David Stuart Walker (born 30 May 1957) is a British
Anglican bishop
The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglica ...
. Since 2013, he has been the
Bishop of Manchester
The Bishop of Manchester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester in the Province of York.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing ().
The current bishop is David Walker w ...
. He had previously been the
Bishop of Dudley
The Bishop of Dudley is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Dudley in the West Midlands; the See was er ...
, a
suffragan bishop in the
Diocese of Worcester, from 2000 to 2013.
Early life
Walker was born on 30 May 1957. He was educated at
Manchester Grammar School
The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...
, then an all-boys
direct grant
A direct grant grammar school was a type of Selective school, selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the rem ...
grammar school in Manchester. He competed in the
International Mathematical Olympiad
The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical olympiad for pre-university students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except i ...
in 1975. Walker studied at
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
.
He trained for ministry at
Queen's College, Edgbaston
The Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education (also called the Queen's Foundation, Birmingham and formerly the Queen's College, Birmingham) is an ecumenical theological college which, with the West Midlands Ministerial Training Cou ...
.
Ordained ministry
Walker 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
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 ...
: made 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 ...
at
Petertide
Petertide (also known as St Peter's Tide) refers to the Sunday nearest to St Peter's Day on 29 June and to the period around that day.
In Anglicanism, Petertide is the major one of two traditional periods for the ordination of new priests (the ot ...
1983 (3 July) and ordained 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 ...
the Petertide following (1 July 1984), both times by
David Lunn
David Ramsay Lunn (17 July 1930 – 19 July 2021) was a British Anglican bishop. From 1980 to 1997, he was Bishop of Sheffield in the Church of England.
Lunn was born on Tyneside and educated at the Kings School, Tynemouth, where he was head b ...
,
Bishop of Sheffield
The Bishop of Sheffield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Sheffield in the Province of York.
A similar title was first created as a suffragan see in the Diocese of York in 1901. John Quirk, the only Bishop suffragan of Sh ...
, at
Sheffield Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Sheffield, more commonly known as Sheffield Cathedral, is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral st ...
. Walker's ordained ministry began as a
curate at St Mary
Handsworth, after which he was a
team vicar at
Maltby, then
Bramley before 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 ...
.
Walker was
consecrated as a bishop on 30 November 2000 by
George Carey
George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells.
During his time as archbishop the C ...
,
Archbishop of Canterbury, at
St Paul's Cathedral. During his time as
Bishop of Dudley
The Bishop of Dudley is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Dudley in the West Midlands; the See was er ...
, Walker was Acting
Bishop of Worcester (as the sole suffragan of the diocese) during the 2007 interregnum between the retirement of
Peter Selby
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
and confirmation of
John Inge
John Geoffrey Inge ( ; born 26 February 1955) is a bishop in the Church of England. He is currently the Bishop of Worcester in the Diocese of Worcester. From 2003 to 2007, he was Bishop of Huntingdon, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of El ...
.
Walker's nomination to be the next
Bishop of Manchester
The Bishop of Manchester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester in the Province of York.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing ().
The current bishop is David Walker w ...
was announced on 5 June 2013; his
canonical election
A canonical election, in the canon law of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, is the designation of a suitable candidate to a vacant ecclesiastical office by a vote of a collegial body.Fernando della Rocca, "Manual of Canon Law", pg. 170 (§79 ...
to the see 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 ...
on 7 October 2013; and he was
enthroned
Enthroned is a Belgian black metal band formed in Charleroi. It is one of the premier acts of the Belgian black metal scene.
History
The band was founded in 1993 by drummer Cernunnos. He soon recruited guitarist Tsebaoth and a vocalist from g ...
at
Manchester Cathedral on 30 November 2013. Walker was awarded a doctorate in 2014 after research, at Warwick University, on how people belong to their churches, particularly in rural
Anglicanism.
Since 2014, Walker has been vice-president of
Affirming Catholicism. He is a member of the
Third Order of the Society of St Francis
Franciscan spirituality in Protestantism refers to spirituality in Protestantism inspired by the Catholic friar Saint Francis of Assisi. Emerging since the 19th century, there are several Protestant adherent and groups, sometimes organised as ...
(TSSF).
Walker was introduced into the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
on 7 September 2020.
Personal life
Walker is a keen hill walker. He married Susan in 1980 and together they have two children;
he ordained her
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 ...
at
Manchester Cathedral on 1 July 2018, to serve as
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 ...
in
Prestwich.
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 ...
'' David Walker (1983–2000)
*''The
Right Reverend'' David Walker (2000–2014)
*''The Right Reverend''
Doctor
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
David Walker (2014–present)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, David
1957 births
People educated at Manchester Grammar School
Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
Alumni of the Queen's Foundation
21st-century Church of England bishops
Living people
Bishops of Dudley
Bishops of Manchester
Lords Spiritual
International Mathematical Olympiad participants