North West

St Mellitus College is blessing the church with high quality training for students and ordinands from diverse cultural, educational and church tradition backgrounds, empowering people to serve the church who are rooted in prayer, centred on Jesus Christ and focussed on mission. The North West centre is encouraging new vocations for a reinvigorated church and we are thankful for this partnership in the gospel.

– Mark Ashcroft, Bishop of Bolton

St Mellitus College, North West was formed as a partnership with the five North West Dioceses of Blackburn, Carlisle, Chester, Liverpool and Manchester in 2013. It is the first full-time ordination college in the North West since St Aidan’s College, Birkenhead (1846-1969). As such we draw on the richness of St Aidan’s heritage to equip people from all walks of life for ministry and leadership. We gather from a radius of 150 miles on Mondays for worship, prayer, teaching, food and fun.

Revd Dr Michael Leyden is Director of St Mellitus College, North West. He has been part of St Mellitus College since 2013. He was born and brought up in Liverpool and, following a brief spell working in academia, he has ministered in Liverpool and Chester Dioceses since ordination. Michael’s zeal is for discipleship and equipping church leaders and their congregations to follow Christ in mission. He is especially passionate about mixed-economy parishes, and has led inherited churches alongside planting and leading Fresh Expressions of Church in a variety of contexts.