Clement George St Michael Parker (29 September 19005 March 1980) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Anglican

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 c ...

who served as

Bishop of Aston The Bishop of Aston is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Birmingham, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Aston, an area of the City of Birmingham; the See was er ...

and later

Bishop of Bradford The Bishop of Bradford is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Leeds, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after Bradford, a city in West Yorkshire. Upon the creation of the ...

Early life and education

Parker was born in

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family a ...

, Birmingham, England on 29 September 1900. His father, W. H. Parker, was also a priest. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford.

Ministry

Parker was made

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 Chur ...

on St Michael's Day 1923 (29 September) by Henry Wakefield (Bishop of Birmingham) and

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 ...

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 partic ...

in Advent 1924 (19 December) by Ernest Barnes,

Bishop of Birmingham 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 ...

— both times at Birmingham Cathedral. He was 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 Bartholomew & St Jude's Birmingham from 1923 to 1939; although due to the objections to the

high church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

practices of the parish, he was only licensed by the bishop in 1937. During his curacy at St Jude's he and his vicar, Denis Tyndall, compiled ''Adoremus: A Book of Eucharistic Worship for the Young''.''Adoremus'', Denis Tyndall & Michael Parker, SPCK, 1936 The book was described as "primarily for use at what is known as the Children's Eucharist", but was also "to meet the need of the increasing number of parishes in which there is the 'Parish Eucharist'". It was regularly used for the children's

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

at All Saints' King's Heath and also for the Parish Eucharist instituted by Michael Parker to replace

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning. The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated b ...

as the main Sunday morning service. He was

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 pre ...

of All Saints' Church, King's Heath,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

from 1939 to 1957. He was additionally

rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

King's Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward (politics), ward within the Government of Birmingham, Engl ...

from 1943 to 1957, and

Archdeacon of Aston The Archdeacon of Aston is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Birmingham. The Archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the archdeaconry's three deaneries: Aston and Sutton Coldfield, Cole ...

from 1946 to 1954. On 18 October 1954, Parker was consecrated a

Geoffrey Fisher Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth, (5 May 1887 – 15 September 1972) was an English Anglican priest, and 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, serving from 1945 to 1961. From a long line of parish priests, Fisher was educated at Marlb ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury, 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 Unite ...

, to serve as

, the sole suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham. He translated to the Diocese of Bradford as

, its diocesan bishop, in 1961.Two New Bishops Nominated (News), ''

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'' (f ...

'', 15 August 1961; p. 8. On retirement in 1971, he was appointed an assistant bishop in the dioceses of

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

. He died on 5 March 1980."OBITUARY: Michael Parker, former Bishop of Bradford", ''

'', 10 March 1980, p. 14. He never married nor had children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Clement George Standnbsp;Michael 1900 births People from Edgbaston Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Archdeacons of Aston Bishops of Aston Bishops of Bradford (diocese) 1980 deaths English Anglo-Catholics Anglo-Catholic bishops 20th-century Church of England bishops