[1] Bowden was born in England, educated at Newcastle Boys' High School, trained for ordination at St John's College, Morpeth, and ordained deacon in 1960 and priest in 1961.
[2] He began his ordained ministry with curacies in Armidale and West Tamworth.
[3] He was the incumbent at Warialda, Savona (New York, United States), Berkeley (California), Glen Innes and Terrigal.
He was Archdeacon of the Central Coast from 1985 to 1992; and of Newcastle until his ordination to the episcopate on 6 December 1995.
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