In office 2010–present Diocese Diocese of Chelmsford Name Stephen Cottrell Consecration May 4, 2004 | Ordination 1984 Nationality British | |
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Birth name Stephen Geoffrey Cottrell Education University of Westminster, Belfairs Academy Books Do Nothing to Change Your Life, Emmaus: Leading an Emmaus, Youth Emmaus, Sacrament - Wholeness and Evan | ||
Rt revd stephen cottrell bishop of reading against trident
Stephen Geoffrey Cottrell (born 31 August 1958) is a Church of England bishop. Since October 2010, he has been the Bishop of Chelmsford. From 2004 to 2010, he was the Bishop of Reading, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Oxford.
Contents
- Rt revd stephen cottrell bishop of reading against trident
- Felix arnott lecture 2015 with bishop stephen cottrell
- Early life
- Ordained ministry
- Episcopal ministry
- Views
- Personal life
- Styles
- Selected works
- References
Felix arnott lecture 2015 with bishop stephen cottrell
Early life
Cottrell was born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. He was educated at Belfairs High School. He studied at the Polytechnic of Central London, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. In 1981, he entered St Stephen's House, Oxford to train for ordination.
Ordained ministry
Cottrell was made a deacon at Petertide 1984 (1 July) and ordained a priest the next Petertide (30 June 1985) — both times by Ronnie Bowlby, Bishop of Southwark, at Southwark Cathedral. His ordained ministry began as a curate at Christ Church, Forest Hill, after which he was priest in charge of St Wilfrid's, Chichester then Diocesan Missioner for the Diocese of Wakefield and finally (before his ordination to the episcopate) Canon Pastor of Peterborough Cathedral.
Episcopal ministry
Cottrell was nominated area Bishop of Reading on 6 January 2004, after Jeffrey John controversially withdrew his nomination to the post in 2003. He had been a supporter of John's original appointment. He said of his nomination: "I am looking forward to becoming the next Bishop of Reading with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. I believe my work in mission and evangelism has prepared me well for the challenges facing the church in this new century. I hope and pray that my love for and understanding of the different traditions of the Church of England will enable me to be a focus for unity in the Reading Episcopal area." He was consecrated on 4 May 2004 by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, at St Paul's Cathedral, following confirmation of the appointment by letters patent.
Following his nomination as Bishop of Chelmsford on 22 March 2010, he was translated to the See of Chelmsford on 6 October 2010. He was installed at Chelmsford Cathedral on 27 November 2010.
Views
He is a member of the Society of Catholic Priests (SCP), and a member of Affirming Catholicism. In December 2014, he was selected as president of the movement, taking up the appointment at the start of 2015.
In 2007 Cottrell publicly opposed the renewal of Britain's Trident missile systems.
Personal life
Cottrell is married to Rebecca and they have three children.
Styles
Selected works
Cottrell has written several books on the subject of evangelism among his 38 published titles.