The Rt Rev Kenneth Woollcombe, a former Bishop of Oxford, has died, it was announced today.

Bishop Kenneth, who was Bishop of Oxford from 1971 to 1978, died in Worcester on Monday. He was 84.

Bishop Kenneth had a distinguished academic career alongside his role in the Church. He was ordained in 1951, and served as a curate at St James, Great Grimsby.

He was a Tutor at St John's College, Oxford, from 1953-60; Professor of Dogmatic Theology in New York from 1960-63; Principal of Edinburgh Theological College and Canon of St Mary's Cathedral from 1963-71, before being appointed Bishop of Oxford.

In 1978, he left Oxford to become an Assistant Bishop in London. In 1981, he was appointed Canon Residentiary and Precentor of St Paul's Cathedral, where he remained until his retirement to Worcester in 1989.

The current Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard, said: "Bishop Kenneth was a distinguished Bishop of Oxford, noted for his scholarship and his profound gifts as a thinker.

"He took the Diocese through the 1970s with confidence and clear leadership.

"After the sad death of his first wife, he found new contentment in his marriage to Juliet and his new role at St Paul's Cathedral.

"The diocese remembers him with affection and respect. May he rest in peace and rise in glory."