Christopher Lowson (born 3 February 1953) is a British 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. He was

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...

from 2011 to 2021.

Education and ordination

Lowson was educated at Newcastle Cathedral School, Consett Grammar School and

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 ...

where he was awarded an Associateship of King's College qualification in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

in 1975. He then studied at the

Pacific School of Religion The Pacific School of Religion (PSR) is a Private university, private Protestant seminary in Berkeley, California. It maintains Covenant (religion), covenantal relationships with the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, and the ...

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

, (as a

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

' scholar), where he received a

Master of Sacred Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

degree in theology before being

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1977. During his work Lowson studied part-time at Heythrop College, University of London, where he obtained a

Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

degree in

pastoral theology Pastoral theology is the branch of practical theology concerned with the application of the study of religion in the context of regular church ministry. This approach to theology seeks to give practical expression to theology. Normally viewed as ...

in 1996 and, in 2003, he completed a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree in

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

at Cardiff Law School.

Ordained ministry

Lowson was made a

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 ...

at Petertide on 3 July 1977 and was ordained as a

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 ...

the following year, both times by Mervyn Stockwood, Bishop of Southwark, at

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ), formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, is a Church of England cathedral in Southwark, London, near the south bank of the River Thames and close to London Bridge. It is the mother c ...

. He began his ordained ministry as an assistant curate in Richmond, Surrey. He was successively

priest in charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent; they will normally work on a short-term contract and have less freedom to act within the ...

(1982 to 1983) and

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 ...

(1983 to 1991) at

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

. From 1982 to 1985 he was also a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

at Avery Hill College and then of Thames Polytechnic until 1991. That year, he became vicar of

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own Petersfield railway station, railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rai ...

and rector of Buriton. He held this appointment for eight years, during the last four of which he was also

rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

of Petersfield. In 1999 he became Archdeacon of Portsmouth, which soon after was divided into the archdeaconries of The Meon and of Portsdown. After the split, Lowson became the Archdeacon of Portsdown and held this position until 2006. In that year he was appointed director of the Ministry Division of the Archbishops' Council and a priest vicar at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, posts he held until the confirmation of his election to the See of Lincoln.

Episcopal ministry

Lowson's

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

as Bishop of Lincoln was confirmed at

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament of the United King ...

on 19 July 2011. He was consecrated as a bishop on 21 September 2011 in

and enthroned in

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...

on 12 November 2011.Diocese of Lincoln – Consecration of Christopher Lowson
He is believed to be the only steel worker ever to have been appointed a bishop. He was introduced to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

as a Lord Spiritual on 14 September 2017. Lowson was suspended from office by

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is an Anglican bishop who served as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 2013 to 2025. After an 11-year career in the oil industry, Welby trained for ordination at St John ...

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 ...

, on 16 May 2019. According to Welby, the suspension was in relation to a safeguarding children inquiry, but "is a neutral act" and there has been "no allegation that ehas committed abuse of a child or vulnerable adult". He accepted a misconduct penalty in relation to his mishandling of "a disclosure about a member of clergy in the Lincoln diocese in early 2019" and returned to work in February 2021. On 31 December 2021, he resigned the See of Lincoln and retired from full-time ministry. He is currently an Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Clubs

He is a member of the Garrick Club, the MCC and the Savile Club.

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 Lowson (1978–1999) *''

The Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

'' Chris Lowson (1999–2011) *''

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 Lowson (2011–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowson, Christopher 1953 births People from Consett People educated at Consett Grammar School Alumni of King's College London Associates of King's College London Archdeacons of Portsmouth Archdeacons of Portsdown Bishops of Lincoln Lords Spiritual 21st-century Church of England bishops Living people Pacific School of Religion alumni