Christopher John Boyle (born 8 November 1951) is a retired

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 ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. He was Bishop of Northern Malawi in the

Church of the Province of Central Africa The Church of the Province of Central Africa is part of the Anglican Communion, and includes 15 dioceses in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Primate of the Church is the Archbishop of Central Africa. Albert Chama is the current archbi ...

(2001–2009) and the last Assistant Bishop of Leicester in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

(2009–2017).

Early life and priestly career

Born and raised in Birmingham, Boyle studied at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and was ordained a deacon in the

in 1976. He was ordained priest a year later, one year into serving his four-year title as

assistant curate 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 Emmanuel, Wylde Green. In 1980, Boyle became Chaplain to

Hugh Montefiore Hugh William Montefiore (born Hugh William Sebag-Montefiore; 12 May 1920 – 13 May 2005) was an English Anglican bishop and academic, who served as Bishop of Kingston from 1970 to 1978 and Bishop of Birmingham from 1978 to 1987. Early life and ...

Bishop of Birmingham The Bishop of Birmingham heads the Church of England Diocese of Birmingham, in the Province of Canterbury, in England. The diocese covers the North West of the historical county of Warwickshire and has its see in the City of Birmingham, Wes ...

until 1983, when he became Rector at St Mary and St Margaret, Castle Bromwich. While in Castle Bromwich, he also served as Area Dean of Coleshill (1992–1999), Priest-in-charge at All Saints, Shard End (1996–1997) and Honorary Canon of

St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham The Cathedral Church of Saint Philip, also called the Birmingham Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of Birmingham. Built as a parish church in the Baroque style by Thomas Archer, it was consecrated in 1715. Lo ...

(from 1996), until his emigration in 2001.

Episcopal career

In 2001, he became an Anglican bishop when he was consecrated Bishop of Northern Malawi, following his 2000 election to the post. He served in Africa for eight years before resigning to return to Britain – his successor as diocesan bishop was the first African bishop to serve in that role. He became Assistant Bishop of Leicester, and the first full-time stipendiary

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan bishop, suffragan) bishops – in ...

, acting as if 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 Leicester The Diocese of Leicester is a Church of England diocese based in Leicester and including the current county of Leicestershire. The cathedral is Leicester Cathedral, where the Bishop of Leicester has his episcopal chair. The diocese is divided in ...

, upon his installation on 6 September 2009. He retired effective 31 May 2017.Diocese of Leicester — Christopher announces retirement
(Accessed 20 January 2017)

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 ...

'' Christopher Boyle (1976–1996) *''The Reverend''

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Christopher Boyle (1996–2001) *''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 ...

'' Christopher Boyle (2001–present)

References

, - 1951 births Living people Alumni of King's College London Associates of King's College London Anglican bishops of Northern Malawi Assistant bishops of Leicester (1987–2017) 21st-century Anglican bishops in Malawi Clergy from Birmingham, West Midlands 21st-century Church of England bishops {{ChurchofEngland-bishop-stub