Paul John Ferguson

FRCO The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and dev ...

(born 13 July 1955) is a British 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. From 2014 to 2024, he was the

Bishop of Whitby The Bishop of Whitby is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of York, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire; the See was erected under the ...

, a

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 ...

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, ...

Diocese of York The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The diocese is headed by the ar ...

Early life and education

Ferguson was born on 13 July 1955. He was educated at

Birkenhead School Birkenhead School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, academically-selective, co-educational day school located in Oxton, Merseyside, Oxton, Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, in North West England. The school offers educational opportu ...

, an

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in Merseyside. Having been awarded an organ scholarship, he studied music at

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, graduating 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 1976: as per tradition, his BA was promoted to 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 ...

(MA Oxon) degree in 1980. He undertook teacher training at

Westminster College, Oxford Westminster College, originally the Westminster Training College, was a teacher training college and college of higher education in England. The college was founded in London in 1851 as a training institute for teachers for Wesleyan Methodist ...

completing a

Postgraduate Certificate in Education The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and South Africa -where it can take up to three years- which provides training in order to allow graduate ...

(PGCE). He returned to his former school as a teacher and organ player. He then returned to university, and studied theology at

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

while training for ordination 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 ...

, a

Liberal Anglo-Catholic The terms liberal Anglo-Catholicism, liberal Anglo-Catholic or simply liberal Catholic, refer to people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm liberal Christian perspectives while maintaining the traditions culturally associated wit ...

theological college. He graduated with a further BA in 1984.

Ordained ministry

Ferguson was made 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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...

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 ...

1985 (30 June), by Ronald Brown, Bishop of Birkenhead, at St Mary-without-the-Walls, Chester, and ordained 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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

the Petertide following (29 June 1986), 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 ...

. After a

curacy 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 Mary,

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 ...

he was

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 ...

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Sacrist A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretal ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

from 1988 to 1995. After this he was

and a Residentiary Canon at

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 ...

until his appointment as

Archdeacon of Cleveland The Archdeacon of Cleveland is a senior ecclesiastical officer of an archdeaconry, or subdivision, of the Church of England diocese and province of York. The Archdeaconry of Cleveland stretches west from Thirsk, north to Middlesbrough, east to Wh ...

in 2001.

Episcopal ministry

He was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

on 3 July 2014 by

John Sentamu John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, Baron Sentamu, (; ; born 10 June 1949) is a retired Anglican bishop and life peer. He was Archbishop of York and Primate of England from 2005 to 2020. In retirement he was subject to investigation over his handl ...

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 ...

. In the vacancy in See between the retirement of Sentamu and the confirmation of

Stephen Cottrell Stephen Geoffrey Cottrell (; born 31 August 1958) is a Church of England bishop. Since 9 July 2020, he has been the Archbishop of York and Primate of England; the second-most senior bishop of the church and the most senior in northern England ...

, Ferguson was acting diocesan bishop. He retired in July 2024.

Personal life

In 1982, Ferguson married Penelope Hewitt-Jones, cousin of the composer Thomas Hewitt Jones. Together they had one daughter and two sons. His wife predeceased him in 2022. In 2024 he married Bridget Gillespie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Paul 1955 births Alumni of New College, Oxford Alumni of Westcott House, Cambridge Archdeacons of Cleveland Bishops of Whitby Living people People educated at Birkenhead School Alumni of Westminster College, Oxford Alumni of King's College, Cambridge