British Anglican priest
Peter Bradford Rouch [ 1] (born 22 April 1966) is a British Anglican priest. Since May 2021, he has been CEO of the Church Army .[ 2] He was Archdeacon of Bournemouth in the Church of England 's Diocese of Winchester from 2011 to 2020.[ 3] [ 4]
Early life and education
Rouch was born on 22 April 1966 in Rochester, Kent , England. He was educated at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School , an all-boys grammar school in Rochester.[ 5] He studied zoology at Brasenose College, Oxford , graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1987:[ 5] as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree.[ 6] He worked for Barclays Bank ,[ 2] before training for ordination at Westcott House, Cambridge from 1996 to 1999.[ 6] While at Westcott, he also studied theology at Peterhouse, Cambridge , graduating with a further BA degree in 1998: as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Cantab) degree.[ 5]
Career
Ordained ministry
Rouch was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1999 and as a priest in 2000.[ 7] He served his curacy at St John the Evangelist, East Dulwich in the Diocese of Southwark from 1999 to 2002.[ 6] He was on the staff of St Stephen's House, Oxford as a junior research fellow from 2002 to 2004.[ 8] During this time, he began studying for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree at the University of Manchester , which he completed in 2005 with a doctoral thesis titled "The Christian doctrine of time in negotiation with contemporary physics ".[ 6] [ 9] He was also chaplain to St John's College, Oxford for the 2003/2004 academic year.[ 5]
Rouch returned to parish ministry and was Priest in charge of Miles Platting in the Diocese of Manchester from 2005 to 2011.[ 10] This covered two parish's in a deprived are of inner-city Manchester.[ 2] [ 11] From 2007 to 2011, he was also an honorary research fellow at the University of Manchester.[ 8] From 2011 to 2020, he was Archdeacon of Bournemouth in the Diocese of Winchester .[ 6] He was elected to the General Synod of the Church of England in 2013.[ 8]
In October 2020, Rouch left Winchester to join the staff at Church House, Westminster , working as principal external consultant for the "Transforming Effectiveness" programme.[ 2]
Outside the Church of England
Since May 2021, he has served as Chief Executive of the Church Army , an evangelistic and mission community associated with the Church of England.[ 2] [ 12] In February 2024, it was announced that he would be the next secretary general of The Mission to Seafarers : he will take up the post in September 2024.[ 13]
Personal life
In 1994, Rouch married Tracey. They have two daughters.[ 5]
References
^ Companies House
^ a b c d e Thornton, Ed (15 February 2021). "The Ven. Dr Peter Rouch to be Church Army's Chief Executive" . Church Times . Retrieved 21 May 2021 .
^ Bournemouth Echo
^ "Winchester - News - Archdeacon Peter to leave the Diocese of Winchester" .
^ a b c d e "Rouch, Ven. Peter Bradford, (born 22 April 1966), Archdeacon of Bournemouth, since 2011" . Who's Who 2020 . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2021 .
^ a b c d e
"Peter Bradford Rouch" . Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing . Retrieved 21 May 2021 .
^
"Adrian Harbidge" . Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing . Retrieved 2 August 2017 .
^ a b c "The Ven Dr Peter Bradford ROUCH" . The Church of England Year Book . Church House Publishing. Retrieved 21 May 2021 .
^ Rouch, Peter B. (2004). "The Christian doctrine of time in negotiation with contemporary physics" . E-Thesis Online Service . The British Library Board. Retrieved 21 May 2021 .
^ ‘ROUCH, Ven. Peter Bradford’, Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016 ; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 4 Aug 2017
^ "Meet the New CEO: Peter Rouch" . Church Army . Retrieved 21 May 2021 .
^ "Peter Rouch - Chief Executive" . Church Army . Retrieved 21 May 2021 .
^ "Peter Rouch appointed Mission to Seafarers secretary general" . Seatrade Maritime . 28 February 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024 .
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