John Oliver (bishop)

The Right Reverend

John Oliver
Bishop of Hereford
ChurchChurch of England
DioceseDiocese of Hereford
In office1990 – 2003 (retirement)
PredecessorJohn Eastaugh
SuccessorAnthony Priddis
Other postsArchdeacon of Sherborne
1985–1990
Orders
Consecration1990
Personal details
Born (1935-04-14) 14 April 1935 (age 91)
DenominationAnglican
SpouseMeriel Moore (m. 1961) Died 2014
Children3
EducationGonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Spiritual
Bishop of Hereford
22 January 1997 – 30 November 2003

John Keith Oliver (born 14 April 1935) is a British retired Anglican bishop. He was the 103rd Bishop of Hereford from 1990 to 2003.

Early life and education

Oliver was born on 14 April 1935. He was educated at Westminster and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He has Master of Arts (MA Cantab) and Master of Letters (MLitt) degrees.

Ordained ministry

He was made a deacon at Michaelmas 1964 (20 September) at Cromer Parish Church and ordained a priest the Michaelmas following (19 September 1965) at Norwich Cathedral, both times by Launcelot Fleming, Bishop of Norwich. After a curacy in Norfolk, he spent a period as chaplain and assistant master at Eton College. Following incumbencies in Devon, he became Archdeacon of Sherborne and Rector of West Stafford in Dorset before being consecrated a bishop on 6 December 1990 at Westminster Abbey. He served in the House of Lords from January 1997 until November 2003 with special responsibility for agricultural and environmental policy. He was succeeded by Anthony Priddis, previously Bishop suffragan of Warwick.

He published one book, The Church and Social Order, 1919-1939 in 1968.

From 2005 until 2010, he sat as a member of the inquiry into the murder of Billy Wright at Maze Prison, which was set up following the Northern Ireland Peace Agreement.

Personal life

He married Meriel Moore in 1961; she was the first woman to teach divinity at Eton College and the first woman Reader at Hereford Cathedral. They had two sons and one daughter.

References

  1. ↑ "Birthday's today". The Telegraph. 14 April 2011. Archived from the original on 17 April 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2014. Rt Rev John Oliver, Bishop of Hereford, 1990-2003, 76
  2. ↑ Crockford's clerical directory (London, Church House 1995) ISBN 0-7151-8088-6
  3. ↑ "West Stafford Stoke Billet Rectors".
  4. ↑ "Michaelmas Ordinations". Church Times. No. 5302. 25 September 1964. p. 16. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
  5. ↑ "Michaelmas Ordinations". Church Times. No. 5354. 24 September 1965. p. 16. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
  6. ↑ "Briefly". Church Times. No. 6669. 7 December 1990. p. 2. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
  7. ↑ Succession details Archived 2007-12-13 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "The Billy Wright Inquiry - report".