Adrian John Dorber (born 23 September 1952) is a British retired Anglican priest. From 2005 until his retirement in March 2023, he was the

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires (together with Truro Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh), and the only medie ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Early life and education

Dorber was born on 23 September 1952. He was educated at

St John's College, Durham St John's College is a college of the University of Durham, United Kingdom. It is one of only two "recognised colleges" of the university, the other being St Chad's. This means that it is financially and constitutionally independent of the univer ...

( BA, 1974) and King's College London ( MTh, 1991).

Ordained ministry

Dorber was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

in the

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in 1979 and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in 1980. His first post was a

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St Michael and St Mary Magdalene's Church in

Easthampstead Easthampstead is a former village and now a southern suburb of the town of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire, although the old village can still be easily identified around the Church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene. This building ...

, Berkshire after which he was

Priest in charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent. Such priests are not legally responsible for the churches and glebe, but simply hold a ...

at St Barnabas,

Emmer Green Emmer Green is the northernmost suburb of Reading in the English county of Berkshire within the unitary authority, centred north of the town. Having most of its own commerce, sport and other amenities, Emmer Green has an arbitrary divide with ...

. From 1985 to 1997 he was Chaplain of

Portsmouth Polytechnic The University of Portsmouth is a public university in Portsmouth, England. It is one of only four universities in the South East England, South East of England rated as Gold in the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework. With approximately 28 ...

then, when its status changed,

Portsmouth University The University of Portsmouth is a public university in Portsmouth, England. It is one of only four universities in the South East England, South East of England rated as Gold in the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework. With approximately 28 ...

. He was Director of Ministries and Training in the

Diocese of Durham The Diocese of Durham is a Church of England diocese, based in Durham, and covering the historic county of Durham (and therefore including the part of Tyne and Wear south of the River Tyne, and excluding southern Teesdale). It was created in ...

before his elevation to the Deanery as

Dean of Lichfield The Dean of Lichfield is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of Lichfield Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and S ...

on 24 September 2005. Dorber retired effective 31 March 2023.

References

1952 births Alumni of King's College London People associated with the University of Portsmouth Deans of Lichfield Living people Alumni of St John's College, Durham {{ChurchofEngland-dean-stub