Dennis was born to (Hubert) Ronald Dennis (1899–1990) and Evelyn, daughter of Leonard Joseph Neville-Polley, a science tutor and author who wrote a biography of the chemist and physicistJohn Dalton. His father, Ronald Dennis, was the son of a South Yorkshire coal hewer and served as a platoon commander on the Western Front in World War I.[3][4]
Dennis was evacuated during the war, residing with his paternal grandparents in the mining village of Wales, near Kiveton.
He became the Bishop of Knaresborough in 1979,[9] which was a suffragan see to the diocesan Bishop of Ripon; and for most of his time in that office he also served as Diocesan Director of Ordinands (DDO) for the Diocese of Ripon. In 1986, he was translated to become the diocesan Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in Suffolk. He retired in 1996 and lived in Winchester from 1999.[10]
In 1969, the Ely Commission of the Church of England considered the initiation of children within the Church, and in 1971 published its report "Christian Initiation: Birth and Growth in the Christian Society" (Church Information Office, 1971).[12] This led to widespread debate about whether children should start receiving Holy Communion after their Confirmation, as had always been traditional for Anglicans, or whether they should be admitted to Holy Communion at a much younger age. In 1976, the General Synod voted to retain the status quo, but debate continued in the dioceses. A working party was established to look at the question in greater depth, and Dennis was selected as the chairman of the working party. This resulted in the publication of "Children and Communion" (CIO 1983)[12] and "Communion before Confirmation?" (Ed. D Isaac) (CIO 1985),[13] both commonly referenced as "The Knaresborough Report", after Dennis's episcopal see.[12][13]
Dennis was a Freemason and a member of Rutlish Lodge No. 4416 (the Masonic Lodge associated with his school) under the United Grand Lodge of England.[18] He was initiated on 18 April 1975, at the lodge's regular meeting place in the Tower Room at Great Tower Street, beside the Tower of London.[19] He was initiated by his father, who was a past master of the lodge. He was raised to the third degree in Sutton, Surrey, two years later, as the lodge had by then permanently relocated.[20]
Dennis died on 13 April 2020 aged 88 from COVID-19,[21] six weeks after his wife.[22]
References
^Daily Telegraph p29 Obituaries Issue no. 51,335 dated Thursday 4 June 2020 'popular bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich known for his humour and unscripted sermons'
^ Written at Library of Freemasonry (Archive), Great Queen Street, London. "The Rutlish Lodge". Rutlish Lodge Summons & Agenda. London: Rutlish Lodge (published 1975): 2. 18 April 1975.
^Fisher, Cliff (2020). The Rutlish Lodge Centenary History (First ed.). Rutlish Lodge.
