Paul Williams (bishop)


Paul Gavin Williams is a Church of England bishop. Since May 2015, he has been the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham; from 2009 to 2015, he was the Bishop of Kensington, an area bishop in the Diocese of London.

Early life

Williams was born to Bryan and Heather Williams on 16 January 1968 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England. He was educated in Somerset at Court Fields Community School, a comprehensive school in Wellington, and at Richard Huish College, a sixth-form college in Taunton. He studied theology at Grey College, Durham, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989. He trained for ordination at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, an evangelical Anglican theological college.

Ordained ministry

Williams was made a deacon at Petertide 1992 by David Hope, Bishop of London, at St Paul's Cathedral and ordained a priest in 1993. He was a curate at St James and St Matthew's Muswell Hill and then at Christ Church, Clifton before becoming the rector of St James's Gerrards Cross.

Episcopal ministry

Williams was ordained to the episcopate on 25 March 2009 by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, at St Paul's Cathedral, London. From 2009 to 2015, he was the Bishop of Kensington, an area bishop in the Diocese of London. On 11 May 2015, Williams' canonical election as Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham was confirmed. On 27 June, he was enthroned during an inauguration service at Southwell Minster.

Personal life

Williams married in 1997 and they have three children.

Styles