Oliver Simon (born 1945) is a retired Anglican bishop and Church of England priest. After a 40-year ministry as a priest, he served as Bishop of Antsiranana in Madagascar from 2012 until 2015.
Education
Simon was educated at Durham University, gaining his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Geography 1967.
He then attended the University of Sussex, where he gained his Master of Arts (MA) in 1968, before going on to train for the ministry at Cuddesdon College from 1969.
He was ordained a
deacon on 26 September 1971 (by
Eric Knell, Bishop of Reading, at St John's Reading)
and a
priest around
Michaelmas 1972 (by Kenneth Woollcombe, Bishop of Oxford, at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin,
Oxford).
Priest
His title post (first curacy) was at
Kidlington until 1974, when he moved to a second curacy at
Bracknell. In 1978, he took his first incumbency, becoming Vicar of
Frodsham until 1988, when he moved to
Easthampstead, where he served as Rector for twelve years — during which time he also studied with the University of Sheffield, being awarded his Master in Ministry and Theology (MMinTheol) in 1994. He became Chaplain at Ripon College Cuddesdon, Chaplain to the Community of St Mary the Virgin (both 2000–2005) and also Chaplain at Pembroke College, Oxford (2003–2004). His last incumbency was as Team Vicar in the Rugby
Team Ministry from 2005 until 2010: during this period he also served as Ordained Local Ministry (OLM) Officer and Director of Studies for the Diocese of Coventry (from 2006) and OLM Tutor at The Queen's Foundation (from 2007), and wrote a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) thesis for the University of London (awarded 2009).
Bishop
Simon retired from all his posts effective 1 September 2010
and moved abroad to become Director of Studies for the Diocese of Mauritius. On 19 February 2012, he was consecrated (by
Ian Ernest, Archbishop of the Indian Ocean)
[ St Michael & St Mary Magdalene — Bishop Oliver] to become Bishop of Antsiranana (diocesan bishop of the Antsiranana diocese), where he served until 2015. In 2014, he announced his intention to resign the next year and arranged for the election of a
coadjutor bishop to succeed him.
[ Anglican Communion News Service — Madagascar elects new coadjutor, successor bishop (Accessed 18 February 2017)] Simon then returned to live in Colyton, Devon.
On 11 February 2017, fourteen retired bishops signed an open letter to the then-serving bishops of the Church of England. In an unprecedented move, they expressed their opposition to the House of Bishops' report to General Synod on sexuality, which recommended no change to the Church's canons or practises around sexuality.[ Retired Bishops' Letter — The Letter (Accessed 11 February 2017; the fourteen bishops were David Atkinson, Michael Doe, Tim Ellis, David Gillett, John Gladwin, Laurie Green, Richard Harries, Stephen Lowe, Stephen Platten, John Pritchard, Peter Selby, Tim Stevens, Martin Wharton, and Williamson.)] By 13 February, a serving bishop (Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham) and nine further retired bishops — including Simon — had added their signatures;[ Retired Bishops' Letter — New Signatures (Accessed 17 February 2017; the nine bishops were Gordon Bates, Ian Brackley, John Davies, Peter Maurice, David Rossdale, John Saxbee, Martin Shaw, Simon, and David Stancliffe.] on 15 February, the report was rejected by synod.[ The Grauniad — Church of England in turmoil as synod rejects report on same-sex relationships (Accessed 17 February 2017)]
Styles and titles
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The Reverend Oliver Simon (1971–2009)
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The Reverend Doctor Oliver Simon (2009–2012)
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The Right Reverend Doctor Oliver Simon (2012–present)
