Mark James Rylands (born 11 July 1961) is a British

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. From 2009 until 2018, he was the

area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

Bishop of Shrewsbury 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, ...

Early life

Rylands was born on 11 July 1961, the son of Michael Rylands and Denise née Bates. Michael was sometime

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 ...

Wilton, Wiltshire Wilton is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England. Lying about west of the city of Salisbury, and until 1889 the county town of Wiltshire, it has a rich heritage dating back to the Anglo-Saxons. The parish had ...

, Rector of

Malpas, Cheshire Malpas ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies near the borders with Shropshire and Wales, and had a population of 1,673 at the 2011 U ...

and

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 ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

and Denise a scion of the

Bates baronets There have been two baronetcies created for persons with the surname Bates, both in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. As of 2014 both creations are extant. The Bates Baronetcy, of Bellefield in the County Palatine of Lancaster, was created i ...

(of Bellefield): her grandfather was Edward, 2nd Baronet. He was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

and the

College of St Hild and St Bede The College of St Hild and St Bede, commonly known as Hild Bede, is a constituent college of Durham University in England. With over 1000 student members, The co-educational college was formed in 1975 following the merger of two much older singl ...

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, the latter whence he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree in 1983. He trained for the ministry at

Trinity College, Bristol Trinity College, Bristol is an Evangelicalism, evangelical Anglican theological college located in Stoke Bishop, Bristol, England. It offers a range of full-time and part-time taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses which are validated by ...

, gaining a second BA in 1987; and later studied for a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from

Sheffield University The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth College in 1879 ...

, which he was awarded in 2006.

Ordained ministry

He was made a deacon at

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 ...

1987 (27 June) and

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest the Petertide following (3 July 1988) — both times by

Michael Baughen Michael Alfred Baughen (born 7 June 1930) is a retired Church of England, Anglican bishop. Born in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, he was educated at Ravensbourne School (Bromley), Bromley County Grammar School, the University of London and Oak Hil ...

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...

, at

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint ...

; he began his ordained ministry with a title post as

assistant 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 ass ...

at St George's Heaviley,

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

(1987–1991); he was then vicar of Acton and Worleston,

Church Minshull Church Minshull is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is approximately north west of Crewe, just west of the River Weaver and Shropshire Union Canal. ...

and Wettenhall, Cheshire (1991–1997). He moved to

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

in 1997 to be team tector for the

Langport Langport is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton, Somerset, Somerton. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 3,578. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, ...

team ministry (

Aller Aller may refer to: Places Rivers *Aller (Germany), a major river in North Germany * Aller (Asturian river), a river in Asturias, Spain * River Aller, a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England * Aller Brook, a small river in Devon, England Inh ...

Drayton Drayton may refer to: People * Drayton (surname) Legal cases * '' United States v. Drayton'', 536 U.S. 194 (2002) Places Australia *Drayton, Queensland, a locality in the Toowoomba Region *Shire of Drayton, a former local government area in Quee ...

High Ham High Ham is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. Within the parish of High Ham, there are the villages of High Ham and Low Ham and the hamlets of Bowdens, Henley, Paradise and Picts Hill. History Within the parish of High Ham, th ...

with Low Ham,

Huish Episcopi Huish Episcopi is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the outskirts of Langport, south west of Somerton, Somerset, Somerton. The parish has a population of 2,644, and includes the hamlet (place), hamlets of Bowdens, Co ...

, Long Sutton, Muchelney and

Pitney Pitney is a village and parish in Somerset, England, located east of Langport and west of Somerton, Somerset, Somerton. In 2011, the village had a population of 374. Pitney is home to St John the Baptist Church, the Pitney Farm Shop, and th ...

); then from 2002 until 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 diocesan missioner for 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 ...

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 ...

Exeter Cathedral Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The presen ...

Episcopate

Rylands was appointed Bishop of Shrewsbury, one of three

area bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the Metropolitan ...

s (

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led b ...

s with delegated responsibility for episcopal areas) in the

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

: 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 28 October 2009 by

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet, who served as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002 to 2012. Previously the Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of W ...

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 ...

, and installed at

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Chad in Lichfield, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Lichfield, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lichfield and the principal church of the diocese ...

on 2 November 2009.Diocese of Lichfield — Hear Ye: Town Crier invites shoppers to "pull up a pew" with bishop
In March 2018 it was announced that Rylands would resign as Bishop of Shrewsbury and return to parish ministry. Since July 2018, he has led the Ashburton and Moorland team ministry in the

, first as

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 ...

and then as rector since 2021. He has additionally been 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 ...

in the Diocese of Exeter since 2018.

Personal life

Mark married in 1986 and they have two adult children; his wife is also a priest.

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 ...

'' Mark Rylands (1988–2002) *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 ...

'' Mark Rylands (2002–2009) *''

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 ...

'' Mark Rylands (2009–present)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rylands, Mark James 1961 births 21st-century Church of England bishops Alumni of the College of St Hild and St Bede, Durham Anglican bishops of Shrewsbury Living people Alumni of Trinity College, Bristol