Peter Philip Leonard (born 6 February 1970) is a British Anglican priest who served as

Archdeacon of the Isle of Wight The archdeacons in the Diocese of Portsmouth are senior ecclesiastical officers in the Church of England in south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. They currently include: the Archdeacon of the Meon, the Archdeacon of the Isle of Wight and th ...

, 2019–2022. Peter was educated 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 ...

. He 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 ...

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 1997 and

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 1998. He held curacies at

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south-west Surrey, England, around south-west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey), Beacon Hill, they comprise ...

then Woodham. A former teacher, he was Head of School at Mill Hill Primary School in

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town had a population of 64,350 in the 2011 Census. It is surrounded by Purbrook, ...

before resuming his ministry as a residential canon at

Portsmouth Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, commonly known as Portsmouth Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral church in the centre of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, England. Since 1935 the historic church has been the cathedral of the Dioc ...

. Leonard is in a civil partnership with his partner, Mark. Clergy 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, ...

are permitted to be in same-sex

civil partnerships A civil union (also known as a Civil partnership in the United Kingdom, civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for Same-sex relationship, same-sex couples. Civi ...

based on the understanding that such relationships are celibate. He has been Chair of the Board of Trustees of OneBodyOneFaith, an LGBT positive Christian charity, since 2018. On 9 January 2022, it was announced that Leonard is to resign his Church of England appointments effective 28 February to become Chief Executive of the charity Family Links — the Centre for Emotional Health.

References

1970 births Living people People from Slough Alumni of Trinity College, Bristol 21st-century British Anglican priests LGBTQ Anglican clergy Archdeacons of the Isle of Wight {{Canterbury-archdeacon-20C-stub