 He was ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Southwell in 1962.Bowden was a lecturer in theology at the University of Nottingham when, in 1966, he was appointed managing director of the religious publisher SCM Press, which published works by leading continental theologians such as Martin Hengel, Gerd Theissen, Edward Schillebeeckx, Hans Küng, and Jürgen Moltmann.He held the post until his retirement in 2000.