Godfrey Ashby

Godfrey Ashby
Bishop of St John's (1980–1985); Assistant Bishop of Leicester
DioceseDiocese of St Johns, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa; Diocese of Leicester
In office1980-1985; 1987–1995
SuccessorJacob Dlamini; Bill Down
Other post(s)Dean of Grahamstown (1975–1980)
Orders
Ordination1955 (deacon)
1955 (priest)
Consecration1980
Personal details
Born(1930-11-06)6 November 1930
Died29 December 2023(2023-12-29) (aged 93)
The College of St Barnabas, Lingfield, Surrey
DenominationAnglican
ParentsWilliam & Vera Hickey
Spouse
Sally Hawtree
​
(m. 1957⁠–⁠2015)​
Children4 sons; 2 daughters
ProfessionWriter (theologian)
Alma materKing's College London

Godfrey William Ernest Candler Ashby (6 November 1930 – 29 December 2023) was a British Anglican bishop, theologian, and academic. From 1980 to 1985, he was the eighth Bishop of St John's in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. From 1988 to 1995, he was the Assistant Bishop of Leicester in the Church of England.

Early life

Ashby was educated at The King's School in Chester, Cheshire.[1] After two years in the British Army Intelligence Corps, he studied at King's College London, and graduated in 1954 with a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree and the Associateship of King's College (AKC).[2] He was an Overseas Visiting Scholar at St John's College, Cambridge, in 1975. He also became a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Ordained ministry

Ashby was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1955 and as a priest in 1955.[2] His first post was as a Curate in the Parish of St Helier in the Diocese of Southwark.[3]

In 1958, Ashby emigrated to South Africa.[2] Here he rose steadily in the church hierarchy, being successively: Subwarden of St Paul's College, Grahamstown; Rector of Alice, Eastern Cape; lecturer at the Federal Theological Seminary, Alice; a senior lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew at Rhodes University; Dean of Grahamstown and Archdeacon in the Diocese of Grahamstown.[4][2]

Episcopal ministry

In 1980, Ashby was consecrated a bishop.[2] From 1980 to 1985, he served as diocesan Bishop of St John's. He was then professor of Divinity at the University of the Witwatersrand and an assistant bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Johannesburg.[5]

In 1988, Ashby moved back to England. He served as the Assistant Bishop of Leicester in the Diocese of Leicester from 1988 to 1995. Additionally, he was Priest-in-Charge of All Saints, Newtown Linford between 1992 and 1995. In 1993, he was made an Honorary Canon of Leicester Cathedral.[2]

Ashby retired from full-time ministry in 1995. He returned to South Africa, where he served as an Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of George. In 2008, he returned to England. He served as an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Portsmouth between 2008 and 2011 and in the Diocese of Exeter (in which he lived at Broadclyst, Devon) from 2011 until he entered full retirement at the College of St Barnabas in Surrey in 2017.[2]

Personal life

Bishop Ashby was married to Valerie "Sally" Ashby, née Hawtree (she died on 7 October 2015). Together, they had six children: Garmon, John Mark, Mary, Philip, Ruth, and Charles.

Publications

  • Theodoret of Cyrrhus as exegete of the Old Testament. Grahamstown: Rhodes University. 1972. ISBN 9780949980168.[6]
  • Sacrifice: its nature and purpose. SCM. 1988. ISBN 978-0-334-01437-9.
  • Go Out and Meet God: A Commentary on the Book of Exodus. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. January 1998. ISBN 978-0-8028-4332-6.
  • Translation of The Stone Mason of Saint-Point by Alphonse de Lamartine. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. February 2016. ISBN 1-4438-7798-0

References

  1. ^ Who's Who 2012. A&C Black. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4081-4229-5.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Godfrey William Ernest Candler Ashby". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Parish details". Archived from the original on 28 December 2004. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  4. ^ Crockford's Clerical Directory: A Reference Book of the Clergy of the Provinces of Canterbury and York and of Other Anglican Provinces and Dioceses. Oxford University Press. 1976. ISBN 978-0-19-200008-8. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  5. ^ "Declaration of Unity, Witness and Mission". Church Times. No. AAMBIT 3. 1 July 1988. p. 1. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 22 July 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
  6. ^ Magill, Frank Northen; Aves, Alison (1998). Dictionary of World Biography. Taylor & Francis. pp. 1140–. ISBN 978-1-57958-040-7.
Anglican Church of Southern Africa titles
Preceded by Dean of Grahamstown
1975–1980 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Bishop of St John's
1980–1985 		Succeeded by
New title Assistant Bishops of Leicester
1987–1995 		Succeeded by