Matthew John Parker (born 1 June 1963, in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

) is a British bishop who has served as area

Bishop of Stafford The Bishop of Stafford is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Stafford, the county town of Staffordshire. The Bis ...

since 2021. He was previously

Archdeacon of Stoke The Archdeacon of Stoke ("Archdeacon of Stoke-upon-Trent" in full and often rendered "Archdeacon of Stoke-on-Trent") is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield. The archdeaconry was created on 24 July 1877 ...

(i.e. the same area) since 2013.

Education

Parker was educated at

The Bishop Wand Church of England School __NOTOC__ The Bishop Wand Church of England School is a secondary school with academy status located in Sunbury-on-Thames, England. The school has been co-educational since its founding and caters for students in the 11–18 age range in that i ...

, the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

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 ...

and Ridley Hall, Cambridge.

Ordained ministry

Parker 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 the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

as a

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 Churc ...

in 1988 and as a

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 particu ...

in 1989. He served as an assistant curate at St Mary's Church, Twickenham from 1988 to 1991, and at

St George's Church, Heaviley St George's Church is in Buxton Road, Heaviley, an area of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Stockport, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield, and the diocese of Chester. Its benefice is ...

from 1991 to 1994. He was then

team vicar Vicar is a title given to certain parish priests in the Church of England and other Anglican churches. It has played a significant role in Anglican church organisation in ways that are different from other Christian denominations. The title is ver ...

of the Stockport SW Team from 1993 to 2000, and

team rector A rector is, in an ecclesiastical sense, a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations. In contrast, a vicar is also a cleric but functions as an assistant and representative of an administrative leader. A ...

of the Leek and Meerbrook Team from 2000 to 2013. On 24 September 2020, it was announced that he would be the next

in the Diocese of Lichfield. He was scheduled to be consecrated as bishop on 28 January 2021, and installed at

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires (together with Truro Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh), and the only medie ...

on 7 February 2021, but these have been postponed and Parker licensed as Episcopal vicar for the Stafford episcopal area. He was consecrated a bishop on 14 April 2021, by

Anthony Poggo Anthony Poggo (born 1964) is a South Sudanese Anglican bishop. Since 2022, he has been the secretary general of the Anglican Consultative Council and head of the Anglican Communion Office. Early life and education During his childhood, Poggo's f ...

, at

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...

, in the third of the three consecration services there that day.

References

1963 births Clergy from Manchester Living people People educated at The Bishop Wand Church of England School Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Alumni of Ridley Hall, Cambridge Archdeacons of Stoke Bishops of Stafford {{Canterbury-archdeacon-stub