The Bishop of Portsmouth

The Rt Revd Dr Kenneth Stevenson was the eighth Bishop of Portsmouth. He had been bishop since 1995 and has retired with effect from September 2009.

Born near Edinburgh, Dr Stevenson is part-Scottish and part-Danish, and is involved in strengthening the relations between the Anglican Churches of the British Isles and the Lutheran Churches of the Nordic and Baltic countries. He is married to Sarah and they have four children. His hobbies are music, walking his Border terrier, historical biographies, and Denmark.  He is a Knight Commander of the Kingdom of Denmark's Order of the Dannebrog.

He became bishop after spells as a parish priest in Lincolnshire and Guildford and as a university chaplain in Manchester. He is an author and a scholar, with a particular specialism in history and liturgy, and was a visiting Professor at Notre Dame University, Indiana, USA in 1983. He collaborated with the Bishop in Europe, Geoffrey Rowell, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in editing Love's Redeeming Work, an anthology of Anglican spirituality and theology which has become a best-seller.  His latest books are Rooted in Detachment: Living the Transfiguration (2007), and an Advent book entitled Watching and Waiting (2007).

As one of the 26 most senior bishops in the Church of England, he sat in the House of Lords. He spent much of his time visiting parishes within the diocese, encouraging them to engage with and challenge the communities in which they live.

His recent experience of being diagnosed with leukaemia and his subsequent treatment has had a profound effect on his faith and work. You can read about his two farewell services here.

In the interregnum between bishops, his work is largely being handled by his office and by other senior clergy. 

The bishop's office can be contacted at: bishports(at)portsmouth.anglican.org, 01329-280247 or:

Bishopsgrove
26 Osborn Road
Fareham
Hampshire

PO16 7DQ