Noel Michael Roy Beasley (called Michael; born 1968) is a British

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

bishop and

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

. Since June 2022, he has been the

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...

, although he has yet to be enthroned and will start active ministry in that role later in 2022. From May 2015 to June 2022, he was

Bishop of Hertford The Bishop of Hertford is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of St Albans, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The suffragan See was created by Order in Council of 5 July 1889, but remained dorm ...

, a suffragan bishop in the

Diocese of St Albans The Diocese of St Albans forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England and is part of the wider Church of England, in turn part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese is home to more than 1.6 million people and comprises the h ...

. From 2003 to 2010, he worked at

Westcott House, Cambridge Westcott House is an Anglican theological college based on Jesus Lane in the centre of the University of Cambridge, university city of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.Westcott House website, Home pag Retrieved on August 27, 2006. Its main activit ...

, an Anglican

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clerg ...

, first as chaplain and then as a tutor and the college's

vice-principal In larger school systems, a head teacher principal is often assisted by someone known as a vice-principal, deputy principal, or assistant/associate principal. Unlike the principal, the vice-principal does not have quite the decision-making authorit ...

. During this time, he was also an academic of

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a ...

. From 2010 to 2015, he was Director of Mission for the

Diocese of Oxford The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. It contains ...

Early life and education

Beasley was born in 1968, and brought up in rural Staffordshire. From 1983 to 1987, he was educated at Sir Graham Balfour School, a state school in

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in ...

, Staffordshire. He studied at

and graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. He then undertook

post-graduate study Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

, completing his Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in 1996. He later became an

specialising in child infectious diseases in low-income countries. After completing his doctorate, Beasley studied theology at

St John's College, Durham St John's College is a college of the University of Durham, United Kingdom. It is one of only two "recognised colleges" of the university, the other being St Chad's. This means that it is financially and constitutionally independent of the univers ...

. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1998. He then trained for the priesthood at Cranmer Hall, the

attached to St John's College, which he completed in 1999. Until 2010, he combined scientific work half time with work as a

missioner A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

and theology teacher.

Ordained ministry

Beasley was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

in the

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in 1999 and as a

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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 2000. From 1999 to 2003, he served as an

assistant curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''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 w ...

at St Nicholas Church, Newport, 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 ...

. From 2003 to 2007, Beasley was chaplain of

, an Anglican theological college. Remaining at Westcott House, he was a

tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in c ...

in mission and the college's

from 2007 to 2010. His positions at Westcott House were part-time and he combined these with work at

. There, he worked as Director of the Partnership for Child Development in the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology. One of his projects was a 2008 film titled ''Courage and Hope: African Teachers Living Positively With HIV'' which tried to address the stigma of

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

in Africa. In 2010, Beasley was appointed Director of Mission for the

. In this position he worked throughout the diocese with churches across the spectrum of Anglican

churchmanship Churchmanship (or churchpersonship; or tradition in most official contexts) is a way of talking about and labelling different tendencies, parties, or schools of thought within the Church of England and the sister churches of the Anglican Commun ...

. In 2014, he was appointed an honorary canon of

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford. This dua ...

Episcopate

In March 2015, it was announced that Beasley would succeed

Paul Bayes Paul Bayes (born 1953) is an English Anglican retired bishop. He served as Bishop of Liverpool, 2014–2022, and as Bishop of Hertford in the Church of England Diocese of St Albans, 2010–2014. Early life Bayes was born in Bradford, ...

, a suffragan bishop of the Diocese of St Albans. On 14 May 2015, he was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

as a bishop by

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for ...

, the Archbishop of Canterbury, during a service at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. He took up the appointment on 16 May during a service at

St Albans Cathedral St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be ...

. On 28 April 2022, it was announced that Beasley would be the next

, the diocesan bishop of the

Diocese of Bath and Wells The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the ...

; his confirmation of election took place at

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposit ...

on 29 June 2022. At his installation on 12 November at

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...

, he gifted 1,000 hazel saplings to guests as a sign of working for change, to offer shelter to birds and creatures, and capture carbon.

Personal life

Beasley is married to Lizzie, a deputy head teacher. They have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beasley, Michael Noel Roy 1968 births Living people 21st-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Imperial College London Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Alumni of St John's College, Durham Academics of Imperial College London British epidemiologists Bishops of Hertford Staff of Westcott House, Cambridge People educated at Sir Graham Balfour School Alumni of Cranmer Hall, Durham