Paul Bayes


Paul Bayes is an English Anglican bishop. He is the current Bishop of Liverpool and a former Bishop of Hertford in the Church of England Diocese of St Albans.

Early life

Bayes was born in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, on 2 November 1953. He studied drama at the University of Birmingham before studying for ordination at Queen's College, Edgbaston.

Ordained ministry

Bayes was ordained in the Church of England, made a deacon at Petertide 1979 and as a priest the Petertide following, both times by Ronnie Bowlby, Bishop of Newcastle, at Newcastle Cathedral. He was an assistant curate at St Paul's Church, Whitley Bay for three years. He then became a university chaplain in west London from 1982 to 1987.
Bayes moved to High Wycombe for seven years where he initially as Team Vicar and then Team Rector before becoming Team Rector of Totton for nine years. While he was at Totton, Bayes was also the Area Dean of Lyndhurst from 2000. Upon leaving Totton, he joined the Archbishops' Council staff team as National Mission and Evangelism Adviser until his ordination to the episcopacy. He was also an honorary canon at Worcester Cathedral from 2007 until his consecration.

Episcopal ministry

On 7 July 2010 it was announced that Bayes would succeed Christopher Foster as Bishop of Hertford upon Foster's translation to Portsmouth. Bayes was duly consecrated a Church of England bishop on 21 September 2010 at St Paul's Cathedral and installed at St Albans Cathedral on 25 September 2010.
On 7 May 2014 it was announced that Bayes was to become the next Bishop of Liverpool; his canonical election was confirmed on 23 July 2014. Bayes was installed at Liverpool Cathedral on 15 November 2014.

Views

Bayes often addresses the evangelical wing of the Church of England, despite dissenting from mainstream evangelical theological convictions.
In June 2016 Bayes "called for far-reaching change in the church's attitudes to lesbian and gay people and a meaningful welcome to Christians in same-sex relationships". He supports the dropping the requirement for gay Christians to be celibate, saying "I've learned to respect the experiences of people who want to celebrate and express their sexuality, and be within the church". He contributed a chapter to the book Journeys in Grace and Truth: Revisiting Scripture and Sexuality, which aims to show how it is "possible to hold a positive view of same-sex relationships while being a biblically rooted evangelical".

Personal life

Bayes has been married since 1976 and they have three adult children.

Styles