Peter Maurice (bishop)

Peter David Maurice[3] (born 14 April 1951) is a retired Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Taunton until 30 April 2015.


Peter Maurice
Bishop of Taunton
ChurchChurch of England
DioceseDiocese of Bath and Wells
In office2006 – 30 April 2015 (retired)[1]
PredecessorAndy Radford
SuccessorRuth Worsley
Other post(s)Archdeacon of Wells (2003–2006)
Orders
Ordination1975 (deacon)
1976 (priest)
Consecration7 December 2006
Personal details
Born (1951-04-14) 14 April 1951 (age 73)
NationalityBritish
DenominationAnglican
SpouseElizabeth[2]
Children2 sons & 1 daughter[2]
Alma materSt Chad's College, Durham
College of the Resurrection

Early life and education

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Maurice was born on 16 April 1951 to Eric and Pamela Maurice.[4] He studied at St Chad's College, Durham, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1972.[5] He trained for Holy Orders at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield.[6]

Ordained ministry

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Maurice was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1975 and as a priest in 1976.[7] He was a curate at St Paul's Wandsworth, then team vicar at Mortlake with East Sheen, then of Holy Trinity Church, Rotherhithe, Rural Dean of Bermondsey, vicar of All Saints', Tooting and finally, before his ordination to the episcopate, the Archdeacon of Wells.[2]

In October 2006, Maurice was announced as the next Bishop of Taunton, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.[2] He was consecrated a bishop in 7 December 2006.[8] He retired from full-time ministry on 30 April 2015.[1]

In retirement, Maurice holds Permission to Officiate in the Diocese of Canterbury.[5]

Views

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On 11 February 2017, fourteen retired bishops signed an open letter 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 on sexuality, which recommended no change to the Church's canons or practises around sexuality.[9] By 13 February, a serving bishop (Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham) and nine further retired bishops — including Maurice — had added their signatures;[10] on 15 February, the report was rejected by synod.[11]

Personal life

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A sports fan,[12] Maurice is married to Elizabeth, with two sons and one daughter.[2]

Styles

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References

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  1. ^ a b Diocese of Bath & Wells – Bishop of Taunton announces retirement Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 4 September 2014)
  2. ^ a b c d e "Official notification of appointment". 10 Downing Street. Archived from the original on 9 January 2013.
  3. ^ Anglican Communion
  4. ^ 'MAURICE, Rt Rev. Peter David', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 7 July 2017
  5. ^ a b "Peter David Maurice". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  6. ^ Who's Who 2008: London, A & C Black ISBN 978-0-7136-8555-8
  7. ^ Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 Lambeth, Church House Publishing ISBN 978-0-7151-1030-0
  8. ^ "Appointments". Church Times. 8 December 2006. Archived from the original on 26 May 2007.
  9. ^ Retired Bishops' Letter — The Letter Archived 2017-02-12 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 11 February 2017; the fourteen bishops were David Atkinson, Michael Doe, Tim Ellis, David Gillett, John Gladwin, Laurie Green, Richard Harries, Stephen Lowe, Stephen Platten, John Pritchard, Peter Selby, Tim Stevens, Martin Wharton, and Williamson.)
  10. ^ Retired Bishops' Letter — New Signatures Archived 2017-02-18 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 17 February 2017); the nine bishops were Gordon Bates, Ian Brackley, John Davies, Maurice, David Rossdale, John Saxbee, Martin Shaw, Oliver Simon, and David Stancliffe.
  11. ^ The Grauniad — Church of England in turmoil as synod rejects report on same-sex relationships (Accessed 17 February 2017)
  12. ^ Debrett's People of Today, London, 2008, ISBN 978-1-870520-95-9
Church of England titles
Preceded by Archdeacon of Wells
2003–2006
Succeeded by
Preceded by Bishop of Taunton
2006–2015
Succeeded by