Reader Dr Annie Cooper among three admitted to the Order of St Frideswide.
On Saturday 31 January 2026 eight people were made honorary canons and three candidates were admitted to the Order of St Frideswide during Evensong at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford.
The Order of St Frideswide is named after the patron saint of Oxford. Founded in 2001, by the then Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Richard Harries, it admits just a small number of people each year. Honorary Canons become part of the Cathedral’s College of Canons, playing an important role and bringing experience and wisdom to promote the life and mission of the Cathedral.
Among the three admitted to the Order of St Frideswide was Dr Annie Cooper.
Annie has been part of the Mursley Deanery Synod in the Oxford Diocese for many years, serving as lay chair until 2007 and for a second term since 2023. This service is all the more admirable, against the backdrop of several serious family illnesses which Annie and her husband have had to negotiate in recent years. In addition to this, Annie has been an LLM in the Cottesloe Team, which comprises 7 parishes, 8 churches, north of Aylesbury since 2014. One role which was particularly important to Annie was her time as a prison librarian, something she did for 14 years.
Annie says, “Every time him upstairs gave me a job, He moved on and gave me another one.”
Annie completed nine years on Diocesan Synod and was part of the Department of Mission Board in the Bucks area from 2009-2010 and then for the diocese from 2010-2013. She was vocations advisor for Buckinghamshire for 15 years and for many years supported this work as Bishop’s Selector for the Bishop’s Advisory Panels.
On hearing of her nomination to join the Order of St Frideswide, Annie said: “Recognition has never been important to me. I did all that work because it was important to me and I felt called to it. It is lovely to know that somebody noticed!”
Each person was recognised for the distinguished service to the church and the mission of God in the diocese of Oxford.
The full list of those awarded is The Revd Andrew Blyth, Dr Annie Cooper, The Revd Jon Salmon, The Revd Keith Dunnett, The Revd Margreet Armitstead, The Revd Margaret Dixon, The Revd Dr Peter Day, Dr Peter Foot, Mr Richard Ashfield, The Revd Sami Watts and Ms Sue Powell.
Bishop Steven said: “These are all people who have served faithfully for many years, sometimes in quite challenging situations. They are people who go above and beyond and have had big impacts on the communities they serve. It is very good to be able to recognise their ministry in this way.”
The awards recognise the dedication of lay and ordained people to the Diocese of Oxford and the wider church across a variety of areas of ministry and mission.
View the photos from this year’s service on Facebook.