Kenneth William Stevenson (9 November 1949 – 12 January 2011) was the eighth Bishop of Portsmouth 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 ...

Life

Stevenson was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 19 November 1949. He was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, taking his MA in 1970. Stevenson was consecrated as Bishop of Portsmouth in 1995, following parish work in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

, and in the university chaplaincy at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

. He was married, with four children. Stevenson held a PhD from the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

and a DD from the

where he lectured in

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

alongside his work as a chaplain. He was involved in the Church of England's participation in the

Porvoo Communion The Porvoo Communion is a communion of 15 predominantly northern European Anglican and Evangelical Lutheran churches, with a couple of far-southwestern European (in the Iberian Peninsula) church bodies of the same denomination. It was establishe ...

, not least because he was part-Danish. He was a Knight Commander of the Kingdom of Denmark's

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

. In 2006, having been diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

, he began a course of treatment. On 22 February 2009 he announced at a service at

Portsmouth Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, commonly known as Portsmouth Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral church in the centre of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, England. It is the cathedral of the Diocese of Portsmouth and the seat of ...

that he would retire in September 2009 due to continuing ill-health. He presided at his last confirmation service on 19 July 2009 at St Peter's Church

Seaview, Isle of Wight Seaview is a small Edwardian resort located on the north-eastern corner of the Isle of Wight, overlooking the Solent. The village is popular with tourists and is from the town of Ryde, where most tourists reach the island by ferry or hovercraft. ...

. Stevenson commented in a statement:

"There is a sadness in the decision but I know that it is the right one. I did wrestle with it and it has proved to be the most difficult decision of my life. I have loved being your Bishop and have never wanted to be Bishop of anywhere else."

In retirement, Stevenson continued to write and give his support to fund-raising activities for

Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research Blood Cancer UK, (formerly Bloodwise, Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research and the Leukaemia Research Fund) is a UK-based charity dedicated to funding research into all blood cancers including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma, as well as offering informatio ...

, e.g. through musical events and the artistic work of his daughter Alexandra. He had two brothers-in-law who were also

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 ca ...

David Tustin David Tustin was the Bishop of Grimsby, Bishop suffragan of Grimsby from 1979 until 2000. He was born on 12 January 1935 and educated at Solihull School and Magdalene College, Cambridge. After a period of study at what was then Cuddesdon College ...

and Peter Forster. Both assisted at his funeral at

on 26 January 2011, along with his great friend

Patricia Routledge Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge, (; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress, singer and broadcaster. For her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award f ...

Works

* ''The Catholic Apostolic Eucharist'', PhD thesis, Southampton University, 1975 * ''The Lord's Prayer; A Text in Tradition'', 2004

References

External links

Archived copy of Kenneth Stevenson's former website with some of his speeches, sermons and writing during his time as Bishop of Portsmouth between 2004 and 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Kenneth William 1949 births 2011 deaths Clergy from Edinburgh People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Bishops of Portsmouth (Anglican) 20th-century Church of England bishops 21st-century Church of England bishops 20th-century Scottish Episcopalian priests Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog