The Rt Revd Dr John Saxbee writes:

ON A warm spring day, a little over 19 years ago, Colin James Bennetts was consecrated Bishop by the then Archbishop Carey. It was a privilege for me to be consecrated alongside him, and I thank God for Colin's friendship and wise counsel.

Colin died at home on 10 July, aged 72, after a long illness. He will be mourned not only by Veronica, their four children, and their many grandchildren, but also by a multitude, both near and far, who have good reason to be grateful for his many gifts so lightly worn and so generously shared.

Possessing great personal charm, a pastoral heart, and a fine mind, Colin was quite simply a good man. Even-tempered, and seemingly unfazed by whatever came his way - including the onset of cancer and its consequences - he lived a life founded upon firm Evangelical conviction, spiritual discipline, and well-honed Anglican instincts.

Raised in Cornwall and London, and educated at Battersea Grammar School, he graduated in medieval and modern languages from Jesus College, Cambridge, and was formed for ordained ministry at Ridley Hall. His ordination in 1965 led to a curacy at St Stephen's, Tonbridge, in the diocese of Rochester. He clearly belonged to a generation of bright young Evangelical clergy with a flair for ministry among students; so between 1969 and 1980 he served as an assistant curate at St Aldate's, Oxford, Chaplain to the Oxford Pastorate, and Chaplain of Jesus College.

He then returned to parochial ministry as Vicar of St Andrew's, Oxford, where he is still fondly remembered for his teaching, pastoral care, and leadership by encouragement and example.

Encouraging his peers, parishioners, and colleagues to find and fulfil their potential was one of Colin's enduring gifts, and, in 1990, the Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Michael Baughen, appointed him as his Diocesan Director of Ordinands, with a residentiary canonry at Chester Cathedral. Within four years, however, Colin was back in the diocese of Oxford as Area Bishop of Buckingham.

Here, he was popular and influential, supporting parishes and their clergy through their difficult times, and taking pleasure in sharing their joys and achievements. This determination to be alongside people and parishes at as local a level as possible he took with him to Coventry, when he succeeded Bishop Simon Barrington-Ward in 1998.

From the beginning, he encouraged the people of the diocese to travel light, and focus on the essentials of Christ-centred discipleship, ministry, and mission. As co-chair of Archbishop Carey's Springboard initiative, he had embraced ecclesiastical structures and regulations as servants rather than masters, and this relaxed approach to the institutional Church proved infectious across the diocese and beyond.

In Coventry, he identified totally with the Cathedral's ministry of reconciliation, as he fostered links with churches in the Holy Land, and the diocese of Kaduna in Nigeria. This was in addition to leading a high-profile campaign on behalf of those affected by UN sanctions in Iraq, and publicly opposing the Iraq War. He was the ideal person to chair the Church of England's Partnership in World Mission Committee.

Colin's interventions in General Synod and House of Bishops debates were relatively rare, but always measured and to the point. He was a good listener, and an astute observer. On his retirement, the Archbishop of York declared him to be "the most dashing and debonair member of the House of Bishops", and late-night soirées hosted by Colin and Veronica were for many of us essential to our surviving the 1998 Lambeth Conference.

Colin and Veronica had met when both belonged to a student music society at Cambridge, and he took great pride in Veronica's extraordinary contribution to that same Lambeth Conference, when she helped the spouses to create, in less than three weeks, a moving dramatisation of the Christian story.

After a long and distinguished ministry, Colin's retirement was all too short. But his legacy will live long in those places where his good humour, graciousness, and passion to see God's truth and justice prevail will be remembered with gratitude and affection.