Andrew Hillier (born 5 June 1968) is a British

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 ...

priest: he has been

Chaplain of the Fleet The Royal Naval Chaplaincy Service provides chaplains to the Royal Navy. The chaplains are commissioned by the Sovereign but do not hold military rank other than that of "Chaplain Royal Navy". The senior chaplain in the Royal Navy is the Chap ...

and Archdeacon for the Royal Navy since 2021.

Early life and career

Hillier was born on 5 June 1968 in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

He was educated at

Foster's School Foster's Grammar School for Boys, Sherborne, Dorset, was founded by Richard Foster in 1640. It closed in 1992. History Foster's School was initially endowed by Richard Foster from rent collected at Foster's Farm at Boy's Hill in the parish of ...

, Somerset School of Nursing and

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

. He was a Staff Nurse at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton from 1992 to 2002.

Ordained ministry

His ordination training took place via the South West Ministry Training Course. He 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 2002 and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 2003. Hillier began his career with a

curacy 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 ass ...

Castle Cary Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. History The word Cary derives ...

.He joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 2005; and has been a naval chaplain since then.

Personal life

Hillier married Louise Gomm in 2022: he has three daughters.

References

1968 births Living people Clergy from Bournemouth People educated at Foster's School Alumni of Cardiff University 21st-century British Anglican priests Church of England archdeacons (military) Chaplains of the Fleet {{UK-Anglican-clergy-stub