Joseph Edward Fison (18 March 1906 – 2 July 1972) was an Anglican

bishop 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 c ...

. He was the 74th

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...

. Fison was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...

and then at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

, where he took second-class honours in

Classical Moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ' ...

and Greats and first-class honours in the Final Honour School of Theology while training at

Wycliffe Hall Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England Seminary, theological college and a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was Master (college), mast ...

(though he could not take the degree of

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

, having already taken it for his classics degree). He graduated from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

with a BA in 1929, MA in 1934, and BD in 1950 (a postgraduate degree awarded in recognition of his scholarship). From 1930 until 1933 he taught at the English Mission College in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

and after being ordained both deacon and priest in 1934 he embarked on a clerical career that was to last nearly 40 years. He started his ordained ministry as chaplain and tutor at

before serving a curacy at St Aldate's Church, also in Oxford. With the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

came service in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, latterly as Senior Chaplain in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In peacetime he rose rapidly 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 ...

hierarchy. He held residentiary canonries at

Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an English church of Norman architecture in Rochester, Medway, Rochester, Kent. The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester in the Church o ...

(1945–52) and Truro Cathedral (also Sub-Dean) (1952–59) before moving to another university city, Cambridge, to be Vicar of the Great St Mary's from 1959 to 1963. Finally, he was appointed

. Many saw the appointment of such a cultured and urbane man to such a rural diocese as

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

as akin to "harnessing a racehorse to a farm cart," but he proved a distinctive success. A "cultured man with some knowledge of literature", he died in office and was succeeded by George Reindorp, previously

Bishop of Guildford The Bishop of Guildford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Guildford in the Province of Canterbury. The title had first appeared as a suffragan See in the Diocese of Winchester in 1874. The Bishop suffragan of Guildford assis ...

.The Times, 15 December 1972; pg. 16; Issue 58658; col E, "Dr Reindorp to be new Bishop of Salisbury"

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fison, Joseph Edward 1906 births 1962 deaths Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Alumni of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Fellows of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Bishops of Salisbury 20th-century Church of England bishops People educated at Shrewsbury School Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy chaplains Clergy of the Diocese of Truro