Robert David Silk (23 August 1936 – 20 September 2023) was an English priest of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. He was formerly an
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 ...
and was the
Bishop of Ballarat in the
Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia, originally known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. In 2016, responding to a peer-reviewed study ...
.
Early life and education
Silk was born on 23 August 1936. He was educated at
Gillingham Grammar School,
Exeter University
The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School o ...
and
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 ...
.
Ordained ministry
Anglican ministry
Silk was ordained 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, ...
: made a deacon during
Advent
Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...
1959 (20 December) by
Robert Stannard,
Dean of Rochester
The Dean of Rochester is the head of the chapter of canons at Rochester Cathedral, the mother church of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester. The current dean is Philip Hesketh, who has served in that role since June 2016.
List of deans
...
(and
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 ...
), at
Rochester Cathedral
Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is in Rochester, Kent, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Rochester and seat (''cathedra'') of the Bishop of Rocheste ...
, and ordained a priest the following Advent (18 December 1960), by
Russell White
Russell Lamar White (born December 15, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for a single season in 1993. White played college football for the California Golden ...
,
Bishop of Tonbridge
The Bishop of Tonbridge is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Tonbridge, a market town in Kent; the see was erected un ...
, at
Bexley
Bexley is an area of south-eastern Greater London, England and part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is sometimes known as Bexley Village or Old Bexley to differentiate the area from the wider borough. It is located east-southeast of Ch ...
(St Mary's) Parish Church. His first positions were
curacies at St Barnabas'
Gillingham and Holy Redeemer,
Lamorbey
Lamorbey is a district of South East London in the London Borough of Bexley, located north of Sidcup. It borders the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Significant buildings in the area are Holy Trinity Church, Lamorbey House and some of the original ...
. He then became the
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 ...
of the Church of the Good Shepherd,
Blackfen
Blackfen is an area of South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It is located north of Sidcup and south of Welling. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965 it was in the historic county of Kent.
"Blackfen" me ...
followed by
incumbencies at
Swanscombe
Swanscombe /ˈswɔnzkəm/ is a town in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is 4.4 miles west of Gravesend and 4.8 miles east of Dartford.
History
Prehistory
Bone fragments and to ...
and
St George's Church, Beckenham
St George's Church, Beckenham is the Church of England parish church of Beckenham, Greater London (until London Government Act 1963, 1965, Kent). It is Listed building, Grade II* listed.
St George's Church is the principal parish church, and is ...
(1975 to 1980).
He was then appointed the
Archdeacon of Leicester
The Archdeacon of Leicester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Leicester.
History
The first archdeacon of Leicester is recorded before 1092 – around the time when archdeacons were first appointed in England ...
.
Silk was consecrated a bishop on 23 February 1994, by
George Carey
George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells.
During his time as archbishop the C ...
,
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 ...
, 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 ...
, and moved to Australia where he became the eighth bishop of the rural Diocese of Ballarat. On his return to England from Australia in 2003 he served for eighteen months as full-time parish priest of St Michael's,
Amberley Amberley may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Amberley, Queensland, near Ipswich, Australia
*RAAF Base Amberley, a Royal Australian Air Force military airbase
United Kingdom
* Amberley, Gloucestershire, England
* Amberley, Herefordshire, England
...
(with North Stoke, Parham, Wiggonholt, and Greatham) in Sussex, before retiring to Devon where he was an honorary assistant bishop in the
Diocese of Exeter
The Diocese of Exeter is a Church of England diocese covering the county of Devon. It is one of the largest dioceses in England. The Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter is the seat of the diocesan Bishop of Exeter. It is part of the Provinc ...
.
Roman Catholic ministry
Silk was received into the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in 2011.
He was ordained to the diaconate in that church on 15 February 2011 and the priesthood on 18 February 2011. In June 2012, he was elevated to the rank of
monsignor
Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...
as a
Chaplain of His Holiness
Chaplain of His Holiness is a title of distinction given by the Pope in recognition of a priest's service to the Church. They are addressed with the honorific of "Monsignor" and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and ve ...
.
Personal life and death
In 1957, Silk married Joyce Silk.
She predeceased her husband.
They had two children; a son and a daughter.
Silk died at a Torquay hospital on 20 September 2023, following a fall the previous day. He was 87.
References
1936 births
2023 deaths
Anglican bishop converts to Roman Catholicism
People educated at Gillingham Grammar School, Kent
Alumni of the University of Exeter
Alumni of St Stephen's House, Oxford
Archdeacons of Leicester
Anglican bishops of Ballarat
20th-century Anglican bishops in Australia
21st-century Anglican bishops in Australia
Married Roman Catholic clergy
{{Australia-anglican-bishop-stub