Gordon Keith Sinclair (born 3 December 1952) is a British Anglican retired bishop. From 2007 until 2021, he served as the Bishop of Birkenhead, one of two suffragan bishops 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 Britai ...

Diocese of Chester The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York covering the pre-1974 county of Cheshire and therefore including the Wirral and parts of Stockport, Trafford and Tameside. History Ancient diocese Before the si ...

Early life and education

Sinclair was born on 3 December 1952 to Donald and Joyce Sinclair. He was educated at Trinity School, an all-boys

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, London. He studied at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree; as per tradition, his BA was later promoted to an Oxford Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree. He then worked as a solicitor. Sinclair entered Cranmer Hall, Durham, an

Evangelical Anglican Evangelical Anglicanism or evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "conversionism, a ...

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

, to train for the ministry. During this time he studied theology and graduated with BA degree from Durham University in 1984.

Ordained ministry

Sinclair 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 ...

in the

: made 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 Chur ...

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 ...

1984 (1 July) and ordained 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 partic ...

the Petertide following (30 June 1985) – both times by

Hugh Montefiore Hugh William Montefiore (born Hugh William Sebag-Montefiore; 12 May 1920 – 13 May 2005) was an English Anglican bishop and academic, who served as Bishop of Kingston from 1970 to 1978 and Bishop of Birmingham from 1978 to 1987. Early life and ...

Bishop of Birmingham A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, at Birmingham Cathedral. From 1984 to 1988, he served his

curacy 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 Christ Church, Summerfield in the Diocese of Birmingham. He was additionally a part-time chaplain at the

Birmingham Children's Hospital Birmingham Children's Hospital is a specialist children's hospital located in Birmingham, England. The hospital provides a range of specialist services and operates the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for the city. The servi ...

. Then, from 1988 to 2001, he was

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 ...

of the

Church of SS Peter & Paul, Aston The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul () in Witton Lane, Aston, Birmingham, England, is a parish church in the Church of England. Background The origin of Aston and its parish church is uncertain. A 2013 archaeological excavation on the ...

. He was also the

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 Aston 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 ...

of Birmingham Cathedral between 2000 and 2001. He moved to the

Diocese of Coventry The Diocese of Coventry is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Coventry, who sits at Coventry Cathedral in Coventry, and is assisted by one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Warwick. The dioce ...

, and served as vicar of

Holy Trinity Church, Coventry Holy Trinity Church, Coventry, is a parish church of the Church of England in Coventry City Centre, West Midlands, England. Above the chancel arch is an impressive Doom wall-painting. History The church dates from the 12th century and is t ...

from 2001 to 2007.

Episcopal ministry

Sinclair was consecrated a bishop on 8 March 2007 by John Sentamu,

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

, at

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...

. From then until retirement, he served as the Bishop of Birkenhead, one of two suffragan bishops in the

. He retired as bishop effective 8 March 2021, the 14th anniversary of his consecration. Since 27 April 2021, he has served as National Director of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC). He has been 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 ...

in the Diocese of Manchester since shortly after retiring as Bishop of Birkenhead.

Beliefs

Sinclair is on the council of reference of the True Freedom Trust. Its vision is to uphold traditional biblical teaching on sexual relationships and gender and to do so with "understanding and compassion, so that Christians who struggle with same-sex attractions or gender identity gain increasing acceptance, wholeness and maturity in faith within their local church." Sinclair was one of the bishops selected to be a member of the Church of England working group on human sexuality which in 2013 produced the Pilling Report. The report acknowledges the complexity of the issue stating: "This report cannot attempt a definitive account of the debate about the meaning of Scripture, even if such an enterprise were conceivable." Two essays are appended to the Report: One, by Sinclair, epitomizes a conservative understanding of the biblical texts; the other by David Runcorn argues a scriptural case for a more inclusive ethic. The report, by way of explanation for the essays, states: "We include these two contributions, not because they sum up the whole range of scriptural scholarship on this subject — they emphatically do not — but because they epitomize the way in which study of the same sources can lead to very different conclusions." He is a member of the Church of England Evangelical Council for the Province of York. A verse which has guided him over recent years, as it did Bishop JC Ryle: ''This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.'' (Jeremiah 6:16)

Personal life

Sinclair has been marriedOfficial notification of appointment
/ref>London Gazette Notice of Appointment
/ref> since 1989 and they have three children. He is a keen walker and his brother is the actor Malcolm Sinclair.

Styles

*''

The Reverend The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

'' Keith Sinclair (1984–2000; 2001–2007) *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 ...

'' Keith Sinclair (2000–2001) *''

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 ...

'' Keith Sinclair (2007–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Keith 1952 births Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 21st-century Church of England bishops Living people Bishops of Birkenhead Alumni of Cranmer Hall, Durham Evangelical Anglican bishops