Richard William Bryant Atkinson, (born 17 December 1958) is a British

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 ...

bishop. He was the

Archdeacon of Leicester The Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominati ...

between 2002 and 2012,''Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). and is the current suffragan

Bishop of Bedford The Bishop of Bedford is an episcopal title used by a Church of England suffragan bishop who, under the direction of the Diocesan Bishop of St Albans, oversees 150 parishes in Luton and Bedfordshire. The title, which takes its name after the tow ...

in the Diocese of St Albans, serving the churches of the Bedford Archdeaconry. He succeeded

Richard Inwood Richard Neil Inwood (4 March 1946 - 14 April 2019) was a Bishop suffragan of Bedford. Inwood was born in Burton-on-Trent and studied chemistry at University College, Oxford and theology at the University of Nottingham. Before ordination, he spe ...

who retired to the

Diocese of Derby The Diocese of Derby is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, roughly covering the same area as the County of Derbyshire. Its diocesan bishop is the Bishop of Derby whose seat (cathedra) is at Derby Cathedral. The diocesan ...

. Atkinson was consecrated by Rowan Williams,

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, in St Paul's Cathedral on Ascension Day 2012. A Service of Welcome into the Diocese took place at St Paul's Church, Bedford on 19 May 2012 at which Atkinson also preached his first sermon as a bishop. Atkinson was educated at St Paul's School, London,

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

and Ripon College Cuddesdon. 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 ...

in 1985 and was a

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 ...

in Abingdon. After this he held incumbencies in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

. Upon the announcement of his appointment in March 2012, Atkinson said: “I am looking forward enormously to getting to know the diversity and depth of the communities of Bedfordshire and Luton. I am passionate about the Church’s capacity to change all lives and communities for the better. I am enthusiastic to enable and equip the Church to reach out in love and service to our contemporary world, and committed to speaking up for the marginalised, poor and vulnerable. I pay tribute to the work being done all over the Diocese of St Albans, but especially in Bedfordshire and Luton.” The bishop participated in the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in the capital of Kazakhstan in 2013. The forum is widely recognized by the international community for its efforts in promoting religious tolerance and peace. Richard has three children; Charlotte, Naomi and William.

Styles

*''

The Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

'' Richard Atkinson (–2002) *''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 Cathol ...

'' Richard Atkinson (2002–2012) *''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 M ...

'' Richard Atkinson (2012–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Richard 1958 births People educated at St Paul's School, London Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Archdeacons of Leicester Officers of the Order of the British Empire Bishops of Bedford Living people