Geoffrey Peter Annas (born 29 November 1953) is a British retired Anglican bishop who served as the

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

Bishop of Stafford The Bishop of Stafford is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Stafford, the county town of Staffordshire. The Bis ...

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 ...

Education and career

Born in London,This is Staffordshire — New Bishop of Stafford dazzled by a warm welcome
/ref> Annas was a senior

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

er before attending

Salisbury and Wells Theological College Sarum College is a centre of theological learning in Salisbury, England. The college was established in 1995 and sits within the cathedral close on the north side of Salisbury Cathedral. The Sarum College education programme ranges from sh ...

.Lichfield Diocese — Southampton Street Pastor to be next Bishop of Stafford
/ref> Upon leaving theological college, he was ordained a

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 ...

Petertide Petertide (also known as St Peter's Tide) refers to the Sunday nearest to St Peter's Day on 29 June and to the period around that day. In Anglicanism, Petertide is the major one of two traditional periods for the ordination of new priests (the ot ...

(on 3 July) 1983 and a

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 ...

the following Petertide (1 July 1984), both times by

Ronald Bowlby Ronald Oliver Bowlby (16 August 1926 – 21 December 2019), also known as Ronnie Bowlby, was a British Anglican bishop. He was the ninth Bishop of Newcastle from 1973 until 1980. He was then translated to Southwark where he served until his reti ...

, Bishop of Southwark, in

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. ...

, and became 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 ...

at Holy Trinity with St Matthew,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

until 1987. Annas then served as a

Team Vicar Vicar is a title given to certain parish priests in the Church of England and other Anglican churches. It has played a significant role in Anglican church organisation in ways that are different from other Christian denominations. The title is ver ...

at St Christopher's Church,

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

and

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

of the Pembroke College MissionThe Independent — Church appointments, 18 June 1994
/ref> before moving to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in 1994 to be Vicar of St Christopher's Church, Thornhill. He also acted as Theatre Chaplain to The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton from July 1996 to July 2010. In 2007, he additionally became Assistant

Area 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. ...

of Southampton and an

honorary canon A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

. He was also known within the local area for helping to set up the Street Pastor Scheme in Southampton, as well as being a Street Pastor himself. It was announced on 2 June 2010 that Annas was to move to the

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

in late September 2010, in succession to

Gordon Mursell Alfred Gordon Mursell (born 4 May 1949) is a retired British Anglican bishop and author. From 2005 to 2010, he was the Bishop of Stafford in the Church of England. Mursell was educated at Ardingly College and Brasenose College, Oxford.‘MURSELL, ...

, who retired early on grounds of ill health. Annas was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on 21 SeptemberLichfield Diocese — Archbishop consecrates new bishop...
/ref> by

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

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 ...

, at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

and installed on 26 September 2010. Annas retired effective 30 November 2019. He retired back to Southampton and has been licensed as an

honorary assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...

of the

Diocese of Winchester The Diocese of Winchester forms part of the Province of Canterbury of the Church of England. Founded in 676, it is one of the older dioceses in England. It once covered Wessex, many times its present size which is today most of the historic enla ...

since 2020.

Marriage and family

He has been married for 30 years to Dr Ann Clover (Annas) an

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

. They have one adult daughter (youngest child), and one adult son.

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 ...

'' Geoff Annas (1983–2007) *''The Reverend''

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 ...

Geoff Annas (2007–2010) *''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 ...

'' Geoff Annas (2010–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Annas, Geoffrey Peter 1953 births 21st-century Church of England bishops Bishops of Stafford Living people Anglican clergy from London