Mark Tanner

Mark Simon Austin Tanner (born November 1970) is a British Anglican bishop and academic. Since 2020, he has been the Bishop of Chester; he previously served as Bishop of Berwick, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Newcastle since his 2016 consecration as bishop; and from August 2011 until his consecration, he was the Warden of Cranmer Hall, Durham, a Church of England theological college.

Early life and education[]

Tanner was born in November 1970 in Canada to Professor Stuart Tanner and Joy Tanner.^[1] He was educated at Loughborough Grammar School, an all-boys independent school in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England.^[1] He studied at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1992; as per tradition, his BA was promoted to an Oxford Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree in 1997.^[2]

From 1992 to 1995, Tanner was a youth pastor at Holy Trinity Church, Coventry, West Midlands.^[1] In 1995, he matriculated into Cranmer Hall, Durham, an Anglican theological college, to train for ordained ministry.^[2] During this time, he also studied theology at St John's College, Durham, and graduated with a further BA degree in 1998.^[1] He later undertook postgraduate study at the University of Liverpool, and was awarded a Master of Theology (MTh) degree in 2005.^[2]

Ordained ministry[]

Tanner was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1998,^[2] and as a priest on 3 July 1999 by Michael Langrish, Bishop of Birkenhead.^[3] From 1998 to 2001, he served his curacy at St Mary's Church, Upton, Merseyside in the Diocese of Chester.^[1][4] He then moved to the Diocese of Sheffield, and served as the vicar of St Mary's Church, Doncaster from 2001 to 2007.^[2]

In 2007, Tanner moved to the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds.^[2] He was vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Ripon from 2007 to 2011.^[1] He also held a number of positions in addition to his parish ministry. He was area dean of Ripon from 2009 to 2011.^[4] Since 2009, he has been an officiating chaplain to the military (OCM), a type of part-time military chaplain who remains a civilian,^[5] and served as OCM to 21 Engineer Regiment from 2009 to 2011.^[4]

In August 2011, Tanner became warden of Cranmer Hall, Durham, a Church of England theological college in the Open Evangelical tradition.^[6] He also served as OCM to 101st (Northumbrian) Regiment Royal Artillery from 2011 to 2013.^[4] In 2015, he was made an honorary canon of Durham Cathedral.^[2] During his five years at Cranmer Hall, he doubled the number of ordinands training there and oversaw the establishment of a training track for ministers from the free church, including those training for Baptist ordination.^[6]

Episcopal ministry[]

On 1 September 2016, it was announced that Tanner would become the next Bishop of Berwick, the suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Newcastle.^[4] On 18 October 2016, he was consecrated a bishop by John Sentamu, Archbishop of York during a service at York Minster.^[6] He was welcomed into the Diocese of Newcastle at St Nicholas' Cathedral, Newcastle on 3 December and at St Aidan's Church, Bamburgh on 4 December.^[7]

On 12 May 2020, it was announced that Tanner would become the next Bishop of Chester, the Ordinary of the Diocese of Chester.^[8][9] The confirmation of his election as Bishop of Chester, by which he legally took office, took place on 15 July 2020: it was undertaken online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[10][11]

Personal life[]

In 1994, Tanner married Lindsay.^[1][7] Together they have two children.^[1]

Styles[]

• Mr Mark Tanner
• The Reverend Mark Tanner (1998–2015)
• The Reverend Canon Mark Tanner (2015–2016)
• The Right Reverend Mark Tanner (2016–present)

Selected works[]

• Leach, John; Tanner, Mark; Witcombe, John (2002). Renewing the traditional church. Cambridge: Grove Books. ISBN 978-1851745135.
• Williams, Richard; Tanner, Mark (2004). Developing visionary leadership. Cambridge: Grove Books. ISBN 978-1851745678.
• Tanner, Mark (2007). How to write a good sermon: a working model. Cambridge: Grove Books. ISBN 978-1851746606.
• Tanner, Mark (2009). How to develop vision in the local church. Cambridge: Grove Books. ISBN 978-1851747191.
• Tanner, Mark (2009). How to preach a good sermon: a practical guide. Cambridge: Grove Books. ISBN 978-1851747382.
• Tanner, Mark (2015). The Introvert Charismatic: The Gift of Introversion in a Noisy Church. Oxford: Monarch Books. ISBN 978-0857215888.
• Tanner, Mark (2015). The PCC Member's Essential Guide. London: Church House Publishing. ISBN 978-0715110935.

References[]