Cherry Elizabeth Vann (born 29 October 1958) is a British

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

bishop serving as

Bishop of Monmouth The Bishop of Monmouth is the diocesan bishop of the Church in Wales Diocese of Monmouth. The episcopal see covers the historic county of Monmouthshire with the bishop's seat located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Woolos in Newport, whi ...

in the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...

. She previously served as

Archdeacon of Rochdale The Archdeacon of Rochdale is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Manchester. As Archdeacon he or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the five area deaneries: Ashton-under-Lyne, Heywood and ...

from 2008 to 2020, having served all of her ordained ministry with 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 Britain ...

in the Diocese of Manchester.

Early life and education

Vann was born on 29 October 1958 in

Whetstone, Leicestershire Whetstone is a village and civil parish in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England and largely acts as a commuter village for Leicester, five miles to the north. The population at the 2011 census was 6,556. It is part of the Leicester ...

, England. She studied piano and violin at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

, becoming an

Associate of the Royal College of Music Associate of the Royal College of Music (ARCM) is a diploma qualification of the Royal College of Music, equivalent to a university first degree. Like the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music diploma (LRAM), it was offered in teaching or perf ...

(ARCM) diploma in 1978 and a Graduate of the Royal Schools of Music (GRSM) diploma in 1980. The GRSM is a diploma that may be regarded as a pass degree for the purpose of teacher training. In 1986, Vann entered

Westcott House, Cambridge Westcott House is an Anglican theological college based on Jesus Lane in the centre of the university city of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.Westcott House website, Home pag Retrieved on August 27, 2006. Its main activity is training people for ...

, an

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

. There, she studied theology and undertook training in preparation of ordination for the next three years.

Ordained ministry

Vann 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 va ...

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 Churc ...

in 1989. She served as parish deacon at St Michael's Church, Flixton from 1989 to 1992 and at St Peter's Church, Bolton from 1992 to 1994. She was ordained 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 particu ...

in 1994; this was the first year that women were ordained to the priesthood in the Church of England. From 1994 to 1998, she was an

assistant curate 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 Peter's Church, Bolton. Additionally, she served as a chaplain at the

Bolton Institute of Higher Education , established = 2004 – gained University Status 1982 – Bolton Institute of Higher Education , type = Public , endowment = £160,000 (2009) , administrative_staff = 700+ , chancellor ...

between 1992 and 1998. From 1998 to 2004, Vann was

Team Vicar Vicar is a title given to certain parish priests in the Church of England and other Anglican churches. It has played a significant role in Anglican church organisation in ways that are different from other Christian denominations. The title is ver ...

of the East Farnworth and

Kearsley Kearsley ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 14,212. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies northwest of Manchester, southwest of Bury and south of Bolt ...

Team Ministry Vicar is a title given to certain parish priests in the Church of England and other Anglican churches. It has played a significant role in Anglican church organisation in ways that are different from other Christian denominations. The title is v ...

. She was additionally a Chaplain for

Deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

People between 1998 and 2004. She was then the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

of the Team Ministry, serving as

Team Rector A rector is, in an ecclesiastical sense, a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations. In contrast, a vicar is also a cleric but functions as an assistant and representative of an administrative leader. A ...

from 2004 to 2008. She also served as

Area Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...

of Farnworth between 2005 and 2008. In 2007, she was made 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 Manchester Cathedral. In May 2008, Venn was announced as the next

. In September 2008, she took up the appointment, having been installed as Archdeacon of Rochdale during a service at

Manchester Cathedral Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother ...

. She was the first woman to become a senior priest (either an archdeacon or a

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 * ...

) in the Diocese of Manchester. In February 2013, Vann was elected

Prolocutor A prolocutor is a chairman of some ecclesiastical assemblies in Anglicanism. Usage in the Church of England In the Church of England, the Prolocutor is chair of the lower house of the Convocations of Canterbury and York, the House of Clergy. The P ...

of the Lower House of the

Convocation of York The Convocations of Canterbury and York are the synodical assemblies of the bishops and clergy of each of the two provinces which comprise the Church of England. Their origins go back to the ecclesiastical reorganisation carried out under Arc ...

. As such, she was also an

ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ''ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

member of the

Archbishops' Council The Archbishops' Council is a part of the governance structures of the Church of England. Its headquarters are at Church House, Great Smith Street, London. The council was created in 1999 to provide a central executive body to co-ordinate and lead ...

. In January 2016, she was re-elected, having stood unopposed.

Episcopal ministry

On 19 September 2019, Vann was elected the next

in the

. She was bishop-elect until her

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

as diocesan bishop was

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

by the Bench of Bishops at a Sacred Synod on 5 January 2020 (by which she legally took possession of the See); she was then consecrated as a bishop at

Brecon Cathedral Brecon Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Aberhonddu), in the town of Brecon, Powys, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales and seat of the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon. Previously the church of Brecon Priory ...

on 25 January and was enthroned as the 11th Bishop of Monmouth at

Newport Cathedral Newport Cathedral (Welsh; ''Eglwys Gaderiol Casnewydd''), also known as St Gwynllyw's or St Woolos' Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Monmouth within the Church in Wales, and the seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. Its official title is ...

on 1 February 2020. Since 2021, Vann is a patron of the

Open Table Network Open Table Network (OTN) is a Christian charity which supports church communities for LGBT people and their allies. History In June 2008, the first Open Table community was founded at St Bride's Church, Liverpool; by 2019, the network consist ...

, an ecumenical Christian community for

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

people and their allies.

Personal life

Vann lives with her civil partner, Wendy. The Church in Wales allows clergy to be in same-sex

civil partnerships A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vann, Cherry 1958 births People educated at Lutterworth College Alumni of Westcott House, Cambridge Archdeacons of Rochdale Archdeacons of Manchester LGBT Anglican clergy Living people Associates of the Royal College of Music Bishops of Monmouth Women Anglican bishops LGBT and Anglicanism LGBT Anglican bishops 21st-century LGBT people