He was ordained in the
Church of England: made a
deacon in
Advent 1968 (22 December) by
Richard Clitherow,
Bishop of Stafford, at
St Luke's Church, Blakenhall and ordained a
priest the following Advent (19 December 1969), by
William Parker,
Bishop of Shrewsbury, at
St Matthew's Church, Walsall. He served his first
curacy at
Blakenall Heath (in
Walsall,
Staffordshire) until 1972, when he went for a year to serve
St Buryan with
St Levan and
Sennan (at
Land's End,
Cornwall), before returning to Blakenall Heath. On 17 October 2014, around the time he resigned the chaplaincy, he was re-licensed to the Archdeaconry, this time on a more long-term basis. In February 2019, he took on the extra role of Acting
Archdeacon of Italy and Malta. On 6 November 2019, the eve of his 75th birthday, Johnston retired again. Johnston died in 2025, aged 80. ==References==