Colin Henry Williams (born 12 August 1952) is a British

Anglican 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 ...

. Since 2015, he has served as an

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 ...

in the

Diocese in Europe The Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe, known simply as the Diocese in Europe (DiE), is a diocese of the Church of England. It was originally formed in 1842 as the Diocese of Gibraltar. It is geographically the largest diocese of the Church of Englan ...

; he was Archdeacon of Lancaster from 1999 to 2005.

Early life and education

Williams was born on 12 August 1952, the son of William Henry Williams and Blanche Williams. He was educated at King George V Grammar School for Boys, Southport, and

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

, whence he graduated Bachelor of Arts (BA) 1973 and proceeded Master of Arts (Oxford) (MA Oxon) 1977. He trained as a solicitor at the College of Law, Chester, qualified and practised as a solicitor in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

, 1974–1978.

Ordained ministry

Williams trained for the ministry at

St Stephen's House, Oxford St Stephen's House is an external theological college with observer status at the University of Oxford, affiliated with the Church of England. From 2003 to 2023 it was a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford. The college typicall ...

, 1980–1981, gaining a second BA. He 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 ...

Petertide Petertide (also known as St Peter's Tide) refers to the Sunday nearest to St Peter's Day on 29 June and to the period around that day. In Anglicanism, Petertide is one of two major traditional periods for the ordination of new priests (the other ...

1981 (12 July) and ordained a priest the Petertide following (4 July 1982) – both times by

David Sheppard David Stuart Sheppard, Baron Sheppard of Liverpool (6 March 1929 – 5 March 2005) was a Church of England bishop who played cricket for Sussex and England in his youth, before serving as Bishop of Liverpool from 1975 to 1997. Sheppard remains ...

Bishop of Liverpool The Bishop of Liverpool is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool in the Province of York.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. . The diocese stretches from Southport in the n ...

, at

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Liverpool, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Liverpool and is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, diocese of Liverpool. The church may be formally re ...

. After 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 St Paul's Stoneycroft,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, he was Team Vicar in Walton from 1984 to 1989. He served as

domestic 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, intelligen ...

to the

Bishop of Blackburn The Bishop of Blackburn is the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Blackburn in the Province of York. The diocese covers much of the county of Lancashire and has its Episcopal see, see in the Blackburn, town of Black ...

( Alan Chesters) – and Chaplain (lead clergy) of

Whalley Abbey Whalley Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in Whalley, Lancashire, England. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the abbey was largely demolished and a country house was built on the site. In the 20th century the house was modified ...

retreat and conference centre – from 1989 to 1994. Whilst Vicar of St Chad's

Poulton-le-Fylde Poulton-le-Fylde (), commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,115. There is evidence of human habitatio ...

from 1994 to 1999, he was also elected a Proctor in Convocation, serving two quinquennia (1995–2005), and became a member of the Meissen Commission (1996–2005). In 1999, he was collated Archdeacon of Lancaster (in the

Diocese of Blackburn The diocese of Blackburn is diocese of the Church of England in North West England. Its boundaries correspond to northern Lancashire. The diocese contains 211 parishes and 280 churches. Blackburn Cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Blackburn ...

), which post he held (he was afterwards made "archdeacon emeritus") until his 2005 appointment as General Secretary of the

ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

Conference of European Churches The Conference of European Churches (CEC) was founded in 1959 to promote reconciliation, dialogue and friendship between the churches of Europe at a time of growing Cold War political tensions and divisions. In its commitment to Europe as a whol ...

, based in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. While Archdeacon, he was a member of the Council for Christian Unity, 2003–2005; he was later made an

honorary canon Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct of ...

Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity is the cathedral for the Church of England Diocese of Europe. Located in Cathedral Square, it is sometimes referred to simply as Gibraltar Cathedral, although it should not be confused with the Cathedral of S ...

, 2007–2010. He returned to parish ministry in 2010, becoming

Team Rector A rector is, in an ecclesiastical sense, a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations. In contrast, a vicar is also a cleric but functions as an assistant and representative of an administrative leader. Anc ...

of the

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

Team Ministry Vicar is a title given to certain parish priests in the Church of England and other Anglican churches. It has played a significant role in Anglican church organisation in ways that are different from other Christian denominations. The title aris ...

; during which time he was made an honorary canon and

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Hereford, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Hereford and the principal church of the diocese of Hereford. The cathedral is a grade I listed building. A place of wors ...

from 2014 onwards. On 24 May 2015, it was announced that Williams would become Archdeacon of Europe – i.e. the first full-time Archdeacon in the Diocese in Europe from October 2015. Historically, archdeacons in Europe have had other parochial (chaplaincy) duties in addition to their work as archdeacons. He was in charge of both the Eastern archdeaconry and that of Germany and Northern Europe, and he was based in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany.Diocese in Europe — First full time archdeacon appointed
(Accessed 29 May 2015) In 2018, it was announced that Williams is to retire effective 31 March 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Colin English solicitors Archdeacons of Lancaster Archdeacons of Europe Archdeacons of the Eastern Archdeaconry Archdeacons of Germany and Northern Europe 1952 births Living people People educated at King George V College Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford