Appointment of new Master of the Temple, Temple Church

The Revd Dr Andrew Bowyer, Dean of Divinity at Magdalen College, Oxford will become Master of the Temple at the Temple Church in London, after the retirement of the Revd Dr Robin Griffith-Jones.

His Majesty The King has approved the appointment of the Revd Dr Andrew Bowyer, Dean of Divinity, Magdalen College, University of Oxford, as the next Master of the Temple.

He was chosen following a competitive interview process by a panel comprising the acting Bishop of London, representatives of The Honourable Societies of the Inner Temple and Middle Temple and the Ecclesiastical Secretary to the Crown. He will take up his post on 1 September 2026.

I am delighted that such a worthy successor has been appointed as the new Master of the Temple. The Revd Dr Andrew Bowyer will bring many relevant skills and experiences to the role and the two Inns of Court look forward very much to working with him in the coming years.

Magdalen will greatly miss Dr Bowyer’s welcoming, inclusive and open-hearted ministry as our Dean of Divinity. But we are delighted by his appointment as Master of the Temple and wish him every possible success for the future.

The Temple Church is renowned for its place in history, and for its fine sacred music, faithful worship, intellectual dynamism, and hospitality in the heart of London. I am humbled to be appointed to this role and thrilled to be given the opportunity to serve this lively and distinguished community.

Notes to Editors

The Temple Church enjoys the status of a Royal Peculiar. It was consecrated in 1185 and was the scene of negotiations which led to Magna Carta in 1215. The activities of the Church are now overseen by the Temple Church Trust (Charity No. 1205712).

The Revd Dr Andrew Bowyer was born in Australia and ordained as an Anglican Priest in Canberra in 2009. He completed his Doctoral studies at The University of Edinburgh in 2015. Between 2015 and 2019 he was College Chaplain at Trinity College, Cambridge. During that period, in addition to pastoral duties, he supervised students in the Faculty of Divinity in ethics, philosophy of religion, and Christian intellectual history, and served as a Tutor at Westcott House, a training institution for Church of England priests. He has been Dean of Divinity at Magdalen College, Oxford, since 2019. In that role he is responsible for services in the College Chapel, offers pastoral care to members of the College, and takes an active role in fostering inter-faith activities.

Dr Bowyer’s research interests are moral philosophy; theology and literature; and contemporary Christian thought. He has written a book on Donald MacKinnon’s theology and published a number of journal articles, sermons and book reviews. He is a qualified counsellor, registered with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. He was Secretary of the Society for the Study of Christian Ethics, UK (2019-2025), and a member of the Society for the Study of Theology (UK).