Leslie Gordon Vining (18854 March 1955) was an English

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 and the first

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the Church of the Province of West Africa, from 1951 to 1955.

Life

He attended

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

and completed his studies in 1910. He was made deacon at

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, a ...

(24 September) 1911, by

Handley Moule Handley Carr Glyn Moule (23 December 18418 May 1920) was an evangelical Anglican theologian, writer, poet, and Bishop of Durham from 1901 to 1920. Biography Moule was schooled at home before entering Trinity College, Cambridge in 1860, where ...

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

, at Auckland Castle Chapel. He started out as an assistant

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. Gabriel's, Bishopwearmouth and later became chaplain to British forces during World War I. After the war, he was the

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of St. Alban's,

Westbury Park, Bristol Westbury Park is a suburb of the city of Bristol, United Kingdom. It lies to the east of Durdham Down between the districts of Redland and Henleaze. The area is very similar in character to nearby Redland and comprises mainly Victorian and early ...

in 1918. He was at the post for the next 20 years. In 1938, he was migrated to

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

as an Assistant Bishop on the Niger succeeding

Morris Gelsthorpe Alfred Morris Gelsthorpe, DSO (26 February 189222 August 1968) was an English Anglican bishop and missionary. Known popularly as 'Gelly', he was the first Bishop in the Sudan. Early life He was educated at The King's School, Canterbury and matri ...

. He was consecrated a bishop on

All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honor of all the saints of the church, whether they are kno ...

(17 November) 1938, by

Cosmo Lang William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth, (31 October 1864 – 5 December 1945) was a Scottish Anglican prelate who served as Archbishop of York (1908–1928) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1928–1942). His elevation to Archbishop ...

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 ...

, 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 United ...

. Vining was appointed the Bishop of Lagos in 1940 after the resignation of

Melville Jones Frank Melville Jones, CBE, was an Anglican Colonial Bishop in the first half of the 20th century. He was born in 1866, educated at the Nelson College and the University of New Zealand and ordained in 1890. After a curacy at Holy Trinity, Chelt ...

in September 1940; he returned to England for part of that year. While in Nigeria, he established a training school for religious teachers. He also tried to be a bridge builder, reaching out to the Lagos Islamic community. He was elected the first Archbishop of the newly created Church of the Province of West Africa (remaining diocesan Bishop of Lagos), on the afternoon of the province's inauguration on 17 April 1951; he was duly enthroned as such that evening. He was still in both posts when he died at sea on his way to England on 4 March 1955. He was buried in

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

.Bishop Leslie Gordon Vining Biography at the Diocese of Lagos Official Website
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References

External links

Leslie Vining Biography at the Diocese of Lagos Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vining, Leslie Gordon 1885 births 1955 deaths 20th-century Anglican bishops in Nigeria 20th-century Anglican archbishops Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Anglican bishops of Lagos English Anglicans British expatriates in Nigeria People of colonial Nigeria Anglican archbishops of West Africa