Mark Tanner

Mark Simon Austin Tanner (born November 1970) is a British Anglican bishop and academic. Since 2020, he has been the Bishop of Chester; he previously served as Bishop of Berwick, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Newcastle since his 2016 consecration as bishop; and from August 2011 until his consecration, he was the Warden of Cranmer Hall, Durham, a Church of England theological college.

The Right Reverend Mark Tanner
Bishop of Chester
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Diocese of Chester
In office	2020–present
Predecessor	Peter Forster
Other posts	Warden of Cranmer Hall, Durham (2011–2016) Bishop of Berwick (2016–2020)
Orders
Ordination	1998 (deacon) 1999 (priest)
Consecration	18 October 2016 by John Sentamu
Personal details
Birth name	Mark Simon Austin Tanner
Born	November 1970 (age 50) Canada
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglicanism
Spouse	Lindsay ​ (m. 1994)​
Children	Two
Education	Loughborough Grammar School
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford Cranmer Hall, Durham St John's College, Durham University of Liverpool

Early life and education

Tanner was born in November 1970 in Canada to Professor Stuart Tanner and Joy Tanner.[1] He was educated at Loughborough Grammar School, an all-boys independent school in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England.[1] He studied at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1992; as per tradition, his BA was promoted to an Oxford Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree in 1997.[2]

From 1992 to 1995, Tanner was a youth pastor at Holy Trinity Church, Coventry, West Midlands.[1] In 1995, he matriculated into Cranmer Hall, Durham, an Anglican theological college, to train for ordained ministry.[2] During this time, he also studied theology at St John's College, Durham, and graduated with a further BA degree in 1998.[1] He later undertook postgraduate study at the University of Liverpool, and was awarded a Master of Theology (MTh) degree in 2005.[2]

Ordained ministry

Tanner was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1998,[2] and as a priest on 3 July 1999 by Michael Langrish, Bishop of Birkenhead.[3] From 1998 to 2001, he served his curacy at St Mary's Church, Upton, Merseyside in the Diocese of Chester.[1][4] He then moved to the Diocese of Sheffield, and served as the vicar of St Mary's Church, Doncaster from 2001 to 2007.[2]

In 2007, Tanner moved to the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds.[2] He was vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Ripon from 2007 to 2011.[1] He also held a number of positions in addition to his parish ministry. He was area dean of Ripon from 2009 to 2011.[4] Since 2009, he has been an officiating chaplain to the military (OCM), a type of part-time military chaplain who remains a civilian,[5] and served as OCM to 21 Engineer Regiment from 2009 to 2011.[4]

In August 2011, Tanner became warden of Cranmer Hall, Durham, a Church of England theological college in the Open Evangelical tradition.[6] He also served as OCM to 101st (Northumbrian) Regiment Royal Artillery from 2011 to 2013.[4] In 2015, he was made an honorary canon of Durham Cathedral.[2] During his five years at Cranmer Hall, he doubled the number of ordinands training there and oversaw the establishment of a training track for ministers from the free church, including those training for Baptist ordination.[6]

Episcopal ministry

On 1 September 2016, it was announced that Tanner would become the next Bishop of Berwick, the suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Newcastle.[4] On 18 October 2016, he was consecrated a bishop by John Sentamu, Archbishop of York during a service at York Minster.[6] He was welcomed into the Diocese of Newcastle at St Nicholas' Cathedral, Newcastle on 3 December and at St Aidan's Church, Bamburgh on 4 December.[7]

On 12 May 2020, it was announced that Tanner would become the next Bishop of Chester, the Ordinary of the Diocese of Chester.[8][9] The confirmation of his election as Bishop of Chester, by which he legally took office, took place on 15 July 2020: it was undertaken online due to the coronavirus pandemic.[10][11]

Personal life

In 1994, Tanner married Lindsay.[1][7] Together they have two children.[1]

Styles

• The Reverend Mark Tanner (1998–2015)
• The Reverend Canon Mark Tanner (2015–2016)
• The Right Reverend Mark Tanner (2016–present)

Selected works

• Leach, John; Tanner, Mark; Witcombe, John (2002). Renewing the traditional church. Cambridge: Grove Books. ISBN 978-1851745135.
• Williams, Richard; Tanner, Mark (2004). Developing visionary leadership. Cambridge: Grove Books. ISBN 978-1851745678.
• Tanner, Mark (2007). How to write a good sermon: a working model. Cambridge: Grove Books. ISBN 978-1851746606.
• Tanner, Mark (2009). How to develop vision in the local church. Cambridge: Grove Books. ISBN 978-1851747191.
• Tanner, Mark (2009). How to preach a good sermon: a practical guide. Cambridge: Grove Books. ISBN 978-1851747382.
• Tanner, Mark (2015). The Introvert Charismatic: The Gift of Introversion in a Noisy Church. Oxford: Monarch Books. ISBN 978-0857215888.
• Tanner, Mark (2015). The PCC Member's Essential Guide. London: Church House Publishing. ISBN 978-0715110935.

References

1. "Tanner, Mark Simon Austin". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2016 (November 2015 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 2 September 2016. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
2. "Mark Simon Austin Tanner". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
3. "Petertide Ordinations". Church Times (7118). 16 July 1999. p. 19.
4. "Suffragan Bishop of Berwick: Mark Tanner". Government of the United Kingdom. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
5. "A vocation as a Chaplain". army.mod.uk. British Army. Retrieved 2 September 2016. It also engages local civilian clergy as Officiating Chaplains to the Military.
6. "Warden of Cranmer Hall Nominated as the New Bishop of Berwick". Cranmer Hall. Durham University. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
7. "Canon Mark Tanner announced as new Suffragan Bishop of Berwick". Diocese of Newcastle. Church of England. 1 September 2016. Archived from the original on 5 September 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
8. "Bishop of Chester: 12 May 2020". gov.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
10. "Confirmation of Election service". Diocese of Chester. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
11. York Minster order of service — Confirmation of Election of Tanner as Bishop of Chester (Accessed 16 July 2020)