Lister Tonge, AKC (born 23 December 1951) is a British

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 ...

priest. He was

Dean of Monmouth Newport Cathedral (Welsh; ''Eglwys Gaderiol Casnewydd''), also known as St Gwynllyw's or St Woolos' Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Monmouth within the Church in Wales, and the seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. Its official title is ...

from 2012 until the style of the post was changed to Dean of Newport in 2018. He retired as Dean in 2020.

Early life and education

Tonge was born on 23 December 1951 in

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. He was educated at Heywood Grammar School,

Salford Grammar School Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county aft ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

and

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

. He is the second child of Edward Tonge and Dorothy Tonge (née Clough).

Ordained ministry

Tonge 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 ...

in 1975. 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 ...

at Liverpool Parish Church he was

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

of Johannesburg Cathedral from 1978 to 1979. From then until 1991 he was a member of the

Community of the Resurrection The Community of the Resurrection (CR) is an Anglican religious community for men in England. It is based in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and has 13 members as of February 2021. The community reflects Anglicanism in its broad nature and is strong ...

. He was then resident

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 ...

to the

Community of St John the Baptist The Community of St John Baptist (CSJB), also known as the Sisters of Mercy, or formerly Clewer Sisters, is an Anglican religious order of Augustinian nuns. History The Community was founded in England in 1852 by Harriet Monsell (the first Supe ...

until his appointment as

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

. He, alongside Archdeacons Jonathan Williams and Ambrose Mason, raised grievances - which they termed "concerns about the well-being" - against the

Bishop of Monmouth The Bishop of Monmouth is the diocesan bishop of the Church in Wales Diocese of Monmouth. The episcopal see covers the historic county of Monmouthshire with the bishop's seat located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Woolos in Newport, whi ...

Richard Pain Richard Edward Pain (born 21 September 1956) is a retired Anglican bishop. From 2013 to 2019, he served as Bishop of Monmouth in the Church in Wales. Early life Pain was born on 21 September 1956. He completed degrees at Bristol University and C ...

. Despite an internal investigation which determined that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a formal disciplinary tribunal and finding "there was no case to answer", the three men remained unsatisfied. Tonge, Williams and Mason then wrote a letter to the Archbishop, John Davies, and all Welsh bishops expressing how unhappy they were with the outcome. A process of mediation was then put into place, they withdrew from this in December 2018 when a press release from the Church in Wales seemed to confirm the breakdown-in-relationships rumours. Bishop Pain later retired on ill health. The Archbishop, who would not take questions from clergy, claimed in a meeting that the three senior clerics had behaved properly throughout. He retired as Dean in 2020.

References

1951 births Living people People educated at Heywood Grammar School People educated at Salford Grammar School Alumni of King's College London Associates of King's College Loyola University Chicago alumni Deans of Monmouth People from Oldham {{Christian-clergy-stub