Leonard Noel Fisher (14 December 1881 – 4 July 1963) was an

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 ...

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 ...

in the second quarter of the twentieth century. After parish work in England and military service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served as bishop in two African dioceses, Lebomo and Natal, before retiring in 1951.

Life and career

Fisher was born at the rectory,

Higham on the Hill Higham on the Hill is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : The population at the 2011 census was 840. The village's name means 'home ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, the fifth of six sons of the Rev Henry Fisher and his wife Katherine, ''née'' Richmond."Reverend Leonard Noel Fisher"
Ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2021 A Fisher had served as rector of Higham since 1772: Henry Fisher's father and grandfather had preceded him and Leonard's eldest brother, Legh, later held the post. Leonard's younger brother, Geoffrey, became

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

from 1945 until 1961. Fisher was educated at

Oakham School (Like runners, they pass on the torch of life) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president ...

and

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

After graduation in 1903 he went on to Wells Theological College and was

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 ...

priest in 1905."Rt. Rev. L. N. Fisher", ''The Times'', 8 July 1963, p. 12 Fisher's first post was as a

curate 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 ...

at St Paul's,

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

after which he was Sub-Warden of St Paul's Theological College,

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...

, South Africa. In 1914 he returned to England to the curacy of Saltburn-by-the-Sea in the diocese of York. From 1915 to 1917 he was the first vicar of St Nicholas, Hull, and in 1917–18 a temporary

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

. He served for three months in Plymouth and then spent almost a year in Egypt. After the war, Fisher was appointed vicar of St Matthew Grangetown. In 1921 he was elevated to the

episcopate 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 ...

Bishop of Lebombo The Diocese of Lebombo (pt. ''Diocese Anglicana dos Libombos'') is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola. It is one of the three Anglican dioceses of Mozambique. This diocese is the most southerly of the three, the others being ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. According to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', in that position he showed "great energy and resource in dealing with the special problems of Anglican work in Portuguese East Africa" and "conspicuous qualities of tact and far-sighted administrative judgment". In 1928 he was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to become Bishop of Natal. In the same year he married Mabel Callund of

Rochester, Kent Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about from London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rainham, Strood and Gillin ...

. In June 1934 Fisher was embroiled in a dispute between Anglican congregations within Natal, some refusing to recognise the diocese; at one point he was locked out of one of the dissident churches. In 1949 he almost became the second archbishop in the family when he was narrowly defeated in the election for Archbishop of Cape Town by Geoffrey Clayton.Paton, p. 172 Ill health caused Fisher's retirement in 1951. Three years later he became an honorary canon of Grahamstown. He died, aged 81, at Brookshaw Home, Grahamstown on 4 July 1963.

References

Sources

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Leonard Noel 1881 births 1963 deaths 20th-century Anglican Church of Southern Africa bishops Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Anglican bishops of Lebombo Anglican bishops of Natal Deans of Maritzburg People educated at Oakham School Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers World War I chaplains