Francis John Marsh (born 3 July 1947) 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 ...

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. He was

Archdeacon of Blackburn The Archdeacon of Blackburn is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Blackburn. Originally created on 17 August 1877 within the Diocese of Manchester, the office became a part of the new Diocese of Blackburn upon its creation on 12 ...

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 Britain ...

from 1996 until 2001.

Biography

He was educated at the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

and

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 1976 After

curacies 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 ...

at St Matthew's,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and

Christ Church, Pitsmoor Christ Church is an Anglican church in the Pitsmoor district, north of Sheffield City Centre in England. It is a Grade II listed building. By the mid-19th century, rapid population growth in the north of Sheffield led the Church of England to c ...

he was the Director of Pastoral Training for 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 ...

. His last post before his

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

's appointment was

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 pref ...

of Christ Church,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

. In 2011, Marsh returned to ministry after a ten-year break. He is

Priest in Charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent. Such priests are not legally responsible for the churches and glebe, but simply hold a ...

of St Michael the Archangel, Emley and St James the Great,

Flockton Flockton is a village in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, halfway between Huddersfield, 7 miles (11 km) away and Wakefield, 8 miles (13 km) away. It is in the parish of Kirkburton and whilst it is in Kirklees, it has a Wakefield postcode. T ...

in the

Anglican Diocese of Leeds The Anglican Diocese of LeedsDio ...

. He is also an honorary Diocesan Training Officer.

Abuse allegations

In May 2001, it was announced that Marsh had been arrested in relation to

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

. His computer had been taken into a computer shop for repairs: the staff contacted the police claiming they had "discovered evidence of visits to child pornography sites on the computer's hard drive". He was released on bail and suspended from his ministries by the Church. In October 2001, he was cleared of the allegations but still resigned as archdeacon.

References

1947 births Alumni of the University of York Archdeacons of Blackburn Living people {{York-archdeacon-stub