Ian James Brackley (born 13 December 1947) is a retired British Anglican bishop. He was the

Bishop of Dorking The Bishop of Dorking is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Guildford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name from the town of Dorking in Surrey. However, t ...

from 1996 to 2015. Brackley was educated at

Westcliff High School for Boys Westcliff High School for Boys (WHSB) is an 11–18 selective boys Academy (English school), academy grammar school in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England. In September 2001 the school was awarded ‘Beacon’ status for its breadth of achievements ...

. and

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

, He was ordained as a deacon on 19 September 1971 (

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 Se ...

). and on 24 September 1972 – both times by

Oliver Tomkins Oliver Stratford Tomkins (9 June 190829 October 1992) was a British bishop in the Church of England. He was a Bishop of Bristol and an author. Early life and education Tompkins was born into an ecclesiastical family and his father was the Reve ...

Bishop of Bristol The Bishop of Bristol heads the Church of England Diocese of Bristol in the Province of Canterbury, in England. The present diocese covers parts of the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire together with a small area of Wiltshire. The see ...

, at

Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bristol. The cathedral was originally an abbey dedicated to St ...

. He began his ordained ministry as a

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 as ...

at St Mary Magdalene, Lockleaze. From 1977 until 1980 he was chaplain at

Bryanston School Bryanston School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the ...

then

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 ...

of East Preston,

St Wilfrid's Church, Haywards Heath St Wilfrid's Church is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in the town of Haywards Heath in the Districts of England, district of Mid Sussex District, Mid Sussex, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. It is Ha ...

(1988–1996) and finally

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 ...

Cuckfield Cuckfield ( ) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Mid Sussex District, Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England, on the southern slopes of the Weald. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east northea ...

before his appointment to the

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

. He was consecrated a bishop 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 ...

on 25 January 1996. A keen golfer, Brackley is married with two children. He retired from the See of Dorking on 30 September 2015. During the 2009–2010 episcopal vacancy in the Diocese of Portsmouth, Brackley served as the commissary bishop (essentially "acting diocesan bishop"), since that diocese has no suffragan bishop to perform that role as would be more usual. On 11 February 2017, 14 retired bishops signed an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

to the then-serving bishops of the Church of England. In an unprecedented move, they expressed their opposition to the House of Bishops' report to

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church ...

on sexuality, which recommended no change to the church's canons or practises around sexuality. By 13 February, a serving bishop ( Alan Wilson,

Bishop of Buckingham The Bishop of Buckingham is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name from the historic county town of Buckingham; ...

) and nine further retired bishops – including Brackley – had added their signatures; on 15 February, the report was rejected by synod. Brackley now lives in the

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 ...

area and was licensed 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 ...

of the Diocese of Portsmouth in 2016. Brackley is a keen golfer.

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 ...

'' Ian Brackley (1971–1996) * ''

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 ...

'' Ian Brackley (1996–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brackley, Ian James 1947 births Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Living people Free Foresters cricketers Bishops of Dorking People educated at Westcliff High School for Boys People from East Preston, West Sussex