Eric Mercer

Eric Arthur John Mercer (born December 6, 1917 in Walmer , Kent , † November 8, 2003 in Chilmark , Wiltshire ) was a British Anglican theologian . He was Bishop of Exeter in the Church of England from 1973 to 1985 .

Mercer was born to Ambrose John Mercer and his wife Ruby Lydia Rowling in Kent. His father was a painter and interior designer . He attended Dover Grammar School for Boys. In preparation for his priesthood, he studied in Nottinghamshire at Kelham Theological College, which was run by the Society of the Sacred Mission , an English religious community founded in 1892. His five-year training there was interrupted in 1939 by the Second World War. In the spring of 1940 joined the Sherwood Foresters . In 1942 he became a platoon leader ( platoon officer ) at the Battle of El Alamein seriously wounded in the leg and the eye. When the Allies landed in Italy in January 1944, he was part of Operation Shingle as an adjutant under the command of Martin Redmayne , who later became chairman of the Conservative Party , in the military operation near Anzio , known as the "Battle of Anzio". In 1944 he was Mentioned in Despatches for his combat mission near San Savino at the Goths . In 1944 he was posted to the General Staff College in Haifa . In 1945 Mercer joined the 66th Infantry Brigade under the command of Redmaynes. He had his last military position in 1945 as a general staff officer with the rank of major for special tasks (GS02; Special Duties) at the headquarters of the Middle East Land Forces.

In 1946 he returned to Kelham Theological College and continued his priestly education. In 1947 he was ordained a deacon ; In 1948 in the diocese of Chester , the ordination . He began his priestly career from 1947 to 1951 as vicar ( curate ) in Coppenhall near Crewe . In 1951 he was pastor ( priest in charge ) in a residential area in Heald Green near Cheadle ; he held this office for two years until 1953. In 1953 he became pastor ( rector ) at St Thomas' Church in Stockport . It was during these years that Mercer earned his reputation as an excellent priest, preacher, and forward-thinking churchman. In 1959 he became a "Diocesan Missioner" in the Diocese of Chester. In this task he was responsible for the expansion of missionary activities and the proclamation of the faith in the parishes. At the same time he was from 1959 to 1965 pastor at St Bridget with St Martin Church, a small parish in Chester. In 1964 he was Honorarkanoniker ( Honorary Canon , Canon) at Chester Cathedral .

In 1965 he was ordained a bishop . From 1965 to 1973 he was as "Bishop of Birkenhead" suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Chester in the Church of England. He was the first Bishop of Birkenhead in the Church of England. He was succeeded in office in 1973 by Ronald Brown . In 1973 he succeeded Robert Cecil Mortimer Bishop of Exeter in the Church of England. A serious illness forced Mercer to conduct most of the official business from the episcopal residence; He therefore increasingly urged his suffragan bishops to take responsibility for their area. From 1976 to 1985 he was also Deputy Chairman of the Church Commissioners' Pastoral Committee. He was succeeded as Bishop of Exeter in 1985 by Hewlett Thompson .

In his retirement he took over two rural parishes as pastor; it had always been Mercer's wish to be a country pastor. He was pastor ( vicar ) of Hindon with responsibility for the parishes in Chicklade and Pertwood , on the edge of Salisbury Plain .

In 1951 he married his wife Rosemary Wilma Denby. The marriage produced a son and a daughter. His son Patrick Mercer became a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons for the Newark constituency in 2001 . He died in retirement at the age of 85 in Chilmark, Wiltshire.

Membership in the House of Lords

Mercer was a member of the House of Lords in his capacity as Bishop of Exeter from 1978 until his retirement in 1985 as Spiritual Lord .

Web links

• The Rt Rev Eric Mercer - Obituary in: The Daily Telegraph, November 12, 2003
• Obituary: The Rt Rev Eric Mercer - Obituary in: The Guardian, November 14, 2003

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Mercer, Rt. Rev. Eric Arthur John curriculum vitae; British Army Officers. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
2. ↑ Who's Who 1970 . London. A&C Black. 1971, ISBN 0-7136-1140-5
3. ^ Crockford's Clerical Directory 1975-76 London. Oxford University Press. 1976. ISBN 0-19-200008-X
4. ^ Ecclesiastical News: Consecration Of Two Bishops Suffragan in: The Times, November 3, 1965, p. 14.
5. ^ Bishops named for Exeter and Hereford in: The Times , Aug. 30, 1973, p. 14.

predecessor	Office	successor
Office was created	Bishop of Birkenhead 1965–1973	Ronald Brown
Robert Mortimer	Bishop of Exeter 1973–1985	Hewlett Thompson