John Harry Gerald Ruston OGS (1 October 1934 - 27 April 2010) was the 13th

Bishop of St Helena The Diocese of Saint Helena is an Anglican diocese within the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It covers the islands of Saint Helena and Ascension in the Atlantic Ocean and was created in 1859. St Paul's Cathedral is on Saint Helena. Histor ...

from 1991 to 1999. He was previously Bishop Suffragan of

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

Early life

Ruston was born 1 October 1934 and grew up at

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, where he was associated with the Parish of St Michael and All Angels, Sunnyside, before, during and just after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Education and early career

Ruston studied at

Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1952 and a Master of Arts degree in 1956. He also attended Ely Theological College in 1952. Ruston was ordained a deacon in 1954 and a priest in 1955 in the Diocese of Leicester where he served a curacy at St Andrew's Leicester from 1954 to 1957. He furthered his theological studies at Cuddesdon, where he was also a tutor, from 1957 to 1961.

South Africa

Going to South Africa, Ruston was curate of

Sekhukhuneland Sekhukhuneland or Sekukuniland ( af, Sekoekoeniland) is a natural region in north-east South Africa, located in the historical Transvaal zone, former Transvaal Province, also known as Bopedi (meaning “land of Bapedi”). The region is named afte ...

from 1967 to 1970, serving simultaneously as principal of St Francis’ College in Sekhukhuneland. Also from 1967 he served as an examining chaplain to the

Bishop of Pretoria The Diocese of Pretoria is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It is divided into seven archdeaconries and has 61 parishes. History The diocese originally covered the whole of the South African Republic, which later became the T ...

, a role he fulfilled until 1976. In 1971 he became the sub-dean at St Alban's Cathedral, Pretoria, of which he was a canon from 1968 to 1976. In 1976 Ruston took up an appointment as Archdeacon of Bloemfontein and as an examining chaplain to the

Bishop of Bloemfontein The Diocese of the Free State is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. History The first service North of the Orange River to be taken by an Anglican clergyman was conducted in 1850 by † Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town ...

and warden and chaplain of St Michael's School, Bloemfontein.

Pretoria and Pietersburg

Ruston was ordained to the episcopacy as Bishop Suffragan of

, being sent to oversee the Archdeaconry of the North centred on

Pietersburg Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Province ...

(now

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Province ...

). Under his leadership a new diocese, the

Diocese of St Mark the Evangelist The Diocese of St Mark the Evangelist is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, in the geographical area of the Limpopo province in the north of South Africa. History The area now known as the Diocese of St Mark the Evangelist ...

, was formed and inaugurated on 16 May 1987; initially, he served the new diocese as

vicar-general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

, and remained Suffragan of the old until 1991.

St Helena

In 1991, Ruston was elected as the 13th

and was enthroned on the island at the Cathedral Church of St Paul on 14 April 1991. Ruston founded the British Citizenship Commission (St Helena) for the promotion of "restoration of full rights of citizenship of those British subjects who are Saint Helenian." He served on the island until 1999 when he was succeeded by

John Salt John Salt (2 August 1937 – 13 December 2021) was an English artist, whose greatly detailed paintings from the late 1960s onwards made him one of the pioneers of the photorealist school. Although Salt's work developed through several distin ...

Retirement

In retirement, Ruston returned to South Africa after a brief visit to England and worked at Bot River, Bella Vista and Kenilworth in the Diocese of Cape Town. He subsequently settled back in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where he died on 27 April 2010. A Requiem Mass was held on 18 May 2010 at the College of St Barnabas,

Lingfield Lingfield can refer to: * Lingfield, County Durham, England, a village * Lingfield, Surrey, England, a village ** Lingfield Park Racecourse ** Lingfield Cricket Club, prominent in the 18th century ** Lingfield railway station, serving the villag ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. He was 75 years old.Announcing death of Bishop John Ruston
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruston, John Harry Gerald 20th-century Anglican Church of Southern Africa bishops Anglican bishops of St Helena Anglican bishops of St Mark the Evangelist Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Alumni of Ely Theological College 1934 births 2010 deaths