Cyril Guy Ashton (born 6 April 1942) is a British Anglican bishop. From 2000 to 2011, he was the Bishop of Doncaster, a suffragan bishop in the

Diocese of Sheffield The Diocese of Sheffield is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. The Diocese of Sheffield was created under George V on 23 January 1914, by the division from the Diocese of York (along with that pa ...

Career

Ashton trained for the Anglican ministry at

Oak Hill Theological College Oak Hill College is a conservative evangelical theological college located on Chase Side in Southgate, London, England. Its aim is to prepare men and women from the Church of England and Independent churches for ministry in the real world. Over ...

, London, and began a curacy at St Thomas, Blackpool in 1967. He was then successively: Vocations Secretary to the

Church Pastoral Aid Society The Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS) is an Anglican evangelical mission agency. It was founded in 1836. History of the Society The CPAS was founded in 1836 in the midst of the social upheaval of the Industrial Revolution to take 'the gospel t ...

(1970–1974);

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of ''St Thomas, Lancaster'' (1974–1991); and finally, before his elevation 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 ...

, was Director of Training for the

Diocese of Blackburn The Diocese of Blackburn is a Church of England diocese, covering much of Lancashire, created on 12 November 1926 from part of the Diocese of Manchester. The diocese includes the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool and Burnley, the cities of Lancas ...

(1991–2000). In 1986, he gained a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA) degree at Lancaster University. He 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 ...

Blackburn Cathedral Blackburn Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral Church of Blackburn Saint Mary the Virgin with St Paul, is an Anglican (Church of England) cathedral situated in the heart of Blackburn town centre, in Lancashire, England. The cathedral si ...

in 1991. He was also the course director of the Post-Graduate Diploma at

Cliff College Cliff College is a Christian theological college in Calver, Derbyshire, that teaches Biblical Theology at the undergraduate level and a number of mission courses to postgraduates. There are currently about 30 full-time undergraduates, 80 part-ti ...

, Derbyshire from 1995. Ashton retired as Bishop of Doncaster on 13 July 2011, with a farewell service at St George's Minster, Doncaster. During his 17 years’ incumbency at St Thomas Lancaster, Ashton developed a distinctive ministry in the charismatic renewal movement and encouraged the open use of

charismatic gifts A spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek singular: χάρισμα ''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A Dictionary of th ...

in the main Sunday services. In addition to the normal Anglican offices of the Parochial Church Council, Ashton also introduced an additional tier of church leaders who were styled as ‘elders’.

Personal life

Ashton lists his recreations as motorcycling, vintage cars, swimming, cycling, music, wine, and walking, Ashton is married to Muriel and they have four adult children. Who's Who'' 2008: London, A & C Black, 2008 Ashton and Muriel plan to retire in the Lancaster area.

Books by Ashton

* ''Baptism: The Promise of God'', Anglican Renewal Ministries, 1986 * ''Servant Spirit, Serving Church'', Marshall Pickering, 1988 * ''Church on the Threshold: Renewing the Local Church'', Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd, 1991 (co-authored with Bishop Jack Nicholls) * ''Threshold God: Discovering Christ in the Margins of Life'', Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd, 1992 * ''A Faith Worth Sharing?: A Church Worth Joining''?, Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd, 1995

Styles

*''

The Reverend The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

'' Cyril Ashton (1967–1991) *''The Reverend''

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Cyril Ashton (1991–2000) *''The Right Reverend'' Cyril Ashton (2000–present)

References

External links

Bishop's section of diocesan website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Cyril Guy 1942 births Alumni of Lancaster University Alumni of Oak Hill College 21st-century Church of England bishops Living people Bishops of Doncaster