Patrick Campbell Rodger (28 November 1920 – 8 July 2002) was an Anglican bishop and ecumenist. He was the Bishop of Manchester (1970–1978) and Bishop of Oxford (1978–1986).
He came from the Scottish Episcopal Church, having served ministries in Edinburgh (including a time as Provost of St Mary's Cathedral). He came from a prosperous middle-class family in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
Towards the end of the Second World War he served in the Royal Corps of Signals. After a brilliant undergraduate career at Christ Church, Oxford (BA 1947) he studied for ordination at Westcott House, Cambridge. After his first curacy in Edinburgh, he worked for the Student Christian Movement. From 1961 to 1966 he was a member of staff of the World Council of Churches (Executive Secretary for Faith and Order). He returned from Geneva after being nominated (but not elected) as General Secretary of the WCC. In the event the post went to the Revd Eugene Carson Blake. During his service as an Anglican Bishop he was also chair of the Churches' Unity Commission and president of the Conference of European Churches. As Bishop of Oxford he presided over the beginning of an Area scheme which delegated functions from the diocesan to his suffragan or "Area" bishops, in order to decentralise the work of the diocese. In retirement he served as an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Edinburgh. In 1989, he published Songs in a Strange Land, a devotional book on praying with the Psalms.
He was an early advocate of the ordination of women as deacons and priests.
References
- The Times, 21 October 1978; pg. 14; Issue 60438; col A New Bishop of Oxford
- Independent Obituary
- "Public Service – Patrick Campbell Rodger – Heroes Centre". www.heroescentre.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- Crockford's Clerical Directory 1975-76 London: Oxford University Press, 1976 ISBN 0-19-200008-X
- “Who was Who” 1897-2007 London, A & C Black, 1991 ISBN 978-0-19-954087-7
| Church of England titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byReginald Foskett | Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh 1967–1970 |
Succeeded byGeorge Crosfield |
| Preceded byWilliam Greer | Bishop of Manchester 1970–1978 |
Succeeded byStanley Booth-Clibborn |
| Preceded byKenneth Woollcombe | Bishop of Oxford 1978–1986 |
Succeeded byRichard Harries |
| Provosts of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh | |
|---|---|
| Bishops of Manchester | |
|---|---|
- 1920 births
- 2002 deaths
- People educated at Cargilfield School
- People educated at Rugby School
- Bishops of Manchester
- Bishops of Oxford
- 20th-century Church of England bishops
- British Army personnel of World War II
- Provosts of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal)
- Clergy from Argyll and Bute
- Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
- Alumni of Westcott House, Cambridge
- Royal Corps of Signals soldiers
- 20th-century Scottish Episcopalian priests