Church of England bishop
Roderick Charles Howell Thomas (born 7 August 1954) is a retired Church of England bishop. He was the Bishop of Maidstone , a provincial episcopal visitor for conservative evangelical members and parishes of the church, from 2015 until his retirement in 2022.
Early life
Thomas was born on 7 August 1954 in London , England.[1] [2] [3] He was educated in Ealing , West London .[3] He studied economics at the London School of Economics ,[4] and graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree.[2]
Having completed his degree, Thomas joined the Civil Service . He left the Civil Service to become a researcher for the Institute of Directors .[3] He ended his business career as Director of Employment and Environmental Affairs at the Confederation of British Industry , before leaving in 1991 to train for ordained ministry.[5]
His early years were spent as a member of the Exclusive Plymouth Brethren .[6] At the age of 12, under the influence of Billy Graham , John Stott and Maurice Wood , and having attended Emmanuel Church, Wimbledon , he became an Anglican .[3] In 1991, he entered Wycliffe Hall, Oxford , a Church of England theological college , to train for ordained ministry.[2]
Ordained ministry
Having completed his training, Thomas was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1993 and as a priest in 1994.[2] He served his curacy at St Andrew's Church, Plymouth . He remained at St Andrew's Church as a curate from 1995 to 1999.[4] From 1999 to 2005, he was priest-in-charge of St Matthew's Church, Elburton .[2] From 2005 to 2015, he was vicar of Elburton.[4] In 2012, he was additionally appointed a Prebendary of Exeter Cathedral .[7]
Outside his parish ministry, Thomas held a number of appointments. He was a member of the General Synod of the Church of England from 2000 to 2015.[7] [8] He has been a member of the Reform organisation for nearly two decades, and its chairman from 2007 to 2015:[8] [7] Reform is a conservative evangelical Anglican organisation that opposes the ordination of women to the priesthood and promotes conservative attitudes to homosexuality .[9] Up to 2015, he was a member of the executive committee of the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE), a missionary society set up by the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans operating outside the Church of England.[10]
Episcopal ministry
On 5 May 2015, Thomas was announced as the next Bishop of Maidstone , a provincial episcopal visitor for conservative evangelical members and parishes of the church.[4] [11] On 23 September 2015, he was consecrated a bishop at Canterbury Cathedral by Justin Welby , the Archbishop of Canterbury .[12] [13]
By 19 December 2016, 71 parishes had passed resolutions for conservative evangelical reasons, of which 31 had requested Alternative Episcopal Oversight (AEO) from the Bishop of Maidstone.[14] By January 2018 there were 114 parishes with 53 receiving AEO,[15] and by January 2019 there were 133 parishes with 63 receiving AEO.[16]
Thomas is additionally an honorary assistant bishop in the dioceses of Birmingham , Bristol , Canterbury , Chelmsford , Chester , Ely , Exeter , Lichfield , London , Manchester , Norwich , Oxford , Rochester , Sheffield and Southwark .[16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] Thomas additionally is recorded as exercising AEO in the dioceses of Carlisle , Derby and Portsmouth , but is not listed by Crockford's as exercising AEO in those dioceses.[16]
In January 2022, it was announced that Thomas would retire as Bishops of Maidstone on 2 October 2022.[22]
Views
Thomas has been described as a complementarian evangelical and as a conservative evangelical .[23] [24] He has expressed his support for the Nashville Statement , describing it as a "wonderfully clear statement about God's design for His creation insofar as it relates to marriage, sexual relationships and gender identity".[25]
In 2006, it was announced that Jeffrey John (Dean of St Albans ) had entered into a civil partnership with his male partner. Thomas replied to this news: "It is something that will only serve to deepen the crisis that the Church of England faces over the whole issue of human sexuality."[26] He stated in December 2016: "I continue to believe that God's Word is clear that sexual intimacy should be experienced only within heterosexual marriage and not otherwise".[27]
Personal life
In 1981, Thomas married Lesley Easton.[28] They have three children: two sons and one daughter.[4]
References
^ "Thomas, Roderick Charles Howell" . Who's Who . Vol. 2016 (November 2015 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 24 July 2016 . (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ a b c d e
"Roderick Charles Howell Thomas" . Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing . Retrieved 23 June 2018 .
^ a b c d "Order of Service: Ordination and Consecration of the new Bishops of Maidstone, Kensington and Edmonton" (PDF) . Canterbury Cathedral . 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015 .
^ a b c d e "Suffragan Bishop of Maidstone: Roderick Charles Howell Thomas" . Press release . Prime Minister's Office. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015 .
^ "Suffragan Bishop of Maidstone announced" . Articles . Archbishop of Canterbury. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015 .
^ Handley MacMath, Terence (24 December 2008). "Interview: Rod Thomas chairman of Reform" . Church Times . Retrieved 2 November 2015 .
^ a b c "Rod Thomas announced Bishop of Maidstone" . Latest Diocesan News . Diocese of Exeter. 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015 .
^ a b "Maidstone, Bishop Suffragan of, (Rt Rev. Roderick Charles Howell Thomas) (born 7 Aug. 1954)" . Who's Who 2021 . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2021 .
^ "Reform Chairman made Bishop of Maidstone" . Media statement . Reform. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015 .
^ "About: Executive Committee" . AMiE . Anglican Mission in England. Archived from the original on 17 March 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015 .
^ "Suffragan See of Maidstone" . News releases . Church of England. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2015 .
^ "Two new bishops and new archdeacon for London announced" . Diocese of London . 9 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015 .
^ "Ordination and Consecration of the new Bishops of Maidstone, Kensington and Edmonton" . Canterbury Cathedral . 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015 .
^ "Christmas 2016 Newsletter" (PDF) . bishopofmaidstone.org . December 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2016 .
^ http://www.bishopofmaidstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Christmas-2017-Newsletter.pdf [bare URL PDF ]
^ a b c "Bishop of Maidstone's Newsletter" (PDF) . www.bishopofmaidstone.org . Retrieved 12 January 2019 .
^ "Appointments" . www.churchtimes.co.uk . Retrieved 10 January 2018 .
^ "Bishop of Maidstone becomes an Assistant Bishop in the Diocese (Diocese of Norwich)" . Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018 .
^ "Licensing as Assistant Bishop in Rochester Diocese - The Bishop of Maidstone" . www.bishopofmaidstone.org . Retrieved 10 January 2018 .
^ "Bishop Rod to be Assistant Bishop in Growing Number of Dioceses - The Bishop of Maidstone" . www.bishopofmaidstone.org . Retrieved 10 January 2018 .
^ "The Rt Revd Roderick Charles Howell THOMAS" . www.crockford.org.uk . Retrieved 12 January 2019 .
^ "The Bishop of Maidstone – Welcome" . bishopofmaidstone.org . Retrieved 15 January 2022 . The Bishop of Maidstone, the Rt Rev'd Rod Thomas, has announced his intention to retire on 2nd October 2022.
^ Gatiss, Lee (5 May 2015). "Topical Tuesday: Bishop Rod Thomas" . Church Society . Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015 .
^ Gledhill, Ruth (5 May 2015). " 'Male headship' campaigner appointed as CofE bishop" . Christian Today . Retrieved 31 December 2016 .
^ "September 2017 Newsletter" (PDF) . bishopofmaidstone.org . September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017 .
^ "Gay cleric's 'wedding' to partner" . BBC News . 1 August 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2015 .
^ "Christmas 2016 Newsletter" (PDF) . bishopofmaidstone.org . December 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2016 .
^ "MAIDSTONE, Bishop Suffragan of" . Who's Who 2017 . Oxford University Press. November 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017 .
External links
Canterbury suffragans National AEO