Peter Jonathan Wilcox (born 1961) is a British Anglican bishop. Since June 2017, he has been the

bishop of Sheffield The Bishop of Sheffield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Sheffield in the Province of York. A similar title was first created as a suffragan see in the Diocese of York in 1901. John Quirk, the only Bishop suffragan of Sh ...

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 Britai ...

. He was previously the dean of Liverpool from 2012 to 2017.

Early life and education

Wilcox was born in 1961 and attended

Worksop College Worksop College (formerly St Cuthbert's College) is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils aged 13 to 18, in Worksop. It sits at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, England. Founded ...

in north

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

before studying at Durham University where he was a member of St John's College. He graduated from Durham with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

(BA) degree in 1984. He then attended

Ridley Hall, Cambridge Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and membe ...

, where he trained for ordination and graduated from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

with a BA degree in theology in 1986. Later, he returned to Durham for

post-graduate study Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

and completed a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA) degree in 1991. He then attended St John's College, Oxford, and completed a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(DPhil) degree in 1993. His

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was titled "Restoration, Reformation and the progress of the kingdom of Christ : evangelisation in the thought and practice of John Calvin, 1555–1564".

Ordained ministry

He was ordained 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 Chur ...

at Petertide (28 June) 1987 and a priest the next Petertide (26 June 1988) — both times by Bishop David Jenkins at Durham Cathedral; his first post was a

curacy 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 ...

Preston-on-Tees Preston-on-Tees, locally called Preston, is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 1,689. It is home to Preston Hall and it's accompanying p ...

. From 1990 to 1993, while undertaking post-graduate study, he was a

non-stipendiary minister Self-supporting ministers (SSMs), previously called non-stipendiary ministers or non-stipendiary priests (NSMs), are religious ministers who do not receive a stipend (i.e. payment) for their services and therefore financially support their own mi ...

St Giles' Church, Oxford St. Giles' Church is a church in North Oxford, England. It is at the northern end of the wide thoroughfare of St Giles', at the point where it meets Woodstock Road and Banbury Road. It stands between where Little Clarendon Street joins Woo ...

, and

St Margaret's Church, Oxford St Margaret's Church is a church in North Oxford, England. It is near the northern end of Kingston Road, at the corner of St Margaret's Road. The church was built between 1883 and 1893. The building is Grade II listed. The parish War Memoria ...

. He was team vicar of Gateshead from 1993 to 1998 when he became the director of the Urban Mission Centre,

Cranmer Hall, Durham Cranmer Hall is a Church of England theological college based at Durham, England. Cranmer Hall forms part of St John's College, Durham which is a recognised college of Durham University. It stands in the Open Evangelical tradition. Cranmer Hall ...

. He was

priest in charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent. Such priests are not legally responsible for the churches and glebe, but simply hold a ...

of St Paul's

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

from 1998 before becoming the canon chancellor of

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 ...

in 2006. He was installed as the dean of

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in th ...

on 15 September 2012.

Episcopal ministry

On 7 April 2017, it was announced that Wilcox was to become the next

, to be consecrated on 22 JuneDiocese of Sheffield — Consecration of Pete Wilcox, 22 June 2017
(Accessed 6 May 2017) and take up the role in autumn 2017. He was elected to the See by the College of Canons of

Sheffield Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Sheffield, more commonly known as Sheffield Cathedral, is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral st ...

on 5 May 2017 and his election confirmed at

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...

on 5 June 2017. On 22 June 2017, he was consecrated a bishop by Archbishop John Sentamu at

.York Minster — Consecration of the Bishop of Sheffield and Bishop of Sodor and Man
(Accessed 22 June 2017) On 23 September 2017, he was installed as the bishop of Sheffield during a service at Sheffield Cathedral. Wilcox is a trustee of

, where he trained for ordination. On 17 January 2023, Wilcox was admitted to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

as a

Lord Spiritual The Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who serve in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. 26 out of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual (not counting retired archbi ...

Views

In 2023, following the news that the House of Bishop's of the Church of England was to introduce proposals for blessing same-sex relationships, he signed an open letter which stated:

Personal life

Wilcox is married to Catherine Fox, a writer and a lecturer at

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...

. They have two children.

Styles

*''

The Reverend The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

'' Pete Wilcox (1988–1993) *The Reverend ''

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'' Pete Wilcox (1993–2006) *The Reverend ''

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

'' Doctor Pete Wilcox (2006–2012) *''

The Very Reverend The Very Reverend is a style given to members of the clergy. The definite article "The" should always precede "Reverend" as "Reverend" is a style or fashion and not a title. Catholic In the Catholic Church, the style is given, by custom, to pri ...

'' Doctor Pete Wilcox (20125 June 2017) *''The Reverend'' Doctor Pete Wilcox (5 June 201722 June 2017) *''

The Right Reverend 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 ...

'' Doctor Pete Wilcox (22 June 2017present)

References

External links

* a lecture given in 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox, Peter Jonathan 1961 births Living people 21st-century Church of England bishops Alumni of St John's College, Durham Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Bishops of Sheffield Lords Spiritual Staff of Cranmer Hall, Durham