF, former Assistant Bishop of Adelaide and Bishop of Polynesia[17]
- 1975 – 1987 (ret.): Edward Knapp-Fisher, Canon and Archdeacon of Westminster, Sub-Dean of Westminster (from 1982) and former Bishop of Pretoria[18]
References
- ^ "Southwark", in The Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World (1952), New York: Columbia University Press.
- ^ Diocese of Southwark: History Archived January 13, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 21 October 2013.
- ^ Crockford's Clerical Directory, 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7151-1030-0.
- ^
- ^ London Gazette. March 21, 1905.
- ^ Diocese of Southwark: Bishops and Officers Archived 2006-10-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 25 November 2008.
- ^ Petre, Jonathan (2005-11-04). "Evangelicals defy bishop by holding 'irregular' ordinations". Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
- ^ "A.M.I.E". Co-Mission. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
- ^ "Historical successions: Southwark". Crockford's Clerical Directory. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
- ^ Handbook of British Chronology. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2003. pp. 274–275. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- ^ Blain, Michael. Blain Biographical Directory of Anglican clergy in the South Pacific — ordained before 1932 (2019) p. 268 (Accessed at Project Canterbury, 26 June 2019)
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