Quick Facts
Biography
Alan Thomas Lawrence Wilson (born 27 March 1955) is a British Anglican bishop. Since October 2003, he has been the area Bishop of Buckingham in the Diocese of Oxford.
Early life
Wilson was born on 27 March 1955 in Redford Barracks in Edinburgh, Scotland. He went to Sevenoaks School in Kent, southeast England, for his secondary education. He studied history at St John's College, Cambridge (BA 1977, MA 1981). From 1977 to 1979, he studied at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.
Ordained ministry
Wilson was ordained deacon in 1979 and priest in 1980. From 1979 to 1981 he was an honorary assistant curate of Eynsham (where he met his future wife, Lucy) and also held an academic position funded by the University of Oxford. From 1981 to 1982, he was an assistant curate in the same parish, his academic position having ended.
His DPhil, for which he studied as a student of Balliol College, Oxford, was awarded in 1989. He had completed his thesis in 1988. The official title of his thesis is The theology of church and party of some London ritualistic clergy and parishes, 1880–1914, with special reference to the Church Crisis of 1898-1906, although it bears the unofficial title The authority of church and party among London Anglo-Catholics, 1880–1914, with special reference to the Church Crisis, 1898–1904.
Wilson spent the following years of his ministry in a variety of positions, including as a prison chaplain. He was Vicar of St Michaels, Sandhurst, Rural Dean of Sonning and an honorary canon at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.
Episcopal ministry
On 9 October 2003, Wilson was consecrated a bishop by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, during a service at Westminster Abbey. He then became Bishop of Buckingham, an area bishop in the Diocese of Oxford.
Personal life
Wilson is married to Lucy. Together, they have five children: Catherine, Stephanie, Stewart, Nicholas, and Anna.
Styles
- The Reverend Alan Wilson (1979–1989)
- The Reverend Doctor Alan Wilson (1989–2002)
- The Reverend Canon Doctor Alan Wilson (2002–2003)
- The Right Reverend Doctor Alan Wilson (2003–present)