Edwin Barnes

Edwin Ronald Barnes (6 February 1935 – 6 February 2019) was a British Roman Catholic priest and a former Church of England bishop. He was the Anglican Bishop of Richborough from 1995 to 2002 and was also formerly the president of the Church Union.[1][2]

The Reverend Monsignor Edwin Barnes
Barnes in 2005
Church	Roman Catholic Church (since 2011) Church of England (before 2011)
In office	1995 to 2001
Successor	Keith Newton
Other posts	Principal of St Stephen's House, Oxford (1987–1995)
Orders
Ordination	12 June 1960 (Anglican deacon) 28 May 1961 (Anglican priest) 11 February 2011 (Roman Catholic deacon) 5 March 2011 (Roman Catholic priest) by John Phillips (Anglican) Crispian Hollis (Roman Catholic)
Consecration	20 July 1995 (Anglican) by George Carey
Personal details
Born	6 February 1935
Died	6 February 2019 (aged 84)
Education	Plymouth College
Alma mater	Pembroke College, Oxford Cuddesdon College

Anglican ministry

Barnes was educated at Plymouth College and Pembroke College, Oxford. He began his ministry with a curacy at St Mark's North End, Portsmouth. After this he held incumbencies at Farncombe and Hessle. In 1987 he became Principal of St Stephen's House, Oxford,[3] an Anglican theological college. He was made a deacon on Trinity Sunday 1960 (12 June)[4] and ordained a priest the next Trinity Sunday (28 May 1961), both times by John Phillips, Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth, at Portsmouth Cathedral.[5] In 1995 he was chosen to be the first Bishop of Richborough, a provincial episcopal visitor in the Province of Canterbury, and consecrated a bishop at Westminster Abbey on 20 July 1995.[6] He retired in 2001.[7][8]

Reception into the Catholic Church

In October 2010, Barnes was interviewed by The Tablet magazine on the possibility of joining the proposed personal ordinariate in the Roman Catholic Church for former Anglicans (which was established as the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in January 2011). He said that he wanted to join "because the Anglican Church is no longer the one holy and apostolic Church it says it is."[9] On 6 January 2011, Barnes announced that he intended being received into the Catholic Church.[10]

On 21 January 2011 he and his wife, Jane, were received into the Catholic Church at the Church of Our Lady & St Joseph, Lymington by Monsignor Peter Ryan, himself a former Anglican.[11] He was ordained to the diaconate on 11 February 2011 in the domestic chapel at Bishop's House, Portsmouth by Crispian Hollis, Roman Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth. He was ordained to the priesthood on 5 March 2011 by the same bishop in the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Portsmouth, for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. In June 2012 he was elevated to the rank of monsignor as a Chaplain of His Holiness.

Illness and Death

Barnes died on 6 February 2019 on his 84th birthday, following a short illness.[12]

References

1. Crockfords(London, Church House 1995) ISBN 0-7151-8088-6
2. "The Church Union". churchunion.co.uk.
3. Who's Who 2008: London, A & C Black, 2008 ISBN 978-0-7136-8555-8
4. "Ordinations". Church Times (#5079). 17 June 1960. p. 15. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 24 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
5. "List of Trinity Ordinations". Church Times (#5129). 2 June 1961. p. 17. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 24 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
6. "picture caption". Church Times (#6911). 28 July 1995. p. 5. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 24 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
7. "Official announcement". Archived from the original on 8 December 2009.
8. "Bp Edwin enters". gssonline.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 June 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
9. Flying bishops: We’re not going yet
10. Barnes, Edwain. "Amazing (G)Race". Ancient Richborough. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
11. "Ancient Richborough: Thanks!". 21 January 2011.
12. February edition of the Ordinariate newsletter.