Ellis was ordained in 1990.[2] He initially served as Curate of St Mark, Armagh.[3] After that he was the incumbent at Loughgall from 1991 to 1992.[4] He was then Secretary to the Church’s Board of Education from 2002 until 2015. From then until his election as bishop he was at Rossory, where he also served the wider church in a number of roles.[5]