Robert Kerr Williamson (8 December 1932 – 17 September 2019), known as Roy Williamson, was the seventh Bishop of Bradford from 1984 until 1991, and was then

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

where he served until his retirement seven years later. Williamson was born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

and educated at

Kingston Polytechnic Kingston University London is a public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded in 1899. It received university ...

and

Oak Hill Theological College Oak Hill College is a conservative evangelical theological college located on Chase Side in Southgate, London, England. Its aim is to prepare men and women from the Church of England and Independent churches for ministry. Overview The Colleg ...

. His first post after

ordination 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 ...

was as a

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 ...

Crowborough Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest and the highest town in the High Weald AONB, High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is located south-west of Royal Tunbridge ...

Parish Church. He then held incumbencies at St Paul,

Hyson Green Hyson Green is a neighbourhood in Nottingham, England. It is home to a variety of cultures with a thriving local economy. Hyson Green has the largest ethnic minority population in the city. Since 2006 Hyson Green has seen a larger rise in develo ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

and St Ann with Emmanuel, in the same city followed by Vicar of St Michaels, Bramcote before being appointed

Archdeacon of Nottingham The Archdeacon of Nottingham is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, who exercises supervision of clergy and has responsibility for church buildings within the Archdeaconry of Nottingham. ...

in 1978, his last post before elevation 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 ...

. On 11 February 2017, Williamson was one of fourteen retired bishops to sign an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

to the then-serving bishops of the Church of England. In an unprecedented move, they expressed their opposition to the House of Bishops' report to

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church ...

on sexuality, which recommended no change to the Church's canons or practices around sexuality. By 13 February, a serving bishop ( Alan Wilson,

Bishop of Buckingham The Bishop of Buckingham is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name from the historic county town of Buckingham; ...

) and nine further retired bishops had added their signatures; on 15 February, the report was rejected by synod. He died on 17 September 2019 at the age of 86.Williamson
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Roy 1932 births Christian clergy from Belfast 2019 deaths Archdeacons of Nottingham Bishops of Bradford (diocese) Bishops of Southwark 20th-century Church of England bishops