Graeme Paul Knowles (born 25 September 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 who is serving as Acting Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. He served latterly as the Acting Dean of St Edmundsbury, having previously served as

Bishop of Sodor and Man The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Sodor and Man (Manx Gaelic: ''Sodor as Mannin'') in the Province of York in the Church of England. The diocese only covers the Isle of Man. The Cathedral Church of St German where ...

and as

Dean of St Paul's The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also '' ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of th ...

Biography

Knowles was educated at Dunstable 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 ...

, spending his final year of theological studies at

St Augustine's College, Canterbury St Augustine’s College in Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom, was located within the precincts of St Augustine's Abbey about 0.2 miles (335 metres) ESE of Canterbury Cathedral. It served first as a missionary college of the Church of England (18 ...

. Knowles served a curacy at St Peter-in-Thanet in

Broadstairs Broadstairs () is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

from 1974 to 1979. From 1979 he was precentor and senior curate of Leeds Parish Church before moving to become

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

and a

canon residentiary 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 ...

Portsmouth Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, commonly known as Portsmouth Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral church in the centre of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, England. Since 1935 the historic church has been the cathedral of the Dioc ...

in 1981. He was also a chaplain during his time at the cathedral and held the post of chapter clerk from 1985 to 1987. He became the vicar of Leigh Park in 1987, additionally taking on the role of Rural Dean of Havant from 1990. He was appointed Archdeacon of Portsmouth in 1993 and held the post until 1999. Knowles was

Dean of Carlisle The Dean of Carlisle is based in Carlisle, United Kingdom, and is the head of the Chapter of Carlisle Cathedral in the Church of England's Diocese of Carlisle. There have been 41 previous incumbents. The current dean is Jonathan Brewster; he took ...

from 1999 until he moved to the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

in 2003, replacing Noël Jones. He was consecrated a bishop by David Hope,

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

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 ...

on 4 December 2003 and installed at

Peel Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint German or Peel Cathedral, renamed Cathedral Isle of Man, is located in Peel, Isle of Man. The cathedral is also one of the parish churches in the parish of the West Coast, which includes the town of Peel. Built in 187 ...

on 17 January 2004. He became

in 2007 in succession to John Moses who retired in 2006. Knowles was installed as

Cathedral, London on 1 October 2007 after

Letters Patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

were issued on 20 September 2007. He resigned from St Paul's on 1 November 2011 as a result of the reactions to the Chapter's resolution to evict the

Occupy London Occupy London was a political movement in London, England, and part of the international Occupy movement. While some media described it as an "anti-capitalist" movement, in the statement written and endorsed by consensus by the Occupy assembly i ...

protesters from cathedral land. Knowles is also an honorary chaplain in the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

and a patron of the

Burgon Society :''Not be confused with the Dean Burgon Society, concerned with the advocacy of the King James Bible'' The Burgon Society is a society and educational charity for the study and research of academic dress. The society was founded in 2000 and i ...

. After leaving St Paul's, Knowles retired to Bury St Edmunds, where he was licensed as an

honorary 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) bishops – in which case they ...

and appointed registrar of Sons of the Clergy, a charity supporting the families of Anglican clergy. On 11 January 2023, Knowles was installed as Acting Dean of Chichester following the departure of Stephen Waine. The Diocese of Chichester had earlier announced that Knowles would take up the role until April 2023. Following Martin Seeley's retirement (there being no

Bishop of Dunwich The Bishop of Dunwich is an episcopal title which was first used by an Anglo-Saxons bishop between the 7th and 9th centuries and is currently used by the suffragan bishop of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The title takes its name a ...

), Knowles is Acting Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.

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 ...

'' Graeme Knowles (1974–1981) *''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 ...

'' Graeme Knowles (1993–1999) *''The

Very Reverend The Very Reverend (abbreviated as The Very Revd or The Very Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. The definite article "t ...

'' Graeme Knowles (1999–2003) *''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 ...

'' Graeme Knowles (2003–2012) *''The

'' Graeme Knowles (2012–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Graeme Paul 1951 births Living people Alumni of King's College London Bishops of Sodor and Man Deans of St Paul's Deans of Carlisle Archdeacons of Portsmouth Associates of King's College London Fellows of King's College London 21st-century Church of England bishops Alumni of St Augustine's College, Canterbury People educated at Dunstable Grammar School Deans of Peel People from Woburn, Bedfordshire Provosts and Deans of St Edmundsbury Royal Naval Reserve personnel