Tim Dakin

Timothy John Dakin (born 6 February 1958) is an Anglican bishop. He was the General Secretary of the Church Mission Society (CMS) and the South American Missionary Society (SAMS) prior to his consecration. He has been the Bishop of Winchester since 2011 and is "ex officio" a member of the House of Lords. He is additionally the Bishop for Higher and Further Education since 2013.
Early life and education.
Dakin was born in Kongwa, Tanganyika, (modern Tanzania) where his parents were church missionaries working in Tanzania and Kenya. He attended kindergarten and primary school at St Mary's School, Nairobi, Kenya, but was otherwise educated in England. He studied theology and philosophy at University College of St Mark and St John in Plymouth, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1986. He then trained for ordination at King's College London, graduating with a Master of Theology (MTh) degree in 1987.
Ordained ministry.
Dakin was ordained deacon in 1993 and priest in 1994. His first appointment was as Principal of the Church Army training college in Nairobi, during which time he was also an assistant curate at All Saints' Cathedral, Nairobi. He took up his appointment as General Secretary of the Church Mission Society (CMS) in 2000. During this time, he was also an honorary curate of St James the Great, Ruscombe in the Diocese of Oxford, Church of England.
Episcopal ministry.
His appointment as Bishop of Winchester was announced on 6 September 2011 and he legally became bishop with the confirmation of his election on 20 December 2011, ahead of his 25 January consecration by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, at St Paul's Cathedral. His installation at Winchester Cathedral was on 21 April and he was introduced in the House of Lords on 26 March. After John Taylor in 1974, he was only the second priest to be consecrated directly to the See of Winchester since 1595. In May 2013, Dakin was additionally appointed the Bishop for Higher and Further Education, a national spokesperson role.
As Bishop of Winchester, he is the visitor to five Oxford colleges including Magdalen College, Oxford, New College, Oxford, and St John's College, Oxford. He also holds "ex officio" the position of Prelate of the Order of the Garter.
On 20 May 2021, it was reported that Dakin had "stepped back" as Bishop for six weeks, in light of the threat of a Diocesan Synod motion of no confidence in his leadership. David Williams, Bishop of Basingstoke also "stepped back" and Debbie Sellin, Bishop of Southampton, served as acting diocesan bishop.
Channel Islands controversy.
In January 2014, it was announced that the Channel Islands would be temporarily removed from the oversight of the Bishop of Winchester for the first time for 500 years, after relations between Dakin and the Deanery of Jersey broke down over the handling of alleged abuse, and the suspension of the Dean of Jersey. The Deaneries of Jersey and Guernsey were transferred to the direct oversight of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Dean of Jersey was reinstated, with Archbishop Justin Welby subsequently issuing an apology to the Dean and his wife "for the hurt and the treatment that they had received”.
Dakin commissioned a report (the Steel Report) in 2013, which found that there should be no disciplinary action against any Channel Islands clergy. The full content of the report has never been published. In the face of continued poor relations, the Archbishop of Canterbury formed a special Commission in June 2018, under the chairmanship of former Bishop of London Richard Chartres, to decide on a way forward. The Commission issued conclusions in October 2019, stating of Dakin's original handling of the case that “The suspension of the Dean came as a seismic shock to the civic authorities and churchpeople in Jersey, and triggered a breakdown in trust between the Church and people in both Islands, and Winchester. Questions were immediately raised as to the propriety, and indeed legality, of the Bishop’s actions.” The final decision of the Commission was that the Channel Islands should not return to the episcopal oversight of the Bishop of Winchester, but should instead be incorporated into the neighbouring Diocese of Salisbury, as a new permanent arrangement for episcopal care. The new arrangement is for both Jersey and Guernsey Deaneries, as relations had broken down across all the Channel Islands. In a report prepared for a visiting delegation during the Commission process, the Standing Committee of the Deanery of Guernsey wrote of its relationship with Bishop Dakin: “While the handling of the Jersey safeguarding issue may have been the trigger for the current position, it is not the only matter which has so seriously strained the relationship."
Views.
Dakin is a committee member of the Evangelical Group of the General Synod of the Church of England. In March 2014, the group sent an email to its members about the introduction of same-sex marriage in England and Wales, saying that the committee members believed that "appropriate sacramental discipline should apply to those who choose to enter into any sexual relationship other than within marriage between a man and a woman".
Personal life.
He is married to Sally and they have two children.