The Very Rev’d Paul Kennington

Interim Dean of Chelmsford

Paul was born in Leeds, W.Yorkshire. In 1985 he graduated in French and Russian at Durham University, after which he went to St Stephen’s House, Oxford to study for a B.A in Theology. He graduated in 1988 and was awarded his Oxford M.A. in 1992.

Ordained deacon in 1988 and priest in 1989 in the diocese of Oxford, Paul served his curacy at St Andrew’s, Headington in Oxford. In 1991 he moved to the parish of St Clement in East Dulwich in the diocese of Southwark where he served at St Peter’s, Dulwich, a local ecumenical project with the Roman Catholic Benedictine Community of Worth Abbey. In 1994 he was appointed team vicar at All Saints, in the Mortlake and East Sheen Team Ministry, and in 2001 he took up the post of vicar of St Mary’s Battersea before moving to Montreal in 2010 to be Dean of Montreal and rector of Christ Church Cathedral in the Anglican Church of Canada. Since 2016 he has been the vicar of St Andrew's, Leytonstone and now he is delighted to serve as the interim Dean of Chelmsford Cathedral.

Paul describes himself as being liberal in ethics, evangelical in preaching, catholic in liturgy, and orthodox in his understanding of Trinitarian theology and Christology. He is passionate about liturgy and mission and about helping people to grow in their faith, so that the Christian community can more fully participate in God’s reign of love, justice and peace, loving God ever more fervently with the best they can offer, and serving their neighbours ever more generously and sacrificially.

Paul lives with his civil-partner Jonathan. He has three adult children, Timothy, Marie-Caroline and Philippa, from a previous marriage, and one grandson.