Philip John Hesketh DL (born 15 November 1964) is an Anglican clergyman.
Philip Hesketh | |
---|---|
Dean of Rochester | |
Church | Church of England |
Diocese | Diocese of Rochester |
In office | June 2016 to present |
Predecessor | Mark Beach |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1994 (deacon) 1995 (priest) |
Personal details | |
Born | Philip John Hesketh 15 November 1964 Southport, Lancashire, England |
Nationality | British |
Denomination | Anglicanism |
Spouse |
Sugina Kamalagharan (m. 1989) |
Children | 4 |
Education | St Ninian's High School, Douglas |
Alma mater | King's College London Ripon College Cuddesdon |
Since June 2016, Dr Hesketh serves as the Dean of Rochester, head of the Chapter of Rochester Cathedral and the most senior priest in the diocese of Rochester.[1][2][3]
Born in 1964 at Southport, Lancashire, the son of Ronald Hesketh, a kinsman of the Hesketh-Fleetwood baronets, and Jacquline née Matthew,[2][4] he was brought up on the Isle of Man,[5] and educated at St Ninian's High School, Douglas.[4] In 1983, he moved to London and matriculated into King's College London to study divinity.[5] He graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree and the Associateship of King's College (AKC) qualification.[1][2] In 1992, he entered Ripon College Cuddesdon, an Anglican theological college, to train for ordained ministry.[2] During this time he also undertook postgraduate research at KCL, taking a doctorate of Philosophy (PhD, Londin) in 1984.[2]
Hesketh was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1994 then priest in 1995.[2] From 1994 to 1998, he served his curacy at Holy Cross Church, Bearsted, in the diocese of Canterbury.[1][2] Then, from 1998 to 2005, he was Vicar of St Stephen's Church, Chatham, in the diocese of Rochester.[2]
In 2005, Hesketh was appointed a Canon Residentiary of Rochester Cathedral.[1] When Dr Mark Beach resigned as Dean in January 2015, Hesketh was appointed Acting-Dean.[6] On 26 February 2016, it was announced that he would be the next Dean of Rochester.[1][7][8] He was installed as Dean at Rochester Cathedral during a service on 19 June 2016.[9]
In 1989, Hesketh is married Sugina Kamalagharan, a medical doctor;[1][4][9] together they have four children.[1]
Hesketh was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Kent in 2019,[10] and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Canterbury Christ Church University in 2023.[11]