Paul Richard Thomas SSC (born 1975) 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 who has served as

Bishop of Oswestry The Bishop of Oswestry is a suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Lichfield who fulfils the role of a provincial episcopal visitor in the Church of England. Since 2023, Paul Thomas has been the Bishop of Oswestry. Background Following the first ...

, 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

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 ...

, and the

provincial episcopal visitor A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction "are unable to receive the ministry of w ...

for the western half of the

Province of Canterbury The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses). Overview The Province consi ...

(a position formerly held by the

Bishop of Ebbsfleet The Bishop of Ebbsfleet is a suffragan bishop who fulfils the role of a provincial episcopal visitor in the Church of England. From its creation in 1994 to 2022, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet served traditionalist Anglo-Catholic parishes that reject t ...

) since February 2023. From 2011, he was

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 St James's Church, Paddington.

Early life and education

Thomas was born in 1975 and raised in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He studied medieval English at

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

, 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 1996. He continued his studies and graduated with 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) degree in 1998 or 1999. He trained for ordained ministry at Ripon College Cuddesdon, a

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

near Oxford. He graduated with a further BA in 2001 and an MA in 2006. In 1992 while at high school, he was a contestant on the TV quiz show '' Blockbusters''.

Ordained ministry

Thomas was

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 ...

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, ...

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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 2002 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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 2003. From 2002 to 2006, he served his curacy in the parish of

St Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. ...

with Christ Church,

Wanstead Wanstead () is an area in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge to the east and Manor Park to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is located 8 m ...

in the

Diocese of Chelmsford The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. It was created on 23 January 1914 from part of the Diocese of St Albans. It covers Essex and part of East London. Since 1984 it is divided into three ...

. He was an assistant priest at

St Marylebone Parish Church St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near ...

from 2006, and then additionally a chaplain at St Marylebone School and chaplain to the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

from 2008. In 2011, Thomas was appointed

of St James's Church, Paddington. Having stepped down as school chaplain when he left Marylebone, he continued as chaplain to the Royal Academy of Music until 2012. He was additionally area dean of Westminster Paddington from 2016 to 2021 and acting Archdeacon of Charing Cross from 2017 to 2019. He was also a school chaplain at Wellington College, Berkshire, from 2018 to 2019.

Episcopal ministry

On 2 December 2022, it was announced that Thomas would be the next

, a

in the

. The Bishop of Oswestry is also the

for traditionalist Anglo-Catholic parishes (i.e. those who reject the ordination of women as priests and bishops) in the thirteen dioceses of the western half of the

. This role had formerly been undertaken by the

, and as such Thomas is the first PEV Bishop of Oswestry. He was consecrated a bishop at

Candlemas Candlemas, also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday, Christian feast day commemorating the presentation of ...

, 2 February 2023, by Martin Warner,

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East Sussex, East and West Sussex. The Episcopal see, see is based in t ...

, at

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

. Thomas became chairman of Forward in Faith on Saint Andrew's Day, 30 November 2023. On 31 March 2025, Thomas was made an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Birmingham.https://scontent-lhr6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/487489669_638932715778658_1006192657225071816_n.jpg?stp=cp6_dst-jpegr_tt6&_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=833d8c&_nc_ohc=uH3d6ZcgKQgQ7kNvgHIDbfj&_nc_oc=AdkTsxFDMDuxyF47VlXMf4-wT6d0mj_3Y9KxQFnp17qStIm_6V3i2RhcDVjSr9ru6zg&_nc_zt=23&se=-1&_nc_ht=scontent-lhr6-1.xx&_nc_gid=1ib48aJJ0o8a6HjmkoFcew&oh=00_AYGpteouM_2iSN7pHW-EgWM9O2C0HhW6SUjP6F_RSztsbg&oe=67F087F4

Selected works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Paul Living people Anglo-Catholic bishops 21st-century Anglican priests Bishops of Oswestry Welsh Christian clergy Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon University and college chaplains in the United Kingdom Anglican chaplains British chaplains 1975 births