Wallace Parke Benn (born 6 August 1947) is a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the

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 ...

. He was the

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while ''surface area'' refers to the area of an open su ...

Bishop of Lewes The Bishop of Lewes is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Lewes, the county town of East Sussex East Sussex i ...

in the

Diocese of Chichester The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was founded in 681 as the ancient Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey, until the see was translated to Chichester in 1075. The ca ...

from May 1997 until his retirement in October 2012.

Early life and education

Benn was born in

Bray, County Wicklow Bray ( ) is a coastal town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated about south of Dublin city centre on the east coast. It has a population of 32,600 making it the ninth largest urban area within Ireland (at the 2016 census). Bray is ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on 6 August 1947. He was educated at

St. Andrew's College, Dublin St Andrew's College ( ga, Coláiste Naomh Aindriú) is a co-educational, inter-denominational, international Private day school, founded in 1894 by members of the Presbyterian community, and now located in Booterstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdow ...

, then an all-boys school in Dublin. He studied at

University College, Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 students ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

(BA) degree in 1969. In 1969, he entered

Trinity College, Bristol Trinity College, Bristol is an 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 the University ...

, an

Evangelical Anglican Evangelical Anglicanism or evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "conversionism, ...

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 ...

, to train for

ordained ministry 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 vario ...

. During this time he also studied for a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

in theology (DipTheol) which was validated by the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

Career

Ordained ministry

Benn 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 1972 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 1973. His ordained ministry began with curacies at St Mark's

New Ferry New Ferry is an urban area on the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula, with the River Mersey to the east and the town of Bebington to the west. Within the boundaries of the historic count ...

, Wirral and St Mary's Cheadle, after which 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 pr ...

of St James the Great,

Audley, Staffordshire Audley is a large village in Staffordshire, England. It is the centre of Audley Rural parish, approximately four miles (6 km) north west of Newcastle-under-Lyme and 3 miles (5 km) from Alsager near the Staffordshire-Cheshire border. Audley is ...

and finally (before his consecration to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

) St Peter's

Harold Wood Harold Wood is a suburban neighbourhood of Romford in the London Borough of Havering. It is situated east-northeast of Charing Cross and near to the Greater London boundary with Essex. History Toponymy The name Harold Wood was recorded in ab ...

. On 1 May 1997, Benn 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 ...

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwar ...

, by

George Carey George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells. During his time as archbishop the Ch ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury. He then served as the

, an

and suffragan bishop of the

. He retired from full-time ministry on 31 October 2012. Since 2013, he has held

Permission to Officiate A permission to officiate (PTO), also known as a licence to officiate, is a concessionary ministry licence granted by an Anglican bishop. It is most commonly issued to a retired deacon, priest, or lay reader over the age of 70 years. It allows the ...

in the Diocese of Peterborough.

Author

Benn has written two books and numerous pamphlets, including ''The Last Word: Jesus' Teaching in The Upper Room'' and ''Jesus Our Joy: Learning about True Spirituality''.

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

The

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales was an inquiry examining how the country's institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. It was announced by the British Home Secretary ...

, undertaken between 2014 and 2022, criticised Benn for his handling of allegations of child sexual abuse during his tenure as

. Benn's actions had previously been criticised during several inquiries into sexual abuse scandals in the Diocese of Chichester, relating to child abuse by the Rev Roy Cotton and the Rev Colin Pritchard.

Views

Benn has been described as a

complementarian Complementarianism is a theological view in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, that men and women have different but ''complementary'' roles and responsibilities in marriage, family life, and religious leadership. The word "complementary" and its ...

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exp ...

. He is a council member of

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

, a

conservative evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual expe ...

grouping in the Church of England opposed to women priests and to the consecration of women as bishops. In 2008, he attended the

Global Anglican Future Conference The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) is a series of conferences of conservative Anglican bishops and leaders, the first of which was held in Jerusalem from 22 to 29 June 2008 to address the growing controversy of the divisions in the An ...

(GAFCON) held in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Personal life

In 1978, Benn married Lindsay Develing. Together they have two children: one son and one daughter. In 2002, Benn appeared on the popular

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

television motoring series '' Top Gear'', placing third in the first "Fastest Faith" competition.''Top Gear'',

Series 1 The IBM Series/1 is a 16-bit minicomputer, introduced in 1976, that in many respects competed with other minicomputers of the time, such as the PDP-11 from Digital Equipment Corporation and similar offerings from Data General and HP. The Seri ...

, Episode 7 (first broadcast 1 December 2002).

Styles

* Wallace Benn Esq (to 1973) * The Revd Wallace Benn (1973–1997) * The Rt Revd Wallace Benn (1997—present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benn, Wallace Parke 1947 births People educated at St Andrew's College, Dublin Alumni of University College Dublin 20th-century Church of England bishops 21st-century Church of England bishops Evangelical Anglican bishops Bishops of Lewes Living people Anglican realignment people Alumni of Trinity College, Bristol