British former Anglican bishop (born 1961)
Mark James Rylands (born 11 July 1961) is a British
Anglican bishop. From 2009 until 2018, he was the
area
Bishop of Shrewsbury in the
Church of England .
Early life
Rylands was born on 11 July 1961, the son of Michael Rylands and Denise née Bates.
[2] Michael was sometime
Vicar of
Wilton, Wiltshire ,
Rector of
Malpas, Cheshire and
honorary canon of
Chester
[3]
[a]
[3] and Denise a scion of the
Bates baronets (of Bellefield): her grandfather was Edward, 2nd Baronet.
[6] He was educated at
Shrewsbury School and the
College of St Hild and St Bede ,
Durham University , the latter whence he graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1983. He trained for the ministry at
Trinity College, Bristol , gaining a second BA in 1987;
[7] and later studied for a
Master of Arts degree from
Sheffield University , which he was awarded in 2006.
Ordained ministry
He was made a deacon at
Petertide 1987 (27 June)
[8] and
ordained a priest the Petertide following (3 July 1988) — both times by
Michael Baughen ,
Bishop of Chester , at
Chester Cathedral ;
[9] he began his ministerial career with a title post as
assistant curate at
St George's Heaviley ,
Stockport
[10] (1987–1991); he was then Vicar of
Acton and
Worleston ,
Church Minshull and
Wettenhall, Cheshire (1991–1997). He moved to
Somerset in 1997 to serve as
Team Rector for the
Langport Team Ministry
[2] (
Aller ,
Drayton ,
High Ham with
Low Ham ,
Huish Episcopi ,
Long Sutton ,
Muchelney , and
Pitney ); then from 2002
[7] until his appointment to the
episcopate
[11] he was Diocesan Missioner for the
Diocese of Exeter and a
Canon Residentiary at
Exeter Cathedral .
[12]
Episcopate
Rylands was appointed
Bishop of Shrewsbury , one of three
area bishops (
suffragan bishops with delegated responsibility for episcopal areas) in the
Diocese of Lichfield : he was consecrated a bishop at
Westminster Abbey on 28 October 2009 by
Rowan Williams ,
Archbishop of Canterbury
[13] and installed at
Lichfield Cathedral on 2 November 2009.
[14]
[15]
[16]
In March 2018 it was announced that Rylands would resign as Bishop of Shrewsbury and return to parish ministry.
[17] Since July 2018,
[18] he has led the Ashburton and Moorland Team Ministry in the
Diocese of Exeter , first as
priest-in-charge and then as
rector since 2021.
[19] He has additionally been an
honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Exeter since 2018.
[18]
Personal life
Mark married in 1986 and they have two adult children;
[2] his wife is also a priest.
[b]
Styles
Notes
^ Thomas Michael Rylands was made a deacon in 1947,
[4] ordained a priest in 1948,
[5] and died on 21 October 2003, aged 85.
^ She was licensed a deaconess in 1985,
[20] made a deacon in 1987
[21] and ordained a priest in 1994.
[22]
References
^
Diocese of Lichfield — Bishop of Shrewsbury
Archived 2008-05-12 at the
Wayback Machine
^
a
b
c
"Rylands, Mark James" .
Who's Who . Vol. 2017 (November 2016 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 22 August 2017 . (Subscription or
UK public library membership required.)
^
a
b
"Canon Michael Rylands" .
Church Times . No. 7345. 12 December 2003. p. 20.
ISSN
0009-658X . Retrieved 22 August 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
^
"Ordinations at Trinity" .
Church Times . No. 4400. 6 June 1947. p. 338.
ISSN
0009-658X . Retrieved 22 August 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
^
"Ordinations at Trinity" .
Church Times . No. 4453. 11 June 1948. p. 329.
ISSN
0009-658X . Retrieved 22 August 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
^
Mosley, Charles (ed.)
Burke's Peerage , Baronetage & Knightage , 107th edition, volume 1. (
Wilmington, Delaware : Burke's, 2003) p. 287.
^
a
b
"Mark James Rylands" .
Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.).
Church House Publishing . Retrieved 16 May 2018 .
^
"Ordinations" .
Church Times . No. 6491. 10 July 1987. p. 15.
ISSN
0009-658X . Retrieved 22 August 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
^
"Ordinations" .
Church Times . No. 6543. 8 July 1988. p. 13.
ISSN
0009-658X . Retrieved 22 August 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
^
"St George's with St Gabriel's, Stockport" . Stgeorgestockport.org.uk. Archived from
the original on 15 November 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2010 .
^
"Rural evangelist chosen as Bishop of Shrewsbury" . Diocese of Lichfield. 4 August 2009. Archived from
the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2010 .
^
"Shrewsbury's new bishop announced" . BBC News . 4 August 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2010 .
^
"Eucharist with the Ordination and Consecration of the Reverend Mark Rylands, Canon Missioner for Exeter Diocese and Cathedral, to be Bishop of Shrewsbury in the Diocese of Lichfield by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other bishops" (PDF) . Westminster Abbey . Retrieved 28 November 2021 .
^
Diocese of Lichfield — Hear Ye: Town Crier invites shoppers to “pull up a pew” with bishop
Archived 2011-07-16 at the
Wayback Machine
^
"Official announcement: Suffragan See of Shrewsbury" . Number10.gov.uk. 4 August 2009. Archived from
the original on 7 December 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2010 .
^
" 'Making disciples' is main task" . BBC Shropshire. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2010 .
^
"Bishop Mark to bid farewell" . Diocese of Lichfield - News . 18 March 2018. Archived from
the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018 .
^
a
b
"BISHOP MARK RETURNS TO DIOCESE TO BECOME A PARISH PRIEST AGAIN" (PDF) . Church of England Devon . Diocese of Exeter. October 2018. p. 1. Archived from
the original (pdf) on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022 .
^
"Rylands, Rt Rev. Mark James, (born 11 July 1961), Team Rector, Ashburton and Moorland Team Ministry, since 2021 (Priest-in-charge, 2018–21); an Honorary Assistant Bishop, Diocese of Exeter, since 2018" .
Who's Who 2022 . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2022 .
^
"Petertide ordinations" .
Church Times . No. 6386. 5 July 1985. p. 16.
ISSN
0009-658X . Retrieved 22 August 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
^
"Ordinations" .
Church Times . No. 6475. 20 March 1987. p. 4.
ISSN
0009-658X . Retrieved 22 August 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
^
"Ordinations" .
Church Times . No. 6851. 3 June 1994. p. 5.
ISSN
0009-658X . Retrieved 22 August 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.