Alastair Redfern

Alastair Llewellyn John Redfern (born 1 September 1948) is a retired Church of England bishop, who served as Bishop of Derby from 2005 to 2018.[1][2]

The Right Reverend Alastair Redfern
Bishop of Derby
Diocese	Diocese of Derby
In office	2005–2018
Predecessor	Jonathan Bailey
Successor	Libby Lane
Other posts	Bishop of Grantham (1997–2005)
Orders
Ordination	1976 (deacon); 1977 (priest) by Kenneth Skelton
Consecration	1997
Personal details
Born	1 September 1948
Denomination	Anglican
Spouse	Jane ​ ​ (m. 1974; died 2004)​ Caroline ​ (m. 2006)​
Children	two
Profession	Lecturer, writer
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford

Early life and education

Redfern studied at Christ Church, Oxford.[3] He received a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 2001 from the University of Bristol.[4][5][6] His doctoral thesis was titled "Oversight and authority in the nineteenth century church of England: a case study of Bishop Samuel Wilberforce".[6]

Ordained ministry

Redfern was ordained a deacon at Petertide 1976 (27 June)[7] and a priest the following Petertide (26 June 1977), both times by Kenneth Skelton, Bishop of Lichfield, at Lichfield Cathedral.[8] He served as a curate in Wolverhampton.[9] He then became a lecturer and later vice principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon.[10] He was also an honorary curate of Church of All Saints, Cuddesdon between 1983 and 1987.[9] From 1987 to 1997 he was the Canon Theologian of Bristol Cathedral.

Episcopal ministry

He was ordained and consecrated to the episcopate on 2 December 1997 at Southwark Cathedral[11] (by George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury)[12] to become suffragan Bishop of Grantham. In 2005, he was translated to be the Bishop of Derby. He was a Member (Lord Spiritual) of the House of Lords from 2010 to 2018.[13]

Redfern retired effective 31 August 2018.[14]

Personal life

In 1974, Redfern married Jane Valerie Straw.[13] Together they had two daughters.[13] His first wife died in 2004.[13] In 2006, he married Caroline Boddington.[15] His second wife works for the Church of England as the Archbishops' Secretary for Appointments.[15][16]

Styles

• The Reverend Alastair Redfern (1976–1987)
• The Reverend Canon Alastair Redfern (1987–1997)
• The Right Reverend Alastair Redfern (1997–2001)
• The Right Reverend Doctor Alastair Redfern (2001–present)

References

1. "Official announcement". Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
2. Derby Diocese — Bishop Alastair
3. "Redfern, Alastair Llewellyn John". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2017 (November 2016 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 8 May 2017. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
4. Church of England — Bishop of Derby
5. Thesis details
6. Redfern, Alastair Llewellyn John (2001). "Oversight and authority in the nineteenth century church of England: a case study of Bishop Samuel Wilberforce". E-Thesis Online Service. The British Library Board. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
7. "Petertide ordinations". Church Times (#5916). 2 July 1976. p. 8. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 8 May 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
8. "Petertide ordinations". Church Times (#5968). 1 July 1977. p. 4. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 8 May 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
9. "Alastair Llewellyn John Redfern". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
10. Debrett's People of Today London, 2008 Debrett's, ISBN 978-1-870520-95-9
11. "News (in brief): News suffragan for Lincoln". Church Times (#7024). 26 September 1997. p. 5. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 11 October 2015 – via UK Press Online archives.
13. 'DERBY, Bishop of', 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 10 Nov 2017
14. Diocese of Derby — Bishop of Derby announces he will retire in 2018 (Accessed 8 November 2017)
15. 'BODDINGTON, Caroline Elizabeth', 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 10 Nov 2017
16. "Appointments and Development". Church of England. Retrieved 10 November 2017.