Patrick Comerford
The Diocese of Bristol and the Diocese of Lichfield shared the news late on Thursday that Bishop Barry Rogerson, Bishop of Bristol (1985-2002), had died at the age of 90 earlier in the day (20 August 2026) at the age of 90. Following his retirement, Bishop Barry had served as Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
Bishop Barry was born on 25 July 1936. He began his working life at a bank before studying theology, biblical studies and philosophy at the University of Leeds, where he founded the university’s theological society.
Following a call to ministry, he began training at Wells Theological College and was ordained in 1962. He then held curacies at Saint Hilda, South Shields, and Saint Nicholas, Bishopwearmouth, from 1962 to 1967.
He became a lecturer at Lichfield Theological College in 1967, and he was the Vice-Principal from 1971 until the college closed in 1972.
Lichfield Theological College never acquired the same reputation as, say, Westcott House and Ridley Hall in Cambridge or Ripon Cuddesdon, Saint Stephen’s House and Wycliffe Hall in Oxford. But in its days it developed some pioneering and trail-blazing ‘sandwich’ courses, involving its students in parish as well as academic work, and it also catered for older ordination candidates.
At the time Barry Rogerson was vice-principal, the last Principal of Lichfield Theological College was Canon John Yates (1925-2008), who had been appointed in 1966 in succession to John Fenton. He continued as the principal for the next six years, and in 1971 he was appointed Prebendary of Flixton in Lichfield Cathedral.
One afternoon in 1971, after I had slipped into the cathedral stalls for Choral Evensong in Lichfield Cathedral, he introduced himself to me and asked me whether I was considering ordination. Little did he know that shortly beforehand I had a wonderful religious experience visiting the chapel in Saint John’s Hospital.
Jean and John had remarkable social consciences. They spoke out against discrimination and they were deeply concerned for the poor and the marginalised. They kept an open house in the Close, and in the brief time I knew them I was welcome to drop in. After Lichfield Theological College closed, John Yates became Bishop of Whitby (1972-1975), Bishop of Gloucester (1975-1992) and the Bishop at Lambeth (1992-1994).
Meanwhile, Barry Rogerson continued lecturing in theology for three more years at Salisbury and Wells College (now Sarum College) before returning to parish ministry as Vicar and then Team Rector of Saint Thomas’s, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton. During that time, he was seconded for six months to teach at Bishop Patteson Theological College in Kohimarama in the Solomon Islands.
He became a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Lichfield in 1979 when he was appointed the first Suffragan Bishop of Wolverhampton. At the height of Margaret Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister, he joined the People’s March for Jobs as it passed through Wolverhampton in 1981. The march brought together people from across the country to highlight concerns over unemployment and its impact on communities.
He remained in Wolverhampton for six years and in 1985 he became Bishop of Bristol, where he remained until he retired 2002.
Bishop Barry was a passionate supporter of the ordination of women, a view he had held since before his own ordination. He was a consultant to the Movement for the Ordination of Women and, following approval of the ordination of women as priests by General Synod in 1992, he ordained the first 32 women priests in the Church of England in Bristol Cathedral on 12 March 1994, including Bishop Jan McFarlane, now Dean of Lichfield, and Bishop Sarah Bullock, now suffragan Bishop of Shrewsbury in the Diocese of Lichfield.
As Bishop of Bristol, Bishop Barry took part in many ecumenical initiatives: he served was a president of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and was a member of the central and executive committee of the World Council of Churches. He was co-chair with the Revd Dr John B Taylor of the committee that produced the 2001report The Anglican-Methodist Conversations.
He chaired the Interfaith Consultancy Group (IFCOG) and also chaired the advisory board of ministry, on which he was instrumental in encouraging the Church of England to take the distinctive diaconate seriously, introducing the report For Such A Time as This to the General Synod in 2001.
He chaired the Melanesian Mission in England until he retired in 2002. In his retirement, he was an Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Bath and Wells from 2003 to 2025.
Bishop Barry is survived by his wife Olga, their daughters Sue and Debbie, and their his extended family.
Bishop Michael Ipgrave of Lichfield said: ‘I was very sad to hear the news about Bishop Barry. He is remembered with great love and fondness by all who knew him, and with deep gratitude for the kindness, generosity and support he gave to our diocese. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this sad time. May they be comforted by the love and prayers of all who knew him. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.’
The people of the Diocese of Bristol are invited to give thanks for Bishop Barry at a special Evensong in Bristol Cathedral at 5:15 pm on Tuesday 13 October 2026.
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