Raymond Samuel Foster (1920-1987) was born in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire, in 1920. He became an Anglican priest in the 20th century who rose to become Archdeacon of Wrexham. Raymond was educated at King's College London (Bachelor of Divinity 1941). 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 ...

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 ...

in 1943; 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 partic ...

in 1944. After

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 ...

Old Basford Old Basford is an area of Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. No ...

and Newark he held the incumbencies of

Elston Elston is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England, to the south-west of Newark, and a mile from the A46 Fosse Way. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was 631. It lies between the rivers Trent and Devon ...

with Elston Chapel, and

Sibthorpe Sibthorpe is a village and civil parish in the borough of Rushcliffe, in Nottinghamshire, England. There is no parish council, only a parish meeting. Toponymy The place-name Sibthorpe seems to contain an Old Norse personal name, ''Sibba'', + ...

from 1947 until 1952. During the same period he was also a Lecturer at

Lincoln Theological College Lincoln Theological College was a theological college in Lincoln, United Kingdom. History Founded by Edward White Benson, when he was Chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral, the college opened on 25 January 1874. It was also known as ''Scholae Cance ...

and at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

where his subjects were Hebrew and Old Testament. He received a PhD degree from the University of Nottingham in 1952. From 1952 until 1956 he was Chaplain at

Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 co-educational, independent, Church of England, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation ...

, Dulwich, London, and Senior Inspector of Schools for the

Diocese of Southwark The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient Dio ...

. From 1956 to 1961 he was Chaplain and Lecturer at

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-l ...

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

, and Examining Chaplain to the Archbishop of West Africa from 1957 to 1961. In 1961 he was appointed

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

Whittlebury Whittlebury is a village and civil parish in the south of the English county of Northamptonshire, close to its border with Buckinghamshire. History It is due south of the town of Towcester, to which it is connected by main roads. At the time o ...

with Silverstone, Northamtonshire, and Examining Chaplain and Director of Ordinand Training for the Diocese of Peterborough. In 1962 he was appointed Warden of St John's College, Auckland, New Zealand. In New Zealand he was also a Commissioner for the Diocese of Polynesia from 1962 and was appointed an Honorary Cannon of Auckland Cathedral in 1963. In 1964 he was the founding editor of ''The Australian and New Zealand Theological Review'' (later ''Collequium''). In 1967 he was awarded a Doctorate of Theology (ThD) by the

Australian College of Theology The Australian College of Theology (ACT) is an Australian higher education provider based in Sydney, New South Wales. The college delivers awards in ministry and theology and was one of the first Australian non-university providers to offer an ...

. In 1968–69, on sabbatical, he was Priest in Charge of

Stanford on Soar Stanford on Soar, known locally as Stanford, is a village and civil parish in the south of Nottinghamshire in England near the River Soar. Stanford on Soar is the most southerly civil parish in Nottinghamshire. Description Setting Stanfo ...

, Ratcliffe on Soar and West Leake with

Kingston on Soar Kingston on Soar is a village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England. Description Setting Kingston on Soar predominantly lies within the Trent Washlands character area, and partially in the Nottinghamshire ...

in Nottinghamshire. In 1972 he was appointed Secretary for Home Mission and Research for the SPCK, and then, from 1973 until 1977, Warden of St Deiniol's Library, Hawarden, Clwyd,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. He was appointed

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 ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

and a Prebend of St Asaph's Cathedral in 1977. In January 1978 he was appointed a Preceptor of St Asaph's Cathedral and in September that year he was also appointed as Archdeacon of Wrexham. He retired as Rector of Wrexham in 1984 but remained Archdeacon of Wrexham until his death in 1987 Crockford's Clerical Directory

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

; 1969-70, Crockford's Clerical Directory 1980–82 p 1346, Crockford's Clerical Directory 1983 (), Crockford's Clerical Directory 1986 Publications: 1956 ''Christ's Chapel of Allyen's College of God's Gift: a short history.'' London. College Publications. 1961 ''The Sierra Leone Church: an independent Anglican church.'' London, S.P.C.K, 1970 ''The Restoration of Israel: a study in Exile and Return.'' London, Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. 1986 ''God’s Address to his Church. The Sunday Readings.'' Church in Wales Publications. 1987 ''Called to be Saints! Readings for Holy Days''. Church in Wales Publications. 1987 ''These are the Words... A Study in Deuteronomy.'' Auckland, New Zealand, College Communications.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Raymond Alumni of King's College London Archdeacons of Wrexham 20th-century Welsh Anglican priests