Bishop Parke-Taylor: 1920-2009

Bishop Geoffrey Parke-Taylor, suffragan (assistant) bishop in the dioceses of Huron and Toronto, died on May 11 at the age of 89.

He worked as a professor of Old Testament studies at Wycliffe College from 1944 to 1951, then pursued a calling as a parish priest before returning to academics as a professor of New Testament studies at the Anglican Theological College in Vancouver (1959-1964). From 1964 to 1976, he was a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew studies at Huron College in London, Ont., where he was also dean of theology for 10 years.

He was consecrated as bishop suffragan of the diocese of Huron in 1976 and, in 1981, was elected bishop suffragan in the diocese of Toronto, where he served as area bishop in the Highlands until his retirement in 1985.

He published two books: Yahweh: The Divine Name in The Bible (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1975) and The Formation of the Book of Jeremiah: Doublets and Recurring Phrases (Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series, 2000). The latter received the R.B.Y. Scott Award in 2001 from the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies.

Bishop Parke-Taylor is survived by his wife Mary Isabella Bagshaw Parke-Taylor; their two children, Janet Bowyer and Michael Parke-Taylor, along with his wife, Barbara Butts; and by grandson Rev. Daniel Bowyer and his wife Sarah Franklin.