Barry Rogerson (born 25 July 1936) was the first
Bishop of Wolverhampton
The Bishop of Wolverhampton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands; t ...
from 1979 to 1985 and, from then until his retirement in 2002, the
Bishop of Bristol
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
. He holds Honorary degrees from Bristol & the West of England Universities. He was made a Freeman of the City and County of Bristol in 2003.
Career
Rogerson was educated at the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
and
Wells Theological College
Wells Theological College began operation in 1840 within the Cathedral Close of Wells Cathedral. It was one of several new colleges created in the nineteenth century to cater not just for non-graduates, but for graduates from the old universiti ...
. Initially a bank employee, 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 ...
in 1962, after which he held
curacies
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 ...
at St Hilda's
South Shields and St Nicholas’
Bishopwearmouth
Bishopwearmouth is a former village and parish which now constitutes the west side of Sunderland City Centre, merging with the settlement as it expanded outwards in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is home to the Sunderland Minster church, which ...
. From 1967 to 1975 he was a
lecturer at
Lichfield Theological College
Lichfield Theological College was founded in 1857 to train Anglican clergy to serve in the Church of England. It was located on the south side of the Cathedral Close in Lichfield, Staffordshire and closed in 1972.
Notable staff
* Cecil Cherrin ...
and then
Salisbury and Wells Theological College, after which he became Vicar and subsequently Team Rector of
St Thomas' Church, Wednesfield—a post he held until his ordination to the
episcopate
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
.
In 1978 he was seconded for six months to the
Anglican Church of Melanesia
The Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACoM), also known as the Church of the Province of Melanesia and the Church of Melanesia (COM), is a church of the Anglican Communion and includes nine dioceses in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledoni ...
to teach at the
Bishop Patteson Theological College at
Kohimarama
Kohimarama is a coastal residential Auckland suburb, located to the east of the city. Kohimarama is situated between Mission Bay and St Heliers and has an accessible beach with a boardwalk and green recreational spaces located amongst residen ...
in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
. He served as Chairman of the Melanesian Mission in England until his retirement in 2002.
Rogerson was elected as a Suffragan Bishop to the
General Synod of the Church of England
The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...
and House of Bishops in 1982. During his membership of the General Synod he was chairman of the Interfaith Consultancy Group (IFCOG) and continued to be a member of the advisory board of Ministry, ultimately becoming its chairman. During his latter years on the Board he was instrumental in encouraging the Church of England to take the
Distinctive Diaconate seriously, introducing the report ''For Such A Time as This'' to the General Synod in 2001.
Ecumenism
Starting as Chairman of Churches Together in Wolverhampton, Rogerson became a member of the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
' Faith and Order Commission in 1987, and in 1991 a member of its Central Committee, a role which he held until his retirement. In 1997 he became a member of ''Churches Together in Britain and Ireland'' (CTBI) subsequently becoming one of its president. His final contribution was to co-chair with the Reverend. Dr. John B. Taylor the committee which produced the Report ''The Anglican-Methodist Conversations'' in 2001.
Ordination of Women
Rogerson has been a supporter of the ordination of women to the priesthood since his days as a student at Leeds University. Alongside
John Oliver
John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...
, then Bishop of Hereford, he was a consultant to ''The Movement for the Ordination of Women''. He ordained the first 32 female priests in the Church of England on 12 March 1994 at his cathedral in Bristol.
In retirement he continues to serve as an honorary
assistant bishop in the
Diocese of Bath and Wells
The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England.
The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the ...
as well as being a governor of the
University of the West of England
The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England.
The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...
.
UWE web site
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Publications
* "Growing Together - Anglican Identity and European Ecumenism", in ''2020 Visions'', SPCK, 1992
* "Turn to God - Rejoice in Hope Taking Responsibility for Ourselves", in ''The Ecumenical Review'', WCC, 1998
* "The diaconate: Taking the Ecumenical Opportunity", in ''Community-Unity-Communion'', Church House Publishing, 1998
* "Financing the Ministry and Mission of the Church of England", in ''Evangelische Theologie'', 1–2000
* "A Translation of the Church of Norway's Ordination Rites", in ''Studia Liturgica'' Vol:31(2) 2001
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogerson, Barry
1936 births
Alumni of the University of Leeds
Bishops of Wolverhampton
Bishops of Bristol
Living people
People associated with the University of the West of England, Bristol
Alumni of Wells Theological College
Staff of Lichfield Theological College
20th-century Church of England bishops