Mark Sowerby

The Right Reverend
Mark Sowerby
Bishop of Horsham
Church Church of England
Diocese Diocese of Chichester
In office 2009–present
Predecessor Lindsay Urwin
Orders
Ordination 1987 (deacon)
by David Young
1988 (priest)
by Malcolm Menin
Consecration 25 July 2009
by Rowan Williams
Personal details
Born (1963-10-28) 28 October 1963
Ripon, West Riding of Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Nationality British
Denomination Anglican
Residence Bishop's House, Horsham
Parents Geoffrey (priest)
Spouse (m. 1989)
Children three
Alma mater King's College London

Mark Crispin Rake Sowerby (born 28 October 1963) is a British Anglican bishop. Since 2009, he has been the Bishop of Horsham, a suffragan bishop (formerly an area bishop) in the Diocese of Chichester.[1][2]

Early life

Sowerby was born on 28 October 1963 in Ripon, West Riding of Yorkshire,[3] where his father, Geoffrey (a priest),[4] was a minor canon of Ripon Minster.[5] He studied theology at King's College, London, and graduated in 1985, with a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree and the Associateship of King's College (AKC). He then entered the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield, an Anglo-Catholic theological college, to train for the priesthood. He left the college in 1987 to be ordained.[6]

Ordained ministry

Sowerby was made a deacon in the Church of England at Petertide (28 June) 1987 by David Young, Bishop of Ripon, during a service at Ripon Cathedral.[7] He was ordained a priest the Petertide following (3 July 1988) by Malcolm Menin, Bishop of Knaresborough.[8] His first posts were curacies at Knaresborough and Darwen[6] after which he was Vicar of Accrington then Vocations Officer and Selection Secretary in The Ministry Division. His last post before his appointment to the episcopate was Team Rector of St Wilfrid's Church, Harrogate.[9][10][11] One of his final acts as rector was to welcome a proposal from NEDL to erect a primary electricity station in the curtilage of the church. This proposal, generated criticism from, amongst others, the Victorian Society, Private Eye magazine and residents of Harrogate.[12]

Appointed to become Bishop of Horsham — one of two suffragan bishops of the Diocese of Chichester — in 2009, Sowerby was ordained and consecrated a bishop by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Chichester Cathedral on 25 July 2009.[13] At first, his post was as an area bishop; but the area scheme was wound up in 2013 and he remained a non-area suffragan. During a protracted investigation — while there was a vacancy in the diocesan see — into the efficacy of safeguarding practices in the diocese, Sowerby was additionally Acting Bishop of Chichester. (The senior suffragan of the diocese, Wallace Benn, Bishop of Lewes, was involved in the ongoing investigation.)

Views

Sowerby previously held views consistent with traditionalist Anglo-Catholicism, such as the rejection of the ordination of women as deacons, priests, or bishops. In June 2015, he announced that he had changed his theological outlook and now supports the ordination of women as deacons, priests, and bishops. Therefore, he resigned from the Council of Bishops of The Society, a traditionalist Anglo-Catholic association in the Church of England.[14][15]

Personal life

Sowerby married in 1989 and they have three children.[4]

Styles

References

  1. ↑ The Diocese of Chichester – Acting Bishop of Chichester
  2. ↑ Daily Telegraph, “Appointments in the clergy”, p. 24, Issue no 47,929 (9 July 2009)
  3. ↑ Debrett's People of Today — Mark Sowerby Horsham
  4. 1 2 Sowerby, Mark Crispin Rake. ukwhoswho.com. Who's Who. 2017 (November 2016 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  5. ↑ "Geoffrey Nigel Rake Sowerby". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Mark Crispin Rake Sowerby". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Ordinations (Archived; subscription only)". Church Times (#6490). 3 July 1987. p. 13. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 17 August 2017. (Subscription required (help)).
  8. ↑ "Ordinations (Archived; subscription only)". Church Times (#6543). 8 July 1988. p. 13. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 17 August 2017. (Subscription required (help)).
  9. ↑ Diocese of Chichester website
  10. ↑ Church Times
  11. ↑ Church website Archived 2008-09-30 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ↑ Archived 2010-08-31 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ↑ (Archived , 1 August 2009; archive accessed 17 August 2017)
  14. ↑ "Bishop of Horsham – Resignation as a member of the Society's Council of Bishops". Diocese of Chichester. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  15. ↑ Robinson, Tony (10 June 2015). "The Bishop of Horsham". The Society. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
Church of England titles
Preceded by
Lindsay Urwin		 Bishop of Horsham
2009–present		 Incumbent
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