Peter Philip Leonard (born 6 February 1970) is a British Anglican priest who served as

Archdeacon of the Isle of Wight The archdeacons in the Diocese of Portsmouth are senior ecclesiastical officers in the Church of England in south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. They currently include: the archdeacon of The Meon, the archdeacon of the Isle of Wight and the ...

, 2019–2022. Peter was educated at

Trinity College, Bristol Trinity College, Bristol is an evangelical Anglican theological college located in Stoke Bishop, Bristol, England. It offers a range of full-time and part-time taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses which are validated by the University o ...

. He was

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 va ...

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 Churc ...

in 1997 and

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 particu ...

in 1998. He held

curacies 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 ...

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...

then Woodham. A former teacher, he was Head of School at Mill Hill Primary School in

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a market town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town has a population of about 64,350 and is surrounded by Purbrook, Blendwort ...

before resuming his ministry as a residential canon at

Portsmouth Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, commonly known as Portsmouth Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral church in the centre of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, England. It is the cathedral of the Diocese of Portsmouth and the seat of ...

. Leonard is in a civil partnership with his partner, Mark. Clergy 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 ...

are permitted to be in same-sex

civil partnerships A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

based on the understanding that such relationships are celibate. He has been Chair of the Board of Trustees of OneBodyOneFaith, an LGBT positive Christian charity, since 2018. On 9 January 2022, it was announced that Leonard is to resign his Church of England appointments effective 28 February to become Chief Executive of the charity Family Links — the Centre for Emotional Health.

References

1970 births Living people People from Slough Alumni of Trinity College, Bristol 21st-century Anglican priests LGBT Anglican clergy Archdeacons of the Isle of Wight {{Canterbury-archdeacon-stub