John Gibbs (15 March 1917 – 20 December 2007) 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

Bishop of Coventry The Bishop of Coventry is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Coventry in the Province of Canterbury. In the Middle Ages, the Bishop of Coventry was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichfield. The presen ...

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 ...

from 1976 until 1985. He was the first Church of England bishop in modern times to have started his ministry in the

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

tradition. Born in Heywood, Lancashire in 1917, he left school to begin work before entering Western College, Bristol for training as a Congregational Minister. He was ordained in 1943, the year of his marriage, and served as minister of Sarisbury Green Congregational Church,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, and Garstang Road Congregational Church,

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

. The turning point in his career came in 1949 when he joined the Student Christian Movement, working in Bristol. This meant he liaised with many churches and, becoming drawn to the Anglican tradition, he re-trained for the ministry at

Lincoln Theological College Lincoln Theological College was a theological college in Lincoln, United Kingdom. History Founded by Edward White Benson, when he was Chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral, the college opened on 25 January 1874. It was also known as ''Scholae Cance ...

; 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 Chur ...

Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: th ...

1955 (5 June) at

Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. Founded in 1140 and consecrated in 1148, it was originally St Augustine's Abbey but after the Dissolu ...

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 ...

on 26 February 1956 at his title church — both times by

Frederick Cockin Frederic Arthur Cockin was an Anglican Bishop of Bristol in the mid 20th century. Born on 30 July 1888, he was educated at Marlborough College and University College, Oxford. He was ordained in 1915, after which he was Curate of St Mary, Newin ...

Bishop of Bristol 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 ...

; and took up a curacy at

St Luke's Church, Brislington The Parish Church of St Luke The Evangelist () Church Parade, Brislington area of Bristol, England. History St Luke's Church was built in the 15th century, which is believed to have been founded by Thomas la Warr in around 1420. with the north ...

. His, however, was an educational vocation and in 1957 he became head of Divinity at St Matthias Teacher Training College, Bristol, rising to Vice-Principal in 1962. In 1964, Gibbs was appointed head of Keswick Hall College of Education 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 ...

. From 1967 he was a key member of the Durham Commission on the future of Religious Education in Schools. In 1968 he was appointed an

honorary canon A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedra ...

and in 1973 he was appointed suffragan

Bishop of Bradwell The Bishop of Bradwell is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex; the ...

in Essex. He was consecrated a bishop on 19 June 1973 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 Unite ...

. Three years later he replaced the more flamboyant Cuthbert Bardsley as

, eventually serving for nine years. One of his proudest achievements was founding Myton Hamlet Hospice and when he retired to

Minchinhampton Minchinhampton is an ancient Cotswolds market town in the Stroud District in Gloucestershire, South West England. The town is located on a hilltop, south-east of Stroud. The common offers wide views over the Severn Estuary into Wales and furth ...

near Stroud, Gloucestershire"Debrett's People of Today" Ellis, P(Ed): London, Debtrett's 1992 he was a leading figure in helping to start the Cotswold Care Hospice. In July 2006, while visiting his daughter near Cambridge he became completely paralysed from mid chest downwards. He found a new home in the Hope Nursing Home in Cambridge where he died on 20 December 2007 aged 90.

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 ...

'' John Gibbs (1943–1968) * ''The Reverend''

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

John Gibbs (1968–1973) * ''The Right Reverend'' John Gibbs (1973–2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, John 1917 births 2007 deaths Clergy from Bristol People from Heywood, Greater Manchester English Congregationalists Bishops of Coventry Bishops of Bradwell Alumni of Lincoln Theological College 20th-century Church of England bishops