Peter Owen-Jones (born 1957) is an English

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 ...

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 ...

, author and television presenter. Owen-Jones dropped out of

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

at the age of 16, and moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where he worked as a farm hand. He moved back to Britain, and worked as a farm labourer in southeast England, then ran a mobile

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

, before moving to London where he started work in advertising, as a messenger boy, eventually working his way up to the position of creative director. In his late 20s, with a wife and two children, he gave up his commercial life to follow a calling to the Anglican ordained ministry by enrolling at

Ridley Hall 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 ...

, Cambridge. In early 1996, he gained notoriety when he conducted a service for the

Newbury bypass The Newbury bypass, officially known as The Winchester-Preston Trunk Road (A34) (Newbury Bypass), is a stretch of dual carriageway road which bypasses the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It is located to the west of the town and forms ...

protestors. In 1998, he was responsible for three parishes in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

as the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Haslingfield Haslingfield is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England. The village is about six miles south-west of Cambridge, between Harston, Barton and Barrington. The population in the 2001 census was 1,550 people living in 6 ...

(

Harlton Harlton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. The village is south-west of Cambridge and neighbours Haslingfield. History The parish of Harlton covers an area of . Its southern border is marked by the ancient tra ...

Great Eversden Great Eversden is a village 6 miles south-west of Cambridge, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 241. The Prime Meridian runs through the parish just to the east of the village, separating it from Little Eversden. ...

and

Little Eversden Little Eversden is a village approximately south-west of Cambridge, England. It has two main roads: Harlton Road which goes through Little Eversden and joins the A603, and High Street. The Prime Meridian runs through the parish just to the west ...

), before resigning from this position in 2005 to relocate to the benefice of

Glynde Glynde is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, United Kingdom. It is located two miles (5 km) east of Lewes.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton ...

West Firle Firle (; Sussex dialect: ''Furrel'' ) is a village and civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England. Firle refers to an old-English/Anglo-Saxon word ''fierol'' meaning overgrown with oak. Although the original division of East ...

and

Beddingham Beddingham is an English village and civil parish in the Lewes (district), Lewes district of East Sussex, at the junction between the London–Newhaven (A26 road, A26) and south coast (A27 road, A27) roads south-east of Lewes. The parish council ...

. After a brief appearance in the 2003 documentary series The Power and the Glory, he was recruited by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

to front a series of religious television programmes looking at different aspects of Christianity and other faiths. He was married to Jacs Owen-Jones, with whom he has four children, but they have divorced. In his BBC documentary ''How to Live a Simple Life'' (2009), Owen-Jones tried to live a life without money in the footsteps of

Saint Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a Mysticism, mystic Italian Catholic Church, Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most vener ...

. In the same year, he travelled the world in Around the World in 80 Faiths, visiting practitioners of various religions. His 2006 documentary ''The Lost Gospels'' discussed the Apocryphal Gospels which were omitted from the canon of the New Testament. He considered how their contents might have altered Christian theology if they had not been suppressed.

Books

* ''Bed of Nails: An Advertising Executive's Journey Through Theological College'',

Lion Hudson Lion Hudson is UK's largest publisher of children's Christian books. It is based in Oxford, UK. It had its origins as Lion Publishing (founded in 1971) and Hudson International (founded in 1977) which merged to become Lion Hudson PLC in 2003. ...

, 1998, * ''Small Boat, Big Sea: One Year's Journey as a Parish Priest'',

Lion Publishing Lion Hudson is UK's largest publisher of children's Christian books. It is based in Oxford, UK. It had its origins as Lion Publishing (founded in 1971) and Hudson International (founded in 1977) which merged to become Lion Hudson PLC in 2003. ...

, 2000, * ''Psalm'', O Books, 2005, * ''Letters from an Extreme Pilgrim: Reflections on Life, Love and the Soul'', Rider Books, 2010, * ''Pathlands: 21 Tranquil Walks Among the Villages of Britain'', Rider Books, 2015, * “Everest England: 29,000 Feet in 12 Days”, AA Publishing, 2019,

Audio

* ''Psalm'', spoken word/electronica project

Filmography

* ''The Power and the Glory'' (2003),

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

* ''The Battle for Britain's Soul'' (2004),

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

, a history of Christianity in Britain * ''The Lost Gospels'' (2008),

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

, a documentary on the ancient gospels * '' Extreme Pilgrim'' (2008),

, in which he lived as a Chinese Buddhist monk, a Christian monk and an Indian ascetic * ''In Search of England's Green and Pleasant Land'' (2009): Episode: South,

BBC South BBC South is the BBC English Region serving Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset, Berkshire and parts of Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Surrey, West Sussex and Wiltshire, with geographic coverage varying betwee ...

* '' Around the World in 80 Faiths'' (2009),

, a travel documentary encountering different religions * ''How to Live a Simple Life'' (2010),

, a three-part series in which he tries to turn his back on consumerism * ''South Downs: England's Mountains Green'' (2017),

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

, looking at the history and culture of the

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hamp ...

* ''New Forest: A Year in the Wild Wood'' (2019),

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

, looking at the history and culture of the

New Forest National Park The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

References

External links

* Sussex Life
Man on a Mission
January 2008 *

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

My work space
3 September 2005 *

- Around the World in 80 Faiths
An interview with Pete
(

Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia Computing platform, software platform used for production of Flash animation, animations, rich web applications, application software, desktop applications, mobile apps, mo ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Owen-Jones, Peter Living people 1957 births Anglican clergy from London Writers from London Television people from London 21st-century English Anglican priests English people of Scottish descent British television presenters British documentary filmmakers English travel writers English male non-fiction writers