Paul Ferguson
The Right Reverend Paul Ferguson in 2021
Born
Paul John Ferguson

(1955-07-13) 13 July 1955 (age 68)
OccupationChurch of England bishop

Paul John Ferguson FRCO (born 13 July 1955)[1] is a Church of England bishop. Since 2014, he has been the Bishop of Whitby.[2]

Biography

Ferguson was born on 13 July 1955. He was educated at Birkenhead School, an independent school in Merseyside.[3] Having been awarded an organ scholarship, he studied music at New College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1976:[3][4] as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree in 1980. He undertook teacher training at Westminster College, Oxford completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).[3] He returned to his former school as a teacher and organ player.[4] He then returned to university, and studied theology at King's College, Cambridge while training for ordination at Westcott House, Cambridge, a Liberal Anglo-Catholic theological college.[3] He graduated with a further BA in 1984.[1]

Ferguson was made a deacon at Petertide 1985 (30 June), by Ronald Brown, Bishop of Birkenhead, at St Mary-without-the-Walls, Chester,[5] and ordained a priest the Petertide following (29 June 1986), by Michael Baughen, Bishop of Chester, at Chester Cathedral.[6] After a curacy at St Mary, Chester he was Curate, Chaplain, Sacrist and Precentor at Westminster Abbey from 1988 to 1995. After this he was Precentor and a Residentiary Canon at York Minster until his appointment as Archdeacon of Cleveland in 2001.[7]

He was consecrated at York Minster on 3 July 2014 by John Sentamu, Archbishop of York.[8] In the vacancy in See between the retirement of Sentamu and the confirmation of Stephen Cottrell, Ferguson was acting diocesan bishop.[9] His retirement has been announced for July 2024.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b "Paul John Ferguson". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  2. ^ WHITBY, Bishop Suffragan of’, Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016 ; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 12 March 2017
  3. ^ a b c d "Whitby, Bishop Suffragan of, (Rt Rev. Paul John Ferguson) (born 13 July 1955)". Who's Who 2023. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b "The Rt Revd Paul Ferguson: Bishop of Whitby". Diocese of York. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Petertide ordinations". Church Times. No. 6386. 5 July 1985. p. 16. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 7 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
  6. ^ "Petertide ordinations". Church Times. No. 6438. 4 July 1986. p. 15. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 7 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
  7. ^ "Suffragan Bishop of Whitby: Paul John Ferguson". News. GOV.UK. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  8. ^ "Consecrations of two new North Yorkshire bishops". BBC News. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  9. ^ "A pastoral letter to the Diocese of York from the Bishop of Whitby".
  10. ^ "Two Bishops in the Diocese of York to retire in mid-2024". Diocese of York. 27 July 2023. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
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