John Goddard

Who is John Goddard?

John William Goddard is a retired Bishop of Burnley.

Goddard was educated at Durham University. He was ordained in 1971 and began his ordained ministry as a curate at St John's Southbank before continuing as a curate at Cayton & Eastfield under the guidance of Rev. Alan A Millar. He then held two incumbencies in Middlesbrough and became the Rural Dean. From 1988 to 1992 he was Vice Principal of Edinburgh Theological College and then Rector of Ribbleton before his ordination to the episcopate. A keen narrowboater, he is married with two children. Has expressed the belief that there are no rural parishes in the Diocese of Blackburn, which includes large swathes of farming communities and extensive rural areas such as the Forest of Bowland. At the November 2012 meeting of the General Synod of the Church of England, Goddard was one of the three members of the House of Bishops who voted against the ordination of women as bishops. Goddard retired on 19 July 2014.