Donald Nestor
Donald Patrick Nestor (6 October 1938 – 10 January 2003) was a British suffragan bishop in Lesotho, a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa from 1979.[1] In 1992 he returned to England to serve as an Assistant Bishop of Blackburn and later in the Diocese of Durham. Towards the end of his life he took vows as a member of the monastic Society of the Sacred Mission.
Donald P. Nestor | |
|---|---|
| Assistant Bishop of Durham | |
| Church | Anglican |
| Diocese | Diocese of Durham |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1965 (deacon) 1966 (priest) |
| Consecration | 1979 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 October 1938 Halifax, West Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 10 January 2003 (aged 64) Durham, England |
| Previous post | Assistant Bishop of Blackburn Suffragan Bishop of Lesotho |
Early life and education
Nestor was born in Calcutta, India on 6 October 1938. He did his high schooling at the grammar school in Halifax, West Yorkshire and went from there to Exeter College, Oxford, where he studied theology. He completed his training for the priesthood at The Queen's College, Birmingham.
Clerical work
In 1965 he was a curate at Woodkirk for three years, after which he spent four more years in that capacity at Forton, Hampshire.
In 1972 he went to Africa where he was chaplain at the universities of Botswana, Lesotho[2][3] and Swaziland in the period between 1972 and 1979.
From 1974 onwards Nestor trained new priests in Lesotho, serving as Warden of Roma Anglican Seminary, Lesotho.
Episcopal ministry
Nestor was elected as a suffragan bishop of Lesotho in 1979. He was well-loved in Lesotho, in part because of his gentle pastoral manner. Lesotho is a very mountainous country and many of the mission stations and settlements he served were accessible only on horseback, causing him to travel great distances in that manner. Nestor became fluent in Sesotho and offered encouragement and hope to his parishioners through his teaching. People of all races and faiths welcomed him wherever he went.
His work was completed in southern Africa in 1992 and he returned to England, where the Bishop of Blackburn invited him to become vicar of Bretherton and an Assistant Bishop of Blackburn. He served as the diocesan ecumenical officer, using his experience of working with African churches to good effect.
In 2001 Nestor joined the monastic Society of the Sacred Mission in Durham, where he also acted as an honorary assistant bishop in Durham diocese.
Notes and references
- The Telegraph 2003.
- Lapsley & Karakashian 2012, pp. 69,81.
- Hincks 2009, p. 791.
- "The Rt Rev Donald Nestor". The Telegraph. 21 January 2003. Retrieved 2014-09-12.
- Lapsley, Michael; Karakashian, Stephen (2012). Redeeming the Past: My Journey from Freedom Fighter to Healer. Orbis Books. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-60833-227-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Hincks, Craig W. (2009). Quest for peace: an ecumenical history of the church in Lesotho. Christian Council of Lesotho.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Lastochkina, Maria (2003). Christian views of euthanasia: a comparison of Russian and western perspectives (Thesis). Durham University. Retrieved 2014-09-12.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)