John Simpson (priest)

John Arthur Simpson (7 June 1933 – 24 April 2019) was an Anglican priest.

Early life
Simpson was born in Cardiff on 7 June 1933, to Arthur Simpson, a draper, and Mary Esther Simpson, who worked for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK). He was the youngest of three children.

Education
Simpson attended Cathays High School in Cardiff. After National Service, where he learned Russian at Cambridge and worked as an interpreter in East Berlin, he went on to study Modern History at Keble College, Oxford, graduating in 1958. Simpson then trained for the priesthood at Clifton Theological College and was ordained in 1958.

Career
After curacies in Leyton and Orpington, he was a tutor at Oak Hill Theological College from 1962 to 1972. He was then Vicar of Ridge, Hertfordshire until 1981 when he began his long association with the Diocese of Canterbury.

From 1981 to 1986 he was Archdeacon of Canterbury. In 1986 he was installed as the Dean of Canterbury, heading the large chapter and staff of the cathedral until his retirement in 2000.

After retirement, he lived in Folkestone. In December 2000 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for "services to the Church of England". He died at home in Folkestone on 24 April 2019.