Philip Roy Down (born 28 March 1953) is a retired priest 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 ...

. He served as the

Archdeacon of Maidstone The Archdeacon of Maidstone is an office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury (one of the dioceses of the Province of Canterbury in the Church of England). The Archdeacon of Maidstone is an Anglican priest who oversees the Archdeaconry of Maidsto ...

and then the first

Archdeacon of Ashford The Archdeacon of Ashford is a senior office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury (a division of the Church of England Province of Canterbury). The Archdeacon of Ashford, Kent, Ashford is an Anglicanism, Anglican priest that oversees the Archdeaconr ...

, both in the

Diocese of Canterbury The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering East Kent, eastern Kent which was founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The diocese is centred on Canterbury Cathedral and is the oldest episcopal see, see of the Church o ...

Life in Australia

Down was born and raised in Australia – his parents were Keith and Ivy Down. From 1971 until 1976, he was a

Medical Scientist Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...

at the

Austin Hospital, Melbourne The Austin Hospital is a public teaching hospital in Melbourne's north-eastern suburb of Heidelberg, and is administered by Austin Health, along with the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital and the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre. History The Au ...

. He received a Diploma in Applied Science from the

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public university, public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering cla ...

in 1976. In 1972, he married Christine Oakley. They have one son and three daughters. Down moved to Macleod Pathology Services in Melbourne, where he remained until 1978. Afterwards, he studied for ordained ministry at the

Melbourne College of Divinity The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university of specialisation in divinity. It is constituted by eleven theological colleges from eight denominations. The University of Divinity is the direct successor of the second oldest ...

, graduating BTheol and being ordained a

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Uni ...

minister in 1982. He became minister in

Brighton, Victoria Brighton is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Bayside local government area. Brighton recorded a population of 23,252 at the 2021 census. ...

from 1983 until his emigration and was awarded a MTheol degree by the same college in 1988.

Career in the United Kingdom

Upon moving to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Down became an associate

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

minister and part-time chaplain at Scunthorpe General Hospital until 1989, in which year he was ordained as a deacon and then a priest of the

. He then became an assistant curate (until 1991) and then team vicar (until 1995) in

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of L ...

, during which time he was awarded his MA in 1993 by the

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

, where he lectured in medical ethics. While in

North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 167,446 in the 2011 census. The borough includes the towns of Scunthorpe, Brigg, Haxey, Crowle, Epworth, Bottesford, Kirton in Lindsey and Bar ...

, he chaired the Research Ethics Committee of the regional

NHS trust An NHS trust is an organisational unit within the National Health Services of England and Wales, generally serving either a geographical area or a specialised function (such as an ambulance service). In any particular location there may be several ...

. Since 1995, Down has ministered in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

– initially as Rector at St Stephen's, Canterbury until 2002, during which time he was additionally

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 Canterbury from 1999. He was then

from 2002 until his change of post in 2011 (as part of the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

's restructuring). Following the creation of the Ashford archdeaconry on 1 February 2011, Down was collated as archdeacon on 13 March. Besides his ordained ministry, Down has also lectured in Christian ethics in Canterbury. From 6 December 2015 until 22 January 2017, Down was also Joint Acting

Archdeacon of Canterbury The Archdeacon of Canterbury is a senior office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury (a division of the Church of England Province of Canterbury). Like other archdeacons, he or she is an administrator in the diocese at large (having oversight of ...

, alongside Stephen Taylor,

. He retired effective 15 October 2017.

References

Sources

*Down, Philip Roy, Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 201
accessed 22 March 2012
*"About Me", Philip Down, Archdeacon of Ashford, Philip Down, 2010: blogspot.co.uk, 201

{{DEFAULTSORT:Down, Philip Roy 1953 births Archdeacons of Maidstone Archdeacons of Ashford Living people RMIT University alumni University of Divinity alumni