Tanner was
ordained in the
Church of England as a
deacon in 1998, From 1998 to 2001, he served his
curacy at St Mary's Church,
Upton, Merseyside in the
Diocese of Chester. He then moved to the
Diocese of Sheffield, and served as the
vicar of St Mary's Church,
Doncaster from 2001 to 2007. and served as OCM to
21 Engineer Regiment from 2009 to 2011. He also served as OCM to
101st (Northumbrian) Regiment Royal Artillery from 2011 to 2013. On 12 May 2020, it was announced that Tanner would become the next
Bishop of Chester, the
Ordinary of the
Diocese of Chester. The
confirmation of his election as Bishop of Chester, by which he legally took office, took place on 15 July 2020: it was undertaken online due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. On 7 June 2024, he gave the sermon at the wedding of
Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster and
Olivia Grace Henson. On 19 June 2025, Tanner joined the
House of Lords as one of the
Lords Spiritual, following the retirement of
Alan Smith, the
Bishop of St Albans. He was
introduced to the Lords on 17 July 2025.
Views He
abstained during a vote on introducing "standalone services for same-sex couples" on a trial basis during a meeting of the General Synod in November 2023; the motion passed. ==Personal life==