John Julian Witcombe (born 1 March 1959) 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 ...

. He is the Dean of Coventry 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, ...

Ministry

After ordination in 1984, he served in Birtley,

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

before moving to be the team Vicar of St Barnabas, Inham Nook, Nottingham. He was then vicar of St Luke’s, Lodge Moor, Sheffield the Team Rector in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...

and later Dean of St John's College, Nottingham. Before his appointment as Dean of Coventry, Witcombe was the

Diocese of Gloucester The Diocese of Gloucester is a Church of England diocese based in Gloucester, covering the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire. The cathedral is Gloucester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Gloucester. It is part of the Province ...

's Diocesan Director of Ordinands and then Director of Discipleship and Ministry, and a Residentiary Canon at

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity and formerly St Peter's Abbey, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishme ...

. He is a former member of

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 ...

and formerly a national advisor for selecting potential clergy for the

. He was installed as Dean of Coventry on 19 January 2013.

Personal life

John is married to Ricarda, who is also a priest, and hospital chaplain. They married in 2000 after the death of his first wife Maureen Edwards (also a priest). John has one son and two daughters with his first wife Maureen, and two step daughters with his second wife Ricarda.

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 ...

'' John Witcombe (1984–2009) * ''The Reverend''

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

John Witcombe (2009–2013) * ''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 ...

'' John Witcombe (2013–present)

Works

* Editor of ''The Curate's Guide: From calling to first parish'' (Church House Publishing 2005) * Author with John Leach of Grove books ''Hanging on to God: sustaining ministry in the renewal tradition'' (Grove Books, 2008) * Author with John Leach and Mark Tanner of Grove Books ''Renewing the Traditional Church'' (Grove Books, 2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Witcombe, John Church of England deans Living people Provosts and Deans of Coventry 1959 births