Stephen Whitefield Sykes (1 August 1939 – 24 September 2014) was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

bishop and academic specialising in

divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

. He was Van Mildert Professor of Divinity at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

from 1974 to 1985, and Regius Professor of Divinity at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

from 1985 to 1990. Between 1990 and 1999, he served as the

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...

, the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Ely. He was the Principal of

St John's College, Durham St John's College is one of the Colleges of Durham University#Types of College, recognised colleges of Durham University. The college was established in 1909 as a Church of England theological college and became a full constituent college of th ...

from 1999 to 2006. He served as an Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Durham during his time as head of St John's College and in retirement.

Early life

Sykes was born on 1 August 1939 in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England; his father was the principal of one of the city's theological colleges. He was educated at Monkton Combe School, then an all-boys

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

. He matriculated into

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

in 1958 to study theology. He graduated from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

with a first class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1961. He then trained for ordination at Ripon Hall, Oxford.

Career

Ordained ministry

Sykes was ordained

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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1964 and priest in 1965. In 1964, he returned to

, his alma mater, as dean of the college chapel. When he moved to Durham in 1974, he became a residentiary canon of

Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...

. Having returned to Cambridge in 1985, he was given a corresponding honorary canonry at

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

. He served as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () 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 who are as ...

of St John the Evangelist's Church, Cambridge, from 1985 to 1990. On 2 May 1990,Diocese of Ely – Stephen Sykes
he was consecrated as the

. He became a Lord Spiritual through seniority and served in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

from 31 August 1996 to 31 July 1999. He stepped down from this position on 1 September 1999 and returned to education. From 1999 to 2014, when he was head of St John's College and during retirement, he served as an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Durham. From 1991 he was a member of the Doctrine Commission of the Church of England. He served as its chairman from 1996 to 2002.

Academic career

In addition to serving as dean of St John's College, Sykes was a member of the Faculty of Divinity at the

. He was an assistant lecturer in

from 1964 to 1968, then a lecturer in divinity from 1968 to 1974. In 1974, he was appointed as the Van Mildert Professor of Divinity at

. In 1985, he returned to Cambridge University to take up the chair of Regius Professor of Divinity. During a break from academia he served as a bishop: he was

from 1990 to 1999. In 1999, he was appointed the principal of

. St John's is both a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

of Durham University and an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

. He retired in 2006.

Later life

Following his retirement, Sykes remained living in Durham. In his later years, he developed a neurological condition that confined him to a wheelchair. Sykes died on 24 September 2014, aged 75. He was survived by his wife and children, though his wife died eight weeks later. His funeral was held in Durham Cathedral on 10 October 2014. He was later buried in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

at a woodland burial site.

Personal life

In 1962, Sykes married Marianne Hinton, known as Joy. Together they had three children; one son and two daughters. Their son, Richard, is a barrister and both daughters, Joanna and Juliet, are trained as teachers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sykes, Stephen Whitefield 1939 births 2014 deaths Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Regius Professors of Divinity (University of Cambridge) English Anglican theologians Academics of Durham University Bishops of Ely Anglican suffragan bishops in the Diocese of Durham Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon 20th-century Church of England bishops People educated at Monkton Combe School Principals of St John's College, Durham Ecclesiologists