Bishop of Sodor and Man

The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary

Ordinary

In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...

 of the Diocese of Sodor and Man

Diocese of Sodor and Man

Sodor and Man is a diocese of the Church of England. Originally much larger, today it covers just the Isle of Man and its adjacent islets.-Early history:...

 in the Province of York

Province of York

The Province of York is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England, and consists of 14 dioceses which cover the northern third of England and the Isle of Man. York was elevated to an Archbishopric in 735 AD: Ecgbert of York was the first archbishop...

 in the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

. The diocese covers the Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

. The see

Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...

 is in the town of Peel where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of St German

Peel Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of Saint German or Peel Cathedral is located in Peel, Isle of Man. The cathedral is the parish church of the parish of German, which includes the town of Peel, and was built 1879-84. It was made the cathedral by Act of Tynwald in 1980...

, elevated to cathedral status on 1 November 1980. The termination "and Man" appears to have been added in the 17th century and the designation "Sodor and Man" had become a fixture by 1684.

The right to nominate

Appointment of Church of England bishops

The appointment of Church of England diocesan bishops follows a somewhat convoluted process, reflecting the church's traditional tendency towards compromise and ad hoc solutions, traditional ambiguity between hierarchy and democracy, and traditional role as a semi-autonomous state church...

 to the See of Sodor and Man rests with the Crown, which acts, perhaps somewhat anomalously (in view of Man's status as a Crown Dependency

Crown dependency

The Crown Dependencies are British possessions of the Crown, as opposed to overseas territories of the United Kingdom. They comprise the Channel Island Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey in the English Channel, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea....

), on the advice of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

.

Present Bishop

Following the resignation of the Right Reverend Graeme Knowles, who became Dean of St Paul's

Dean of St Paul's

The Dean of St Paul's is the head of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London, England in the Church of England. The most recent Dean, Graeme Knowles, formerly Bishop of Sodor and Man, was installed on 1 October 2007 and resigned on 31 October 2011...

, London on 1 October 2007, on 8 February 2008 it was announced from 10 Downing Street

10 Downing Street

10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....

 that the next Bishop would be Canon Robert Paterson whose appointment was confirmed by Letters Patent

Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

 issued by Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

 on 18 April 2008, and who was consecrated bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 on 25 April 2008 at York Minster

York Minster

York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...

. He was enthroned Bishop of Sodor and Man on 14 June 2008 in St German's Cathedral at Peel, Isle of Man.

Diocese

The diocese covers the Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

. The see

Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...

 is in the town of Peel where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of St German

Peel Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of Saint German or Peel Cathedral is located in Peel, Isle of Man. The cathedral is the parish church of the parish of German, which includes the town of Peel, and was built 1879-84. It was made the cathedral by Act of Tynwald in 1980...

, elevated to cathedral status on 1 November 1980.

The present Anglican diocese is called "Sodor and Man". The termination "and Man" appears to have been added in the 17th century and the designation "Sodor and Man" had become a fixture by 1684.

In the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, the diocese was considered part of Scotland, and was not under the control of either the Archbishop of York

Archbishop of York

The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...

 or the Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

. During the Great Schism

Western Schism

The Western Schism or Papal Schism was a split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. Two men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. Driven by politics rather than any theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance . The simultaneous claims to the papal chair...

, the pope at Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 created a different line of bishops that was in the southern part of the diocese. In 1542, an act of Parliament

Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

 during the reign of King Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

 included the diocese in the province of York.

List of known Bishops of Mann

Tenure	Incumbent	Notes
x1079	Roolwer
x1079	William
fl. 1079x1095	Hamond
el. 1103x1108	Anonymous	An unnamed bishop is presented for consecration to Gerard, the Archbishop of York Archbishop of York The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man... . He may or may not have been Wimund Wimund Wimund was a bishop who became a sea-faring war-lord adventurer in the years after 1147. His story is passed down to us by 12th-century English historian William of Newburgh in his Historia rerum anglicarum, Book I, Chapter 24 entitled "Of bishop Wimund, his life unbecoming a bishop, and how he was... .

List of Bishops of Sodor and Man

(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)

Tenure	Incumbent	Notes
??? to ???	Roolwer Roolwer Roolwer was Bishop of Man in the late 11th century, spanning from around 1050 until 1079. He is the first bishop mentioned in the Chronicles of Mann, and some sources suggest he was styled "Bishop of Man and Bishop of Sodor". He was a suffragan of York.... , Bishop of Man and Bishop of Sodor	Also called Rolf.
??? to ???	William, Bishop of Man and Bishop of Sodor
1113 to 1151	Wimund Wimund Wimund was a bishop who became a sea-faring war-lord adventurer in the years after 1147. His story is passed down to us by 12th-century English historian William of Newburgh in his Historia rerum anglicarum, Book I, Chapter 24 entitled "Of bishop Wimund, his life unbecoming a bishop, and how he was... , Bishop of Sodor and Man	Reymundus
1151 to 1154	John (I)	Monk of Sais, Normandy
1154 to ????	Gamaliel
???? to ????	Reginald of Norway
???? to ????	Christian Orcadensis (Christian of Orkney)
???? to ????	Michael	Died (in office?) 1203
1203 (or 1204) to 1217	Nicholas de Meaux	Abbot of Furnes (Furness?)
1217 to 1226	Reginald
1226 to 1230	John (II)
1230 to 1249	Simon Orcadensis	Simon of Orkney; Simon Arkadiensis; Symon Symon Symon is a surname that refers to:*Don Symon , New Zealand Olympic rower*George Gardner Symons , American painter*Jim Symon , Scottish radio presenter... .
1249 to 1249	Lawrence	Laurence; Archdeacon of Man; shipwrecked and drowned on voyage from Norway before taking up the office
1249 to 1252	vacant	For nearly 2 years
1252 to 1274	Richard	Died in office
1275 (or 1280) to 1303	Mark of Galloway	|Mauritius; Promoted by Alexander, King of Scotland; died in office
1303 to 1305	vacant
1305 to 15 February 1321	Allen of Galloway	Onachus of Galloway; John of Galloway; died in office
1321 to 1323	Gilbert McLelland	Gilbert of Galloway; died in office
1324 to 1333	Bernard of Kilwinning Bernard of Kilwinning Bernard was a Tironensian abbot, administrator and bishop active in late 13th- and early 14th-century Scotland, during the First War of Scottish Independence...	Abbot of Kilwinning, Scotland
1334 to 20 September 1348	Thomas de Rossy Thomas de Rossy (Bishop of the Isles) Thomas de Rossy was a fourteenth-century Scottish prelate. He appears in the historical record for the first time in 1331, when Pope John XXII provided him to succeed Bernard as Bishop of the Isles. At this stage, the papal sources name him as a canon of Dunkeld Cathedral.Probably while at the...  of Dunkeld	Died in office
1348 to 21 April 1374	William Russell William Russell (bishop) William Russell was a fourteenth-century Cistercian prelate. He appears to have begun his career as a Cistercian monk at Rushen Abbey on the Isle of Man , ascending to the rank of abbot there, before being elected Bishop of Mann and the Isles...	Abbot of Rushen; died in office
1374 to 1380	John Dongan John Dongan John Dongan [Donegan, Donnegan, Donkan, Duncan] was a medieval Manx prelate. After holding the position of Archdeacon of Down, he held three successive bishoprics, Mann and the Isles , then the see of Derry and then, lastly, Down.He resigned his last bishopric in 1413, and died afterwards at an...	John Donkan; John Donkin John Donkin -Sources:* Article in DNB... ; John Dunkan; died in office
1381 to ????	Robert Waldby Robert Waldby Robert Waldby was a native of York and an Augustinian friar who followed Edward, the Black Prince into Aquitaine. After studying at Toulouse, he became professor of theology there....	Purportedly bishop in 1396, (though disputed by John Le Neve John Le Neve John Le Neve was an English antiquary, known for his Fasti Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ, a work of English church biography that has seen several subsequent editions.-Life:... ); translated to Dublin
1492 to ????	Conrad	Omitted from most lists
???? to 1429	vacant	For 'many years'
1429 to ????	John Burghersh	Cluniac brother; omitted from most lists
1435 to ????	John Seyr	Dominican Dominican Order The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...  brother; omitted from most lists
1429 to ????	Richard Pully	Richard Payl; from 1410 in some sources; Franciscan Franciscan Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....  brother
1448 (or (1449) to 1455	Robert Green	Robert Sprotton; John Sproton; John Grene; John Greene; Vicar of Dunchurch, Warwickshire; Franciscan Franciscan Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....  brother
1455 to March 1457	Thomas Burton	Franciscan Franciscan Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....  brother; died in office
1458 to 1480	Thomas	Abbot of Vale Royal, Cheshire; elected 21 June 1458
1458 to ????	Angus	Omitted from most lists
1480 to 19 September 1486	Richard Oldham Richard Oldham Richard Oldham was a cleric in 15th century England. Abbot of the Abbey of St Werburgh, Chester, he became Bishop of Sodor and Man in 1480, a position he held until his death....	Abbot of Chester; died in office
1487 to 1510	Huan Hisketh	Huan Blackleach; Hugh Hesketh; one source has Blackleach from 1487 and Hesketh from 1503 or 1510
1510 to 1545	Thomas Stanley Thomas Stanley (bishop) Thomas Stanley was a sixteenth century, English Reformation-era Bishop of Sodor and Man.Allegedly the natural son of Sir Edward Stanley, of Hornby Castle, Lancashire, on account of his bastardy, he obtained leave from the Pope to hold his preferments, especially the rectory of Wigan...	Rector of Wigan; deprived
1510 to ????	John Howden	Omitted from most lists
1545 to 1548	Robert Ferrar Robert Ferrar Robert Ferrar was a Bishop of St David's in Wales.He was prior of Nostell Priory, embraced the English Reformation, and was made Bishop of St. David's by Edward VI...	Translated to St Davids
1546 to 1558	Henry Mann Henry Mann Henry Berthold Mann was a professor of mathematics and statistics at Ohio State University. Mann proved the Schnirelmann-Landau conjecture in number theory, and as a result earned the 1946 Cole Prize. He and his student developed the U-statistic of nonparametric statistics...	Dean of Chester; Royal Assent to election given by King Henry VIII Henry VIII of England Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...  on 22 January 1546
1558 to 1568	Thomas Stanley Thomas Stanley (bishop) Thomas Stanley was a sixteenth century, English Reformation-era Bishop of Sodor and Man.Allegedly the natural son of Sir Edward Stanley, of Hornby Castle, Lancashire, on account of his bastardy, he obtained leave from the Pope to hold his preferments, especially the rectory of Wigan...	Rector of Winwick as well as Berwick; restored by Queen Mary Mary I of England Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547... ; died in office
1571 to 1573	John Salisbury John Salisbury (bishop) John Salisbury, O.S.B. was a Welsh clergyman who held high office in the pre- and post-Reformation church in England.He was the last Abbot of Titchfield; the abbey was dissolved in December 1537. Under the provisions of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534, he was appointed and consecrated Bishop of...	Nominated 27 March 1569; former abbot of Titchfield Abbey Titchfield Abbey Titchfield Abbey is a medieval abbey and later country house, located in the village of Titchfield near Fareham in Hampshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1222 for Premonstratensian canons, an austere order of priests...
1573 to 1576	James Stanley	According to John Le Neve John Le Neve John Le Neve was an English antiquary, known for his Fasti Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ, a work of English church biography that has seen several subsequent editions.-Life:...
	vacant	According to Heylyn
1576 to 7 November 1599	John Merick	John Meyrick; Vicar of Hornchurch, Essex; died in office
1599 to 1604	George Lloyd	(From 1600 according to Haydn); rector of Heswall, Lancashire; translated to Chester
1604 to 6 August 1633	John Phillips	John Philips; Archdeacon of Cleveland and Man; nominated by King James VI 29 January 1604; consecrated 10 February 1604; died in office
1634 (or 1633) to 1635	William Forster	William Foster; Prebendary of Chester
1635 to 1643	Richard Parr Richard Parr - Life :He was born about 1592 in Lancashire. On 2 September 1609 he entered Brasenose College, Oxford, then aged 17. He commenced B.A. 17 June 1613, was elected Fellow in 1614, and proceeded M.A. 19 April 1616, B.D. 10 June 1624, D.D. 1 July 1634....	Rector of Lancashire; died in office
1643 (or 1644) to 1661	vacant	For 17 years (according to Haydn)
1658 to 1661	Thomas Kirkham	Cistercian brother; omitted from most lists
1661 to 1663	Samuel Rutter	Archdeacon of Man
1663 to 1671	Isaac Barrow Isaac Barrow (bishop) Isaac Barrow was an English clergyman and Bishop, consecutively, of Sodor and Man and St Asaph, and also served as Governor of the Isle of Man...	Fellow of Eton College; translated to St Asaph but held Sodor & Man 2 years in commendam
1671 to 1682	Henry Bridgeman	Dean of Chester
1682 to 1684	John Lake John Lake (bishop) John Lake was a 17th century Bishop of Sodor and Man, Bishop of Bristol and Bishop of Chichester in the British Isles.-Life:He was born in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire and educated at St John's College, Cambridge...	Archdeacon of Cleveland; translated to Bristol
1684 to 1692	Baptist Levinz Baptist Levinz Baptist Levinz, sometimes Baptiste or Baptist Levinge, was an Anglican churchman. He is known as a bishop and also for the part he played in the dramatic election at Magdalen College, Oxford.-Life:...	Baptiste or Baptist Levinge; Prebendary of Winchester
1693 to 1697	vacant	For 5 years
1697 (or 1698) to 1755	Thomas Wilson Thomas Wilson (bishop) Thomas Wilson was Anglican Bishop of Sodor and Man between 1697 and 1755.He was born in Burton and Ness, in the Wirral, Cheshire, in December 1663. Having studied medicine at Trinity College, Dublin, he was ordained priest in 1689...	Of Trinity College, Dublin; died in office
1755 to 1773	Mark Hiddesley Mark Hiddesley Mark Hiddesley, or Mark Hildesley, was an Anglican churchman. He served as vicar of Hitchen in Hertfordshire and later as Bishop of Sodor and Man between 1755 and 1772. He was also an Old Carthusian.-See also:...	Mark Hildesley' Vicar of Hitchen, Hertfordshire
1773 to 1780	Richard Richmond	Vicar of Walton-on-the-Hill, Lancashire
1780 to 1783	George Mason	Died in office
1784 to 1813	Claudius Crigan
1813 to 1814	vacant
1813 (or 1814) to 1827	George Murray George Murray (bishop of Rochester) George Murray was a British churchman, Archdeacon of Man, Dean of Worcester, Bishop of Sodor and Man and Bishop of Rochester.-Background and education:...	Translated to Rochester
1827 to 1838	William Ward	Died in office
1838 to 1839	James Bowstead	Translated to Lichfield
1839 (or 1840) to 1841	Henry Pepys Henry Pepys Henry Pepys was a Church of England Bishop of Worcester.-Biography:Pepys was born in Wimpole Street, London, the son of Sir William Weller Pepys , a master in chancery, who was descended from John Pepys, of Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, the great-grandfather of Samuel Pepys the diarist...	Translated to Worcester
1841 to 1846	Thomas Short	Rector of St George's, Bloomsbury; translated to St Asaph
8 November 1846 to 1847	Walter Shirley	Died in office
1847 to 1854	The Rt Hon The Lord Auckland (before 1849: The Hon Robert Eden)	Translated to Bath & Wells
5 July 1854 to 31 May 1877	The Hon Horatio Powys Horatio Powys Horatio Powys was a priest in the Church of England and Bishop of Sodor and Man.Powys, born on 20 November 1805, was third son of Thomas Powys, 2nd Baron Lilford , by Henrietta Maria, eldest daughter of Robert Vernon Atherton of Atherton Hall, Lancashire. He was educated at Harrow and at St....	Rector of Warrington and rural dean; died in office
17 July 1877 to 27 May 1887	Rowley Hills DD	Canon of York; died in office
1887 to 1892	John Bardsley	Archdeacon of Warrington
1892 to 1907	Norman Straton
1907 to 1911	Thomas Drury
1911 to 1925	Denton Thompson
1925 to 1928	Charles Thornton-Duesbury
1928 to 1943	William Stanton Jones William Stanton Jones William Stanton Jones was an Anglican bishop.Stanton-Jones was educated at Durham University. Ordained in 1892 he began his ordained ministry as a curate at Widnes, after which he was vicar of St Polycarp’s Liverpool. He was then vicar of St Mary’s with St Lawrence's Kirkdale, Liverpool and rural...
1943 to 1954	John Taylor
1954 to 1966	Benjamin Pollard Benjamin Pollard Benjamin Pollard TD was an Anglican bishop.Pollard and educated at Manchester Grammar School and the Victoria University of Manchester. He was ordained in 1914 and was a chaplain during World War I with the British Armed Forces. After this he became the Precentor of Sheffield Cathedral and then...  TD DD MSc
1966 to 1974	Eric Gordon
1974 to 1983	Vernon Nicholls
1983 to 1989	Arthur Attwell
1989 to 2003	Noel Jones CB BA
2003 to 2007	Graeme Knowles AKC
2008 to date	Robert Patterson MA