Nigel Simeon McCulloch, (born 17 January 1942) is an

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 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 ...

. He is a retired

Bishop of Manchester The Bishop of Manchester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester in the Province of York.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). The current bishop is David Walker who ...

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 ...

. He was appointed in August 2002, taking up duties later that year and was installed in February 2003. He retired on his 71st birthday (17 January 2013).

Early life

McCulloch was born and brought up in

Crosby Crosby may refer to: Places ;Canada *Crosby, Ontario, part of the township of Rideau Lakes, Ontario *Crosby, Ontario, a neighbourhood in the city of Markham, Ontario ;England *Crosby, Cumbria *Crosby, Lincolnshire *Crosby, Merseyside ** Crosby (U ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. He was educated at

Liverpool College Liverpool College is a school in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England. It was one of the thirteen founding members of the Headmasters' Conference (HMC). History Liverpool College was the first of many public schools founded in the Victorian E ...

and studied theology at

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

. He trained for the priesthood at

Cuddesdon College Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local ordained and lay min ...

, Oxford. He was ordained in Chester Cathedral in 1966 and served as a curate in the large urban parish of Ellesmere Port from 1966 to 1971. He was chaplain to

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

, from 1970 to 1973 and was also the Director of Studies in Theology there until 1975. He also served as Diocesan Missioner in the

Diocese of Norwich The Diocese of Norwich is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England that forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. History It traces its roots in an unbroken line to the diocese of the Bishop of the East A ...

from 1973 to 1978. He was appointed

Archdeacon of Sarum The Archdeacon of Sarum is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Salisbury, England. He or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the five area deaneries of the Sarum archdeaconry, which cover th ...

and rector of the city-centre church of St Thomas’s in the

Diocese of Salisbury The Diocese of Salisbury is a Church of England diocese in the south of England, within the ecclesiastical Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of Dorset (excepting the deaneries of Bournemouth and Christchurch, which fall within t ...

in 1978.

Bishop

In 1986, McCulloch was appointed as the suffragan

Bishop of Taunton The Bishop of Taunton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title was first created under the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 and takes its n ...

in the

Diocese of Bath and Wells The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the C ...

. He was ordained and consecrated a

(thereby taking up his suffragan See) on 29 January 1986, by

Robert Runcie Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, (2 October 1921 – 11 July 2000) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991, having previously been Bishop of St Albans. He travelled the world widely t ...

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

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to S ...

. In 1992 he was translated to be the diocesan Bishop of Wakefield. He was appointed

Lord High Almoner The Royal Almonry is a small office within the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, headed by the Lord High Almoner, an office dating from 1103. The almoner is responsible for distributing alms to the poor. The Lord High Almoner is usually a ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

in 1997 and took his seat in the House of Lords in 1997. He is also Chairman of the West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council and Chairman of the Police Standards Committee for West Yorkshire. McCulloch was the national Chairman of the Council for Christians and Jews (CCJ) from 2008 to 2015. He is also the Chairman of the Legislative Group charged with bringing proposals to the Church of England’s

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly (Church of England), Church Assembly, is t ...

regarding women becoming bishops while also enabling those opposed to this to retain an honoured place within the church. McCulloch was elected as Chair of the GM Faith & Community Leaders Group and also the elected representative of the Faith Communities on the Greater Manchester Forum. He has been active in the Scout Movement, latterly as a County Chairman in Somerset and County President in Yorkshire. He has recently been a member of the Select Committee reviewing the

BBC Charter The BBC Charter is a royal charter setting out the arrangements for the governance of the British Broadcasting Corporation. An accompanying agreement recognises its editorial independence and sets out its public obligations in detail. The in ...

. Author of several books, a former columnist for ''The Times'' and a frequent broadcaster, he is the Church of England’s senior spokesman on communication issues. Since 2002 he has been the National Chaplain to the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

. His wife Celia is descended from 11 successive generations of Irish clergy. Their wedding in 1974 was featured on the

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

documentary '' A Passion for Churches''. On 28 June 2008 she became the first member of the Church of England to be ordained a priest by her own husband. They have two grown-up daughters, Kathleen and Lizzie, and one grandson, Sebastian.

Sony game row

In June 2007, McCulloch considered taking legal action against

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

because of their

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

game '' Resistance: Fall of Man''. The game features detailed views of Manchester Cathedral infested with aliens and others to be killed by the player. The Church said Sony did not obtain permission to use the interior. Sony said "'' Resistance: Fall of Man'' is a fantasy science fiction game and is not based on reality. We believe we have sought and received all permissions necessary for the creation of the game." McCulloch also expressed concerns that a game that involved shooting people was set in Manchester Cathedral, given the city's history of gun crime.

Delayed retirement

It was announced on 21 December 2010 that McCulloch had been granted special permission to remain in his role beyond his 70th birthday by the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

John Sentamu John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, Baron Sentamu, (; ; born 10 June 1949) is a retired Anglican bishop and life peer. He was Archbishop of York and Primate of England from 2005 to 2020. Born near Kampala in Uganda, Sentamu studied law at Makerere U ...

. The usual age of retirement for bishops is 70, but McCulloch remained until 71st birthday in mid-January 2013. Since 2002 McCulloch has been National Chaplain to

The Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

Knighthood

On 20 February 2013 the Queen invested McCulloch with the insignia of a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(KCVO). As an ordained clergyman, he does not use the title

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Styles

* Nigel McCulloch Esq (1942–1966) * The Revd Nigel McCulloch (1966–1986) * The Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch (1986–2013) * The Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch KCVO (2013–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCulloch, Nigel 1942 births Living people Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Bishops of Wakefield (diocese) Bishops of Taunton Bishops of Manchester Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge People from Crosby, Merseyside Clergy from Liverpool Archdeacons of Sarum 21st-century Church of England bishops 20th-century Church of England bishops People educated at Liverpool College