The Archdeacon of Maidstone is an office-holder in the

Diocese of Canterbury The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering East Kent, eastern Kent which was founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The diocese is centred on Canterbury Cathedral and is the oldest episcopal see, see of the Church o ...

(one of the dioceses of the Province of Canterbury 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 ...

). The Archdeacon of Maidstone is an Anglican priest who oversees the Archdeaconry of Maidstone, which is one of three subdivisions of the diocese.

History

The archdeaconry was created from the ancient Archdeaconry of Canterbury by

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

on 4 June 1841. , the current archdeacon is Andrew William Sewell. Born in 1961, Sewell was educated at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

, and St John’s College, Nottingham. He 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 ...

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 1993, and

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 1994. He served in parishes in the

Diocese of Ripon and Leeds The Diocese of Ripon (Diocese of Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014) was a former Church of England diocese, part of the Province of York. Immediately prior to its dissolution, it covered an area in western and northern Yorkshire as well as ...

until 1998 when he was appointed

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 ...

of Otham with Langley in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, becoming the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

in 2001. He was Vicar of St Paul’s

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

from 2010 to 2020 and an

Honorary Canon A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

of Canterbury Cathedral from 2011.

Composition

The archdeaconry covers approximately the north-west and south-west corners of the diocese. , the archdeaconry of Maidstone consists the following deaneries in the

: *Deanery of Maidstone *Deanery of North Downs *Deanery of Ospringe *Deanery of Sittingbourne *Deanery of the Weald

List of archdeacons

*4 June 1841 – 1845 (res.): William Lyall *4 December 1845 – 25 March 1887 (d.):

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

*1887–26 March 1900 (d.): Benjamin Smith *1900–1921 (ret.): Henry Spooner *1921–1934 (res.):

John Macmillan John Victor Macmillan OBE DD (1877–1956) was the fifth Bishop of Dover in the modern era who was later translated to Guildford. Born into a publishing family (he was an uncle of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan), he was educated at Eton ...

(also Bishop suffragan of Dover from 1927) *1934–1939 (res.):

Karl Sopwith The Ven Thomas Karl Sopwith MA (known as Karl; 28 May 1873 – 14 December 1945) was an eminent Anglican clergyman in the first half of the 20th century. He was born on 28 May 1873, the eldest son of Arthur Sopwith of Chasetown & his wife Cathe ...

*1939–1942 (res.):

Alexander Sargent Alexander Sargent (9 May 1895 – 5 January 1989) was an eminent Anglican clergyman in the mid 20th century. He was born on 9 May 1895, educated at The King's School, Canterbury and St Edmund Hall, Oxford and ordained in 1920. After curacies a ...

*1942–1958 (ret.): Julian Bickersteth *1959–1965 (res.): Gordon Strutt *1965–1968 (res.):

Michael Nott Michael John Nott (9 November 1916 – 3 February 1988) was an Anglican priest. Nott was born in 1916, educated at St Paul's and King's College London and ordained in 1939. His first posts were at Abington, Reading and Kettering. Following thi ...

*1968–1972 (res.): Thomas Prichard *1972–1979 (ret.): Niel Nye (later archdeacon emeritus) *1979–1989 (res.): Michael Percival Smith *1989–2002 (res.): Patrick Evans *2002–13 March 2011 (res.): Philip Down *18 September 201127 September 2020 (res.): Stephen Taylor (on leave 2019–2020; became an Archdeacon without territory and Senior Chaplain to the Bishop of Dover)
&

/ref> *27 September 2020present: Andrew Sewell (previously Acting, 30 November 201931 May 2020)

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maidstone, Archdeacons of Archdeacons in the Diocese of Canterbury, * Anglican ecclesiastical offices Diocese of Canterbury Lists of Anglicans Lists of English people Church of England lists