Peter Burrows (born 27 May 1955) is a British retired 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 ...

. He was the Bishop of Doncaster — the sole suffragan bishop 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 ...

Diocese of Sheffield The Diocese of Sheffield is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. The Diocese of Sheffield was created under George V on 23 January 1914, by the division from the Diocese of York (along with that pa ...

— from 2012 until his 2019 retirement; from July 2016 until June 2017, he was also the acting

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 ...

.Diocese of Sheffield — The search for a new Bishop of Sheffield…
(Accessed 12 July 2016)

Early life

Burrows was born in Derby to Alfried and Eileen Burrows. He worked as a

Nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

Assistant at

Derbyshire Royal Infirmary The Derbyshire Royal Infirmary was a hospital in Derby that was managed by the Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Following the transfer of community services to the London Road Community Hospital located further south-east along Lo ...

from 1973 to 1976. From 1976, he was a civil servant, a clerical officer in the

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services. Hi ...

, until 1980, during which year he was awarded his BTh by the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

(as an external candidate).

Ordained ministry

Burrows then studied for the Anglican ministry at Sarum and Wells Theological College, graduating and being ordained deacon in 1983. He then served his four-year title post as

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 ...

Baildon Baildon is a town and civil parish in the Bradford Metropolitan Borough in West Yorkshire, England and within the historic boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It lies north of Bradford city centre. The town forms a continuous urban ...

, one year into which he was ordained a priest. Burrows' first incumbency was as rector at

Broughton Astley Broughton Astley is a large village and civil parish located in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated in the south of Leicestershire, about east of Hinckley, about from the centre of Leiceste ...

from 1987, during which time he was also

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 ...

Guthlaxton Guthlaxton is an ancient hundred of Leicestershire. Its jurisdiction was in the south of the county, and covered Lutterworth and Wigston Magna. At the time of the Domesday Book, it was one of Leicestershire's four wapentakes, and covered a muc ...

First Deanery from 1994. His benefice was expanded in 1993 and he became team rector at Broughton Astley and

Croft Croft may refer to: Occupations * Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling * Crofting, small-scale food production * Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft Locations In the Uni ...

with

Stoney Stanton Stoney Stanton is a large village in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England with a population of over 3,454 in 2001, increasing to 3,793 at the 2011 census. It constitutes a civil parish. The village lies some five miles east of Hinck ...

. In 1997, he became Director of

Ordinand 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 vari ...

s, and in 1998 an honorary

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 ...

Leicester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Martin, Leicester, commonly known as Leicester Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral in Leicester, England and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester. The church was elevated to a collegiate church in 192 ...

. In 2000, he left his incumbency to become

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

Development Officer in the

Diocese of Leicester The Diocese of Leicester is a Church of England diocese based in Leicester and including the current county of Leicestershire. The cathedral is Leicester Cathedral, where the Bishop of Leicester has his episcopal chair. The diocese is divided int ...

and in 2002 he became, additionally, deputy director of Ministry. In 2003, he vacated all of these roles to become Director of Ministry until 2005. He has also been an Inspector of Theological Colleges and has chaired Vocations and Ministry Committee. In 2005, Burrows was appointed

Archdeacon of Leeds The Archdeacon of Leeds, previously Archdeacon of Ripon, is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Leeds. As such he or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the four deaneries (Allerton, Armley, ...

(in the

Diocese of Ripon and Leeds The Diocese of Ripon (Diocese of Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014) was a former Church of England diocese, part of the Province of York. Immediately prior to its dissolution, it covered an area in western and northern Yorkshire as well as ...

), where he chaired the Diocesan Ministry and Training Development Group. While in Leeds, he influenced the creation of three new Pioneer posts and an urban "Fresh Expression". He has also been a long-serving member of the

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, is the legislative body of the Church of ...

and a Bishops' Adviser for Selection and Training.

Episcopal ministry

10 Downing Street announced on 6 October 2011 that Burrows had been nominated suffragan Bishop of Doncaster in the

. He was duly consecrated an Anglican bishop 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 2 February and welcomed at

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 February and at

Doncaster Minster Doncaster Minster, formally the Minster and Parish Church of St George, is the Church of England, Anglican Minster (church), minster church of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It is a grade I listed building and was designed by architect desig ...

on 11 February 2012.Diocese of Sheffield – New Bishop of Doncaster Announced
Upon Steven Croft's translation from Sheffield to Oxford, Burrows became acting

(episcopal commissary) for the ensuing vacancy. Burrows retired effective 30 September 2019.

Safeguarding controversy and CDM complaint

A survivor of child sex abuse made a formal complaint in May 2016 under th
Clergy Disciplinary Measure
procedure against Burrows and five other bishops ( Steven Croft,

Martyn Snow Martyn James Snow (born 1968) is a British Anglican bishop. Since 2016, he has been the Bishop of Leicester. He previously served as Bishop of Tewkesbury from 2013 to 2016, and as Archdeacon of Sheffield and Rotherham from 2010 to 2013. Early li ...

Glyn Webster Glyn Hamilton Webster (born 3 June 1951) is a retired British Anglican bishop who was the Bishop of Beverley in the Church of England from 2013 to January 2022. He was previously the canon chancellor (a canon residentiary) and Acting Dean of York ...

Roy Williamson Roy Murdoch Buchanan Williamson (25 June 1936 – 12 August 1990) was a Scottish songwriter and folk musician, most notably with The Corries. Williamson is best known for writing "Flower of Scotland", which has become the de facto national ant ...

, John Sentamu) for failing to act on his allegations. The survivor said he first told Burrows in 2012 about his abuse by a serving priest. All five bishops dismissed the complaint owing to the one-year time limit imposed by the CDM process.

Personal life

He was married to Jane Susan Allsop from 1975 until her death in 2018. The couple had two adult children: one son, Adam and one daughter, Amie.

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 ...

'' Peter Burrows (1983–2005) *''The

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cat ...

'' Peter Burrows (personal: 2005–2012) *''The Venerable'' The Archdeacon of Leeds (official: 2005–2012) *''The Right Reverend'' Peter Burrows (personal: 2012–present) *''The Right Reverend'' The Bishop of Doncaster (official: 2012–2019)

References

Sources

*‘BURROWS, Ven. Peter’, Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 201
Accessed 29 March 2012
*‘Bishop of Doncaster’, Diocese of Sheffield website, Diocese of Sheffield, 2012; sheffield.anglican.org, March 201
Accessed 29 March 2012
*‘Suffragan Bishop of Doncaster’, Number 10 News, Number 10, 2011; number10.gov.uk, October 201
Accessed 29 March 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, Peter 1955 births Living people Archdeacons of Leeds Bishops of Doncaster People from Derby 20th-century English Anglican priests 21st-century English Anglican priests