John Keith Oliver (born 14 April 1935) is a British retired

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. He was the 103rd

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...

from 1990 to 2003.

Early life and education

Oliver was born on 14 April 1935. He was educated at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

. He has

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. Tho ...

(MA Cantab) and Master of Letters (MLitt) degrees.

Ordained ministry

He was 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 Churc ...

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, a ...

1964 (20 September) at Cromer Parish Church 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 particu ...

the Michaelmas following (19 September 1965) at Norwich Cathedral, both times by Launcelot Fleming, Bishop of Norwich. After a curacy in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, he spent a period as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

and assistant master at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. Following incumbencies in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, he became

Archdeacon of Sherborne The Archdeacon of Sherborne is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Salisbury, England. He or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the five area deaneries: Dorchester, Lyme Bay, Sherborne, Weymo ...

and Rector of

West Stafford West Stafford is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in southwest Dorset, England, situated in the River Frome, Dorset, Frome valley east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester. In the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census the par ...

in Dorset before being consecrated a bishop on 6 December 1990 at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. He served in the House of Lords from January 1997 until November 2003 with special responsibility for agricultural and environmental policy. He was succeeded by

Anthony Priddis Anthony Martin Priddis (born 15 March 1948) was the Bishop of Hereford in the Church of England from 2004 to 2013. Ministry Ordination Having gained a Cambridge Master of Arts (MA), an Oxford Master of Arts (MA) and a Diploma in Theology (DipTh ...

, previously Bishop suffragan of Warwick.

Personal life

He married Meriel Moore in 1961; she died in 2014. They had two sons and one daughter; his daughter died in 2002.

References

1935 births People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Archdeacons of Sherborne Bishops of Hereford Living people {{ChurchofEngland-bishop-stub