Anselm Genders CR, born Roger Marson Genders and also added the name of Alban when 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 ...

(15 August 1919 – 19 June 2008), was the

Bishop of Bermuda The Bishop of Bermuda is an episcopal title given to the ordinary of the Anglican Church of Bermuda, one of six extra-provincial Anglican churches within the Church of England overseen by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The present Bishop is Nic ...

from 1977 until 1982. Genders was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Birmingham and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

during which time his studies were interrupted by wartime service with the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

. After graduation Genders taught briefly at

Dame Allan's School Dame Allan's Schools is a collection of private day schools in Fenham, in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It comprises a Junior School, Senior School and a Sixth Form. Founded in 1705 as a charity, the original schools are two of ...

(where he succeeded South African theologian John Suggitt) and then began a long association with the

College of the Resurrection, Mirfield 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 school ...

, becoming a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

in 1952. In 1955 he was sent as a tutor to

Codrington College Codrington College is an Anglican theological college in Saint John, Barbados, St. John, Barbados now affiliated with the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill. It is one of the oldest Anglican theological colleges in the Americas. It was ...

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

eventually becoming its

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

. A decade later he was sent to

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

, working first in

Penhalonga Penhalonga is mining village in Mutasa District of Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe, located 18 km north of Mutare in a valley where the Tsambe and Imbeza Rivers meet the Mutare River. According to the 1982 Population Census, the village had a ...

before being appointed

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

Manicaland Manicaland is a province in eastern Zimbabwe. After Harare Province, it is the country's second-most populous province, with a population of 2.037 million, as of the 2022 census. Making it the third most densely populated province after Harare a ...

. In 1977,

Donald Coggan Frederick Donald Coggan, Baron Coggan, (9 October 1909 – 17 May 2000) was the 101st Archbishop of Canterbury from 1974 to 1980.

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, asked him accept the

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

vacated by the death of Robert Stopford. Genders was ordained a bishop on 18 October 1977, by Coggan at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

. Five turbulent years laterArticle in the Bermuda Sun
/ref> he returned to the College of the Resurrection where he remained for 26 years until his death.

Notes and references

1919 births Clergy from Birmingham, West Midlands People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Alumni of the College of the Resurrection Alumni of Codrington College Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Anglican archdeacons in Africa 20th-century Anglican bishops in Bermuda Anglican bishops of Bermuda Anglican monks 2008 deaths Academics of the College of the Resurrection {{Anglican-bishop-stub