The Rt Rev Geoffrey Rowell
Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe who was an intrepid traveller but once ruffled feathers in Istanbul
THE RIGHT REVEREND GEOFFREY ROWELL, who has died aged 74, was Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe from 2001 to 2013. This diocese was formed in 1980 by bringing together the long-established diocese of Gibraltar, largely serving the Mediterranean world, and a jurisdiction of the diocese of London that provided Anglican chaplaincies in northern and central Europe.
By the time of Rowell’s appointment, commercial and tourist developments, combined with the growth of expatriate communities, was greatly increasing the demand for Anglican ministry and at the time of his retirement there were 270 chaplaincies in 44 countries.
Always an intrepid traveller, he was in many ways ideally suited to the role, and a deep ecumenical commitment enabled him to exploit to good effect the contacts with the leaders of other churches which it involved. Relations with local Catholic and Orthodox churches were strengthened and he was a valued member of inter-church commissions seeking unity.
Rowell was, none the less, primarily an academic theologian. Apart from a brief period as suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke immediately prior to his appointment to Europe, he had been teaching in Oxford and his pastoral skills were somewhat less secure.
This was apparent in 2007 when, without consultation with the Anglican chaplain and community in Istanbul, he decided to ordain a Turkish convert from Islam to serve a Christian congregation in the city. Locally this was seen as a provocative move, since proselytisation was forbidden by Turkish law, and also potentially dangerous to Christians. Only recently a Roman Catholic priest had been knifed to death and three Baptists had been murdered by Islamist extremists.
Rowell did not help his cause by informing the chaplain of his intention by email only 24 hours before the ordination was due to take place. As a result of the ensuing controversy he found himself locked out of the six Anglican churches in Istanbul and driven to conduct the ceremony in a small Calvinist church. The chaplain explained: “The Bishop’s life has been spent under the shelter of Oxford University.” The quality of his scholarship, however, was never questioned, neither was his spirituality or his ability to conduct services with great dignity. He had an easy rapport with children, assisted perhaps by the fact that when in church his small stature, beard and mitre gave him a gnome-like appearance.
Douglas Geoffrey Rowell was born in Alton, Hampshire, on February 13 1943. Nurtured in the Anglo-catholic tradition, he attended Eggar’s Grammar School before entering Winchester College. From there he went to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, to read Theology and begin his Church History specialism.
At Cuddesdon Theological College, where he went to prepare for Holy Orders, he was also allowed to study in a Greek Orthodox seminary and later in a Coptic monastery. Thus began what became a lifelong interest in the Orthodox Church and the ancient Orthodox churches in Egypt, Armenia, Syria and Ethiopia.
Rowell was ordained in 1968 to an assistant chaplaincy at New College, which he combined with the Hastingsrashdall Scholarship, this enabling him to complete a doctorate published as Hell and the Victorians in 1974. Research on The Liturgy of Christian Burial (1977) led to the chairmanship of the Churches Funerals Group.
In 1972 he moved to become Fellow, Chaplain and Tutor of Keble College, Oxford, a post which he held for the next 22 years, serving also as a university lecturer from 1977-94. He proved to be a gifted teacher and an exemplary tutor. He was also responsible for liaison with the 67 parishes of which the college is the patron. Vacations were spent travelling.
At the same time his own studies led to the publication of many books and contributions to symposia and learned journals. Church history continued to be his main concern, but he had a particular interest in relating theology to spirituality; he regarded the two as essential partners. Of special importance was The Vision Glorious (1983), published to mark the 150th anniversary of the Oxford Movement, and his co-editing of a large volume on The English Religious Tradition and the Genius of Anglicanism (1992).
He was awarded an Oxford DD in 1997. He had been appointed to the Wiccamical Canonry of Chichester Cathedral in 1980.
Rowell’s appointment as suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke in 1994 occasioned some surprise but owed much to his strong opposition to the ordination of women to the priesthood. Colin James, Bishop of Winchester at the time, was also opposed and felt the need for extra support in ministering to the parishes that were equally unhappy.
His beginning was inauspicious, inasmuch as he declined to live in a recently purchased house in Basingstoke, preferring to live in Alton in proximity to the Benedictine community there. But he became a popular figure and his spirituality and learning were appreciated by many.
Even so, his frequent absences on overseas visits became the subject of comment, and when some British, rather than foreign, coins fell from his pocket at a meeting in Basingstoke a retired bishop, also present, wondered if there had been a miracle. Translation to the European diocese made further speculation unnecessary.
Some of the travel arose from his membership of an Anglican-oriental Orthodox International Commission and of an Inter-anglican Standing Committee on Ecumenical Relations. Nearer home, he was a member of the Church of England’s Liturgical Commission, and was founder and co-editor of the International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church.
Rowell’s personal links with Orthodox and Catholic leaders almost certainly influenced his attitude to the ordination of women. He eventually came round to accepting women priests, but never women bishops. At the 2008 Lambeth Conference he attended but declined to take part in a Eucharist presided over by the female head of the Anglican Church in the United States. Shortly before his retirement in 2015 he spoke in the General Synod against the ordination of women bishops, and he was one of three bishops to vote against it.
In retirement he preached and lectured widely and continued to support Church unity initiatives.
He was unmarried.
The Rt Rev Geoffrey Rowell, born February 13 1943, died June 11 2017