Christopher Paul Edmondson (born 25 June 1950) 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 ...

retired bishop. He was the Bishop of Bolton, a

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led b ...

in the Diocese of Manchester, from 2008 to 2016. He is presently an Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Leeds.

Early life and education

Edmondson was born on 25 June 1950. He was educated at

St John's College, Durham St John's College is one of the Colleges of Durham University#Types of College, recognised colleges of Durham University. The college was established in 1909 as a Church of England theological college and became a full constituent college of th ...

University.

Ordained ministry

Edmondson was ordained in 1974 and began his ecclesiastical 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 ...

at Kirkheaton. From 1979 until 1986 he was

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Ovenden, and also in the latter part of his

Incumbency The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...

the

Bishop of Wakefield The Bishop of Wakefield is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The title was first created for a diocesan bishop in 1888, but it was dissolved in 2014. The Bishop of Wakefield is ...

's adviser on

Evangelism Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

. After further pastoral posts he became Warden of

Lee Abbey Lee Abbey, founded in 1946, is an ecumenical Christians, Christian community between Woody Bay, Devon, Woody Bay and Lynmouth in Devon, England. It is a Grade II listed building. The first building on the site may have been a farmhouse built by ...

, Lynton,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, in 2002. This lead in turn to elevation to the

ric of

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

on the retirement of David Gillett. He since became chair of the Scargill Movement – a position he still holds.

Episcopal ministry

Edmondson was consecrated on 25 April 2008 at

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

and installed at

Manchester Cathedral Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the c ...

two days later. Both ceremonies were shared with Mark Davies,

Bishop of Middleton The Bishop of Middleton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after the town of Middleton in Greater Manchester; the See was ...

(his fellow suffragan in the diocese). Between the retirement of Nigel McCulloch on 17 January 2013 and David Walker's confirmation on 7 October 2013, Edmondson and Davies were (co-equally) acting Bishops of Manchester. On 31 October 2015, Edmondson announced that he would retire as Bishop of Bolton on 30 June 2016.Diocese of Manchester – Bishop Chris sets date for his retirement
(Accessed 16 November 2015)

Styles

*''

The Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

'' Chris Edmondson (1974–2008) *''The

Right Reverend The Right Reverend (abbreviated as The Rt Revd or The Rt Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian ministers and members of clergy. It is a variant of the more common st ...

'' Chris Edmondson (2008–present)

References

1950 births Living people Alumni of St John's College, Durham Bishops of Bolton Alumni of Cranmer Hall, Durham {{ChurchofEngland-bishop-stub