The

Rt Rev The Right Reverend (abbreviated The Rt Revd, The Rt Rev'd, The Rt Rev.) is a style applied to certain religious figures. Overview *In the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church in Great Britain, it applies to bishops, except that ''The M ...

Percival William Stephenson was the 6th

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bishop of Nelson whose

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spanned a 14-year period in the mid-20th century.

Family

The son of Arthur Henry Stephenson (1867-1955), and Annie Amelia Vevers Stephenson (1865-1903), née Brailey, Percival William Stephenson was born at Malmsbury, Victoria on 5 May 1888. He married Grace Ermyntrude Lavender (1885-1974) on 9 October 1913. They three children, Millicent Lavender Stephenson (1914-), Arthur Lavender Stephenson (1917-2001), and Noel Lavender Stephenson (1920-). Percival Stephenson died in 1962.

Education

He was educated at Caulfield Grammar School, Melbourne, where he was an outstanding footballer in the school's First XVIII, the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, the Australian College of Theology, and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. * 1912: Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) — University of Melbourne. * 1913: Licentiate of Theology (L.Th.) — Australian College of Theology. * 1915: Bachelor of Arts (M.A.) — University of Melbourne. * 1917: Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) — University of London.

Cleric

He was ordained in 1914.

Academic

He moved to India to teach at

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Edwards College in

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, where he was initially a teacher and then principal (1921–1924). From 1924 to 1928 he was

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of exegetical theology at St John's College, Winnipeg. On his return to Australia he became federal secretary of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

of Australia and Tasmania and headmaster of Trinity Grammar School, Sydney (1935–37) and then commonwealth secretary of the

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until his elevation to the

in 1940.

Death

He died on 29 May 1962.News of death
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Notes

References

* Cole, Keith, ''Sincerity My Guide: A Biography of the Right Reverend P.W. Stephenson (1888-1962)'', Church Missionary Historical Publications Trust, (Melbourne), 1970. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Percival William 1888 births People educated at Caulfield Grammar School University of Melbourne alumni Academic staff of the University of Manitoba Anglican bishops of Nelson 20th-century Anglican bishops in New Zealand 1960 deaths Alumni of the University of London Australian headmasters