Davies was made a
deacon at
Petertide 1989 (1 July) by
Richard Hare,
Bishop of Pontefract, and
ordained a
priest the Petertide following (1 July 1990) by
David Hope,
Bishop of Wakefield — both times at
Wakefield Cathedral. His first
pastoral appointment was as a
curate at St Mary's Church in
Barnsley from 1989 to 1992, after which he served as the
Priest-in-Charge at St Paul's Church,
Old Town, Barnsley until 1995. His next appointment was as
Rector of
Hemsworth until 2006; whilst at Hemsworth: he was a
Vocations Advisor and Assistant
Diocesan Director of Ordinands (ADDO) for the
Diocese of Wakefield from 1998;
Rural Dean of
Pontefract (from 2000); a
Proctor in Convocation (a member of the
General Synod Convocation of York), from 2000; and an
honorary canon of
Wakefield Cathedral from 2002. In 2006, he moved from Yorkshire to
Greater Manchester to serve as
Archdeacon of Rochdale, relinquishing all his previous posts.
Episcopal ministry He was nominated
Bishop of Middleton on 10 March 2008 in succession to
Michael Lewis who was
translated to the
Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf. At the time of his appointment, he was the
Church's youngest
bishop. Davies, along with
Chris Edmondson,
Bishop of Bolton (his fellow suffragan in Manchester), and
Robert Paterson,
Bishop of Sodor and Man, was
consecrated on 25 April 2008 at
York Minster by
John Sentamu,
Archbishop of York. He and Edmondson were installed at
Manchester Cathedral on 27 April 2008. Davies' residence as Bishop of Middleton is in
Rochdale,
Greater Manchester. Between the retirement of
Nigel McCulloch on 17 January 2013 and
David Walker's confirmation on 7 October 2013, Davies and Edmondson were (co-equally) acting Bishops of Manchester. Since Edmondson's retirement in 2016, Davies has been the senior suffragan of the diocese. As from October 2023, Davies is acting diocesan
Bishop of Sodor and Man, after the retirement of Peter Eagles, and represented that diocese in the February 2024 meeting of General Synod.
Views In November 2023, he was one of 44 Church of England bishops who signed an open letter supporting the use of the
Prayers of Love and Faith (i.e. blessings for same-sex couples) and called for "Guidance being issued without delay that includes the removal of all restrictions on clergy entering same-sex civil marriages, and on bishops ordaining and licensing such clergy". ==Personal life==