Martyn Minns (born April 16, 1943) is an English-born American

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 ...

, serving in the Anglican Church of Nigeria. He was the founding missionary bishop of the

Convocation of Anglicans in North America The Church of Nigeria North American Mission (CONNAM) is a missionary body of the Church of Nigeria (CON). It has been in a ministry partnership with the Anglican Church in North America but no longer affiliated with it beyond mutual membership in ...

(CANA), under the patronage of the Anglican Church of Nigeria, until his retirement in January 2014. Prior to becoming a bishop, he served as rector of Truro Church in

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

, in the United States.

Early life

Minns was raised in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1964, he received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

with honours in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...

from

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. From 1967 until 1975, Minns was an

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

for the

Mobil Corporation ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 3 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Clerical training

Minns received a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

in 1978 from

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unit ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

. He was ordained to the

diaconate 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 Churc ...

in June, 1978, and ordained to the priesthood in June, 1979.

Departure from the Episcopal Church

From 1978 until 1982, he served as the associate

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 St. Paul's Church,

Darien, Connecticut Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It has the youngest population of any n ...

. From 1983 until 1988, he served as rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

. From 1988 until 1991, he served as rector of All Angels Church,

. In 1991, Minns was installed as rector of Truro Church in Fairfax, Virginia. In reaction to the Episcopal Church appointing

Gene Robinson Vicky Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947) is a former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Robinson was elected bishop coadjutor in 2003 and succeeded as bishop diocesan in March 2004. Before becoming bishop, he served as Canon to th ...

, a homosexual priest, as the Bishop of New Hampshire, Minns led eleven Episcopal parishes in Virginia, including Truro, in leaving the denomination in 2006. The next year, he was named the head of the

, an association of conservative churches under the patronage of the Anglican Church of Nigeria. This decision led to the

Episcopal Diocese of Virginia The Diocese of Virginia is the largest diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing 38 counties in the northern and central parts of the state of Virginia. The diocese was organized in 1785 and is one of the Episco ...

bringing a lawsuit against Truro, which lasted until 2012 and resulted in property rights being granted to the Diocese. Minns was excluded from the invitation list to the 2008 Lambeth Conference. Minns was made an Honorary Canon of All Saints Cathedral,

Mpwapwa Mpwapwa is a market town, in the Dodoma Region of Tanzania. It is the district capital of Mpwapwa District. According to the 2012 Tanzania National Census, the population of Mpwapwa ( Mpwapwa Mjini ward) was 21,337. Overview It is one of the old ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. Minns retired as Missionary Bishop of CANA in January 2014 and was succeeded by the Rt. Rev. Julian Dobbs. He come out of retirement to replace

Jim Hobby James Lafayette Hobby Jr. is a former American bishop of the Anglican Church in North America. He was elected the second bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh on 23 April 2016 and enthroned on 10 September 2016. He is married to Shari, also ...

as interim bishop of the

Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh The Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh is a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America. It has parishes in the several counties of Western Pennsylvania. In addition, the diocese has oversight of several parishes that are not located within its g ...

in 2020.

Personal life

He and his wife, the former Angela Rose Carlisle, are the parents of five children and have twelve grandchildren.

Election and installation as bishop

Martyn Minns was elected to serve as the founding Missionary Bishop of CANA on June 28, 2006. He was consecrated a bishop on August 20, 2006 in Nigeria. He was installed on May 5, 2007 in Virginia.

References

External links

Church of Nigeria (Anglican)Convocation of Anglicans in North AmericaTruro Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minns, Martyn 1943 births Living people English Anglicans Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America Alumni of the University of Birmingham Virginia Theological Seminary alumni Anglican realignment people