The College warmly welcomes the Revd Jonathan Collis, who will take on the role of interim Chaplain following the departure of Revd Matt Bullimore after five years. 

Jonathan is a familiar face at College, as he is Rector of nearby St Botolph's Church, and has held chaplaincy roles at several other Colleges. He will continue as Rector of St Botolph's part time whilst he serves at Corpus as Chaplain and EDI Lead until the end of 2025. He held his first service in Chapel last Sunday, and will alternate services over the next few weeks with the Revd Alison Kennedy and the Revd Professor Steven Shakespeare, who will preach on the College Feast Day of 19 June. Jonathan will preach at the Choral Evensong for graduation on Thursday 2 July at 15.00. Over the summer, Jonathan will preside over several Corpus weddings and events, and will arrange for Chapel services in Michaelmas.

In regards to the pastoral duties of a College Chaplain, Jonathan says, "I think Chaplains of colleges see themselves as Chaplain to the entire college community, not just to that fragment of it we should describe as Christian or Chapel-going. We must be Chaplains to the whole institution, not only students, but to staff and to some extent Old Members as well." He will take over as temporary EDI lead as well, noting that his intention is to create some continuity until the College appoints a permanent Chaplain.

Jonathan is readily available to all members and staff of the College at any time, whatever their faith. Contact him to make arrangements for any confidential conversations about anything, whether it is about welfare, to do with matters of faith and the spiritual life, or if you would just like to talk to someone. His room is D4, and he can be reached by email.

About the Revd Jonathan Collis

Jonathan has held a number of quite different positions during his ecumenical career, saying that his path has "zigzagged, rather like a pinball". Originally from Colchester in Essex, he read Classics and then Theology at Selwyn College. He then spent a year in the Solomon Islands as a lay teacher for the novices of the Anglican Franciscans, and was for five years an assistant clerk in the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, issuing marriage licenses and regulating notaries public.

In 1997 he returned to Cambridge to train for the ministry at Westcott House, and after a curacy in St Neots was Chaplain of Jesus College for seven years. The next twelve years were in the rather different role as vicar of a parish in Southend on Sea in Essex, until he returned to Cambridge with his family due to his wife's academic career. 

Jonathan's wife, Dr Judith Bunbury, is Senior Tutor at Wolfson College and Director of Studies at Corpus in Earth Sciences. Jonathan speaks admiringly of her research as a geoarchaeologist, saying,"She goes to Egypt two or three times a year, and is Deputy Mission Director of a long-term archaeology project in the Theban Mountain area which has unearthed the lost tomb of a pharaoh." The couple have two children in their twenties.

Jonathan also says he has "eclectic range of outside commitments, including arranging ecumenical dinners for the Archbishop of Canterbury, acting as trustee for charities involved with relationships between the Church of England and Orthodox and Lutheran churches, a charity which assists Britons in distress in Turkey, another which funds inter-religious academic projects, and some which deal with Hindu-Christian studies and maintaining links between Cambridge and Delhi."