The Right Reverend

David Atkinson
Bishop of Thetford
DioceseNorwich
In office2001 – 16 September 2009 (retired)
PredecessorHugo de Waal
SuccessorAlan Winton
Other post(s)Honorary assistant bishop in Southwark (2009–present)
Archdeacon of Lewisham (1996–2001)
Orders
Ordination1972 (deacon); 1973 (priest)
Consecration2001
Personal details
Born (1943-09-05) 5 September 1943 (age 80)
DenominationAnglican
ParentsThomas Collins & Adèle
SpouseSusan (m. 1969)
Children1 son; 1 daughter
ProfessionAcademic & author (theology & ethics)
Alma materKing's College, London

David John Atkinson[1] (born 5 September 1943) is the former Bishop of Thetford.[2]

Early life and education

Atkinson was educated at Maidstone Grammar School and King's College London (he became an Associate of King's College {AKC} and, at other points, a Doctor of Philosophy {PhD}, Master of Letters {MLitt}, Oxford Master of Arts {MA Oxon}, and Bachelor of Science {BSc}). He had a short career as a chemistry teacher.[3]

Ordained ministry

Atkinson was ordained in 1973.[4] His career began with a curacy at St Peter Halliwell, Bolton,[5] after which he was Curate at St John, Harborne, Birmingham, and then Librarian at Latimer House, Oxford. From 1977 he was chaplain (and a Fellow) of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and part-time Lecturer at Wycliffe Hall, then a canon residentiary at Southwark Cathedral and finally (before his elevation to the episcopate)[6] Archdeacon of Lewisham.

He was Bishop of Thetford from 2001 to 2009. In 2009 he became an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Southwark. He has been Northrupp Visiting Professor at Hope College, Holland, Michigan, and Visiting Lecturer at St John's College, Hong Kong, and at the South Asia institute of Advanced Christian Studies. He is a member of the Society of Ordained Scientists, and has served on the Board of Operation Noah. Atkinson is married with two children and eight grandchildren. He retired on 16 September 2009.[7]

On 11 February 2017, Atkinson was one of fourteen retired bishops to sign an open letter to the then-serving bishops of the Church of England. In an unprecedented move, they expressed their opposition to the House of Bishops' report to General Synod on sexuality, which recommended no change to the Church's canons or practices around sexuality.[8] By 13 February, a serving bishop (Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham) and nine further retired bishops had added their signatures;[9] on 15 February, the report was rejected by synod.[10]

Bibliography

He has written a number of books on pastoral theology, Christian ethics and biblical studies.

Articles

References

  1. ^ "Bishop David Atkinson – Bishop, academic, environmental campaigner and author". www.bishopdavidatkinson.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  2. ^ Anglican Profile
  3. ^ Who's Who 2008: London, A & C Black, 2008 ISBN 978-0-7136-8555-8
  4. ^ Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition), Church House Publishing (ISBN 978-0-7151-1030-0)
  5. ^ St Peter Halliwell Bolton Parish web site
  6. ^ "Press release on appointment". Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
  7. ^ Bishop of Thetford to retire – Diocese of Norwich clergy e-mailing.
  8. ^ Retired Bishops' Letter — The Letter Archived 2017-02-12 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 11 February 2017; the fourteen bishops were Atkinson, Michael Doe, Tim Ellis, David Gillett, John Gladwin, Laurie Green, Richard Harries, Stephen Lowe, Stephen Platten, John Pritchard, Peter Selby, Tim Stevens, Martin Wharton, and Roy Williamson.)
  9. ^ Retired Bishops' Letter — New Signatures Archived 2017-02-18 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 17 February 2017; the nine bishops were Gordon Bates, Ian Brackley, John Davies, Peter Maurice, David Rossdale, John Saxbee, Martin Shaw, Oliver Simon, and David Stancliffe.
  10. ^ The Guardian — Church of England in turmoil as synod rejects report on same-sex relationships (Accessed 17 February 2017)
Church of England titles Preceded byHugo de Waal Bishop of Thetford 2001–2009 Succeeded byAlan Winton
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