Andrew James Forster is an Irish Anglican

Bishop 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 ...

. He is currently Serving as Bishop of Derry and Raphoe since 8 December 2019. Forster was educated at

Queen's University, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

and the Church of Ireland Theological College. He 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 var ...

in 1992. His first post was a

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 Willowfield. After that he was Dean of Residence at his old university then from 2002 to 2007 he was

Archdeacon of Elphin and Ardagh The United Dioceses of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh is a diocese of the Church of Ireland located in central Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Armagh. It is one of twelve Anglican dioceses in the island of Ireland. The geographi ...

and rector of the

Drumcliff Drumcliff or Drumcliffe () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. It is 8 km (5 miles) north of Sligo town on the N15 road on a low gravel ridge between the mountain of Ben Bulben and Drumcliff bay. It is on the Drumcliff river, origina ...

group of parishes in

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the loc ...

. From 2007 - 2015 he had Served as rector of Drumglass. He previously served as

Archdeacon of Ardboe {{Commons category, Diocese of Armagh (Church of Ireland) Armagh Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical cap ...

from 2015 to 2019 when he was ordained a bishop.Diocese of Armagh web-site
/ref> On 29 August 2019, Forster was elected as Bishop of Derry & Raphoe, following the retirement of Bishop Kenneth Good In 31 May 2019. His consecration took place on the evening of Sunday 8 December in St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh. He was enthroned in the two diocesan cathedrals in Derry and Raphoe at the beginning of January 2020. Forster is married to Heather and has three children, Hannah, Patrick & Megan (in age order).

References

Living people Archdeacons of Ardboe Archdeacons of Elphin and Ardagh Alumni of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute Alumni of Queen's University Belfast 20th-century Irish Anglican priests 21st-century Irish Anglican priests Year of birth missing (living people) {{Ireland-Anglican-clergy-stub Evangelical Anglican bishops