Kenneth John Letts is an Australian retired priest in the

Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the ...

. He was the Archdeacon of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

from 2007 to 2012. Letts was educated at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

, the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

and the

College of the Resurrection The College of the Resurrection, popularly known as Mirfield, is an Anglo-Catholic theological college of the Church of England in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, England. The college was founded in 1902 and describes itself as "A Theological Coll ...

Mirfield Mirfield () is a town and civil parish in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the A644 road between Brighouse and Dewsbury. At the 2011 census it had a population of 19,563. Mirfield ...

, UK. He was ordained

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 ...

in 1971 and

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 ...

in 1972. After a

curacy 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 w ...

Mount Waverley Mount Waverley is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Monash local government area. Mount Waverley recorded a population of 35,340 at the 2021 census. It ...

in Melbourne, he was a chaplain at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School. After that, he was

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 ...

at Albert Park in Melbourne from 1981 to 1994 and senior chaplain at St Michael's Grammar School, St Kilda. He was then appointed as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Holy Trinity, Nice and St Hugh's, Vence, France, in the

Diocese in Europe The Diocese in Europe (short form for the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe) is a diocese of the Church of England. It was originally formed in 1842 as the Diocese of Gibraltar. It is geographically the largest diocese of the Church of England and th ...

. In 1998, he was elected as a representative for France in the synod of the Diocese in Europe, and later appointed as the

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 ...

's Oecumenical Officer for France and Monaco, as well as a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for France. In the new millennium, he was appointed as a

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 ...

of Gibraltar Cathedral, co-president of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for France, an official member of the Conseil des Églises Chrétiennes de France and Anglican observer to the French Bishops' Conference. He then became Acting Archdeacon of France, before being appointed as archdeacon and a member of the bishop's council. In 2013, the bishop named him as a canon emeritus of Gibraltar Cathedral. Upon his return to Australia, France honoured him by awarding him the Order of Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite for his pastoral and ecumenical work during his ministry there.

Notes

1942 births University of Melbourne alumni Alumni of the College of the Resurrection Archdeacons of France Living people 20th-century Australian Anglican priests 21st-century Australian Anglican priests Alumni of the University of Leeds Australian expatriates in France {{ChurchofEngland-archdeacon-stub