Stephen Edwards (priest)

Stephen Michael Edwards is a British Anglican priest. Since 2024, he has served as Dean of Worcester.

Life and career

Edwards was born on 5 July 1972 in Shrewsbury. He attended Darland High School and Yale College, Wrexham. He was educated at Lancaster University and Anglia Ruskin University, and trained at Westcott House, Cambridge. He served as a curate in the parish of Colwyn Bay in the Diocese of St Asaph, and was ordained priest in 1997. In 1999, he became Priest-in-Charge of Bryn-y-Maen. In 2002, he became Priest-in-Charge at St Agnes' Church, Longsight, in the Diocese of Manchester. In 2012, he became Team Rector of Wythenshawe, additionally becoming Area Dean of Withington in 2013.
In 2016 he obtained the degree of Doctor of Practical Theology at the University of Manchester. His thesis, titled "A Critical Exploration of the Ministry of a White Priest within a Black-Majority Congregation", reflects on his ministry at St Agnes', Longsight.
In 2019, he was appointed Residentiary Canon at Worcester Cathedral, becoming Vice-Dean in 2021, and was appointed interim Dean of Worcester on the retirement of Peter Atkinson in 2023. His permanent appointment as Dean was then announced on 17 June 2024. He was installed as Dean on 15 September.