Regius Professor of Divinity
The Regius Professorships of Divinity are amongst the oldest professorships at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. A third chair existed for a period at Trinity College Dublin.
The Oxford and Cambridge chairs were founded by Henry VIII. The chair at Cambridge originally had a stipend of £40 per year (which is still paid to the incumbent by Trinity College), later increased by James I with the rectory of Somersham, Cambridgeshire.
Professors at Oxford
- Richard Smyth, DD, Fellow of Merton, and Principal of St Alban Hall (1535)
- Peter Martyr, DD, of the University of Padua, Canon of Christ Church (1548)
- Richard Smyth again; Canon of Christ Church (1554)
- Juan de Villagarcia, known as Joannes Fraterculus (a Spanish Dominican), BD, Divinity Reader of Magdalen College (1556)
- Richard Smyth again (1559)
- Lawrence Humphrey, MA, Fellow, afterwards President, of Magdalen; DD (1560)
- Thomas Holland, DD, Fellow of Balliol; Rector of Exeter (1589)
- Robert Abbot, DD, Master of Balliol; afterwards Bishop of Salisbury (1612)
- John Prideaux, DD, Rector of Exeter; afterwards Bishop of Worcester (1615)
- Robert Sanderson, DD, sometime Fellow of Lincoln (1642)
- Robert Crosse, BD, Fellow of Lincoln (1648)
- Joshua Hoyle, DD, Master of University (1648)
- John Conant, DD, Rector of Exeter (1654)
- Robert Sanderson, DD, restored; afterwards Bishop of Lincoln (1660)
- William Creed, DD, sometime Fellow of St John's (1661)
- Richard Allestree, DD, Canon of Christ Church (1663)
- William Jane, DD, Canon of Christ Church (1680)
- John Potter, DD, Fellow of Lincoln; Bishop of Oxford; afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury (1707)
- George Rye, DD, sometime Fellow of Oriel; Archdeacon of Oxford (1737)
- John Fanshawe, DD, Student of Christ Church, and Regius Professor of Greek (1741)
- Edward Bentham, DD, Canon of Christ Church (1763)
- Benjamin Wheeler, DD, Fellow of Magdalen (1776)
- John Randolph, DD, Student of Christ Church, Professor of Poetry, and Regius Professor of Greek; Bishop of London; afterwards Bishop of Bangor, then of London (1783)[1]
- Charles Henry Hall, DD, Canon of Christ Church; afterwards Dean (1807)
- William Howley, DD, Canon of Christ Church; afterwards Bishop of London, Archbishop of Canterbury (1809)
- William Van Mildert, DD, Queen's; afterwards Bishop of Llandaff and Dean of St Paul's, Bishop of Durham (1813)
- Frodsham Hodson, DD, Principal of Brasenose (1820)
- Charles Lloyd, Student of Christ Church; Bishop of Oxford (1822)
- Edward Burton, DD, Student of Christ Church (1829)
- Renn Dickson Hampden, DD, Principal of St Mary Hall; afterwards Bishop of Hereford (1836)
- William Jacobson, MA, Vice-Principal of Magdalen Hall and Public Orator, sometime Fellow of Exeter; DD, afterwards Bishop of Chester (1848)
- Robert Payne Smith, MA, Pembroke; DD; afterwards Dean of Canterbury (1865)
- James Bowling Mozley, BD, sometime Fellow of Magdalen; DD (1871)
- William Ince, MA, Fellow of Exeter; DD; Canon of Christ Church (1878)
- Henry Scott Holland, MA, Hon DLitt, sometime Student of Christ Church; DD; Canon of Christ Church (1911)
- Arthur Cayley Headlam, DD, sometime Fellow of All Souls; Canon of Christ Church (1918)
- Henry Leighton Goudge, DD, Canon of Christ Church (1923)
- Oliver Chase Quick, MA, Canon of Christ Church; afterwards DD (1939)
- Leonard Hodgson, DD, Canon of Christ Church (1944)
- Henry Chadwick, DD, Canon of Christ Church (MusB, DD Cantab.; Hon DD Glas) (1959)
- Maurice Wiles, DD, Canon of Christ Church (BD, MA Cantab.) (1970)
- Keith Ward, BLitt, MA, DD, Canon of Christ Church (BA Wales; MA Cantab.; DD Oxon.; DD Cantab.; HonDD Glas) (1991)
- Marilyn McCord Adams, AB Illinois; PhD Cornell; Th M Princeton Theological Seminary; Canon of Christ Church (2004)
- Graham Ward Canon of Christ Church (MA, PhD Cantab.) (2012–present)
(Sources: Oxford Historical Register 1200-1900 and supplements; and the Oxford University Calendar)
Professors at Cambridge
- Edward Wigan, alias Guy (1540)[2]
- John Madew (c.1545)[3]
- Martin Bucer (1550)[4]
- In 1553 Archbishop Thomas Cranmer offered the Regius Chair to Philip Melanchthon, who declined the offer
- John Young (1555)[5]
- Thomas Sedgwick (1557)[6]
- James Pilkington (1559)[7]
- Leonard Pilkington (1561)[8]
- Matthew Hutton (1562)[9]
- John Whitgift (1567)[10]
- William Chaderton (1569)[11]
- William Whitaker (1580)[12]
- John Overall (1596)
- John Richardson (1606)
- Samuel Collins (1617)
- John Arrowsmith (1651)
- Anthony Tuckney (1656)
- Peter Gunning (1661)
- Joseph Beaumont (1674)
- Henry James (1700)
- Richard Bentley (1717)
- John Whalley (1742)
- John Green (?)
- Thomas Rutherforth (1745)
- Richard Watson (1771)
- John Kaye (1816)
- Thomas Turton (1827)
- Alfred Ollivant (1843)
- James Amiraux Jeremie (1850)
- Brooke Foss Westcott (1870)
- Henry Barclay Swete (1890)
- Vincent Henry Stanton (1916)
- Alexander Nairne (1922)
- Charles Earle Raven (1932)
- Arthur Michael Ramsey (1950)[13]
- John Burnaby (1952)
- Edward Craddock Ratcliffe (1958)
- Dennis Eric Nineham (1964)[14]
- Geoffrey Hugo Lampe (1971)
- Henry Chadwick (1979)[15]
- Stephen Sykes (1985)[16]
- David Frank Ford (1991)
- Ian Alexander McFarland (2015)[17]
- David Fergusson (2021)[18]
Professors at Dublin
The Regius Professor of Divinity at Trinity College Dublin was established in 1607 as the "Professor of Theological Controversies".[19][20] The endowment was increased in 1674 by letters patent of Charles II.[20] The title "Regius Professor" was specified in 1761 by letters patent of George III.[20][21] The School of Divinity was founded in the late 18th century with the Regius Professor as its head.[22] The School's link to the Church of Ireland was controversial after the Irish Church Act 1869 disestablished the church and the University of Dublin Tests Act 1873 allowed non-Anglican fellows.[23] The debate became dormant after 1911 letters patent altered the School's governance.[23][24] It reignited in the 1960s, after which vacancies in the School of Divinity went unfilled,[23][24] including the Regius Professorship in 1982.[25] The School of Divinity was replaced in 1978–81 by a non-denominational School of Hebrew, Biblical and Theological Studies (renamed the Department of Religions and Theology in 2004) although the statutes mandating a School and Regius Professor of Divinity remain unrepealed.[24][25][26]
Professors were:[20]
Professors of Divinity
- 1: 1591– (Luke Challoner)[27]
- 2: 1607–21 James Ussher[28]
- 3: 1621–23 (Samuel Ward)
- 4: 1623–48 Joshua Hoyle[19]
- 5: 1662–70 Richard Lingard
- 6: 1670–78 Michael Ward
- 7: 1678–92 William Palliser
- 8: 1693–99 George Browne
- 9: 1699– Owen Lloyd
- 10: 1714– Richard Baldwin
- 11: 1722– Claudius Gilbert
- 12: 1743– Henry Clarke
- 13: 1746– John Pellisier
- 14: 1753– John Lawson
- 15: 1759– Brabazon Disney
Regius Professors of Divinity
- 15: 1761– Brabazon Disney
- 16: 1790–1819 James Drought
- 17: 1819–29 Richard Graves, D.D. Dean of Ardagh.[29][30]
- 18: 1829–50 Charles Richard Elrington[31][32]
- 19: 1850–62 Joseph Henderson Singer
- 20: 1852–66 Samuel Butcher[33]
- 21: 1866–88 George Salmon
- 22: 1888–1917 John Gwynn[34]
- 23: 1917–30 Alan Hugh McNeile[35]
- 24: 1930–35 Newport John Davis White[36]
- 25: 1935–57 John Ernest Leonard Oulton[37][38][39]
- 26: 1957–62 Richard Randall Hartford[38]
- 27: 1964–82 Hugh Frederic Woodhouse[40]
See also
References
Citations
- "Randolph, John". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/23120. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- "Wigan, Edward (WGN508E)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- "Madew, John (MDW529J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- "Bucer, Martin (BCR550M)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- "Young, John (YN535J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- "Sedgwick, Thomas (SGWK529T)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- "Pilkington, James (PLKN538J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- "Pilkington, Leonard (PLKN544L)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- "Hutton, Matthew (HTN546M)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- "Whitgift, John (WHTT550J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- "Chaderton, William (CHDN555W)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- "Whitaker, William (WHTR564W)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- "Ramsey, (Arthur) Michael, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/40002. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Harvey, Anthony (27 May 2016). "The Revd Professor Dennis Eric Nineham". Obituary. Church Times. London. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- Williams, Rowan (19 June 2008). "Henry Chadwick". Obituary. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- Thompson, David (24 October 2014). "The Rt Revd Stephen Whitefield Sykes". Obituary. Church Times. London. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- "Elections, appointments, reappointments, and grants of title". Cambridge University Reporter (6382): 454. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- "Professor David Fergusson OBE, DD, FRSE, FBA". 24 March 2021.
- Dixon 1902, p.24
- "Regius Professor of Divinity". The Dublin University Calendar. 1867. pp. 247–249.
- MacDonnell, Hercules Henry Graves (1844). Chartæ et statuta collegii Sacrosanctæ et individuæ Trinitatis reginæ Elizabethæ juxta Dublin. [Edited by H. H. G. Mac Donnell.] (in Latin). M.H. Gill. p. 147. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- Dixon 1902, p.186
- Hanily, Sean (1 October 2016). "Church of Ireland Divinity Hostel – A Summary of RCBL MS1043". Archive of the Month. Church of Ireland. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- Webb, David (1993). "Appendix 1 – Divinity School Council Prefatory Note" (PDF). Consolidated Statutes. Trinity College Dublin. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- "The Gospel and CITC; A brief historical survey". Reform Ireland. 1 December 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- "About Us". Department of Religions and Theology. Trinity College Dublin. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- Commissioners to inquire into certain matters relating to the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth, near Dublin (1878). Report. Command papers. Vol. C.2045. Dublin: HMSO. p. 6. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- Gordon, Alexander (1899). Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 58. London: Smith, Elder & Co. . In
- Curry, William, jun. The picture of Dublin: or, Stranger's guide to the Irish metropolis 1835- Page 34 "The Divinity School consists of the Regius Professor of Divinity, and Archbishop King's Lecturer, each of whom has his assistants."
- Dublin University magazine: a literary and political journal 1841- Volume 17 - Page 634 "The whole Works of Richard Graves, D.D. late Dean of Ardagh, and Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Dublin, now first collected, with a Memoir of his Life and Writings, by his son, Richard Hastings Graves, D.D., Rector of Brigown ..."
- The Dublin university magazine 1834 - Volume 4 - Page 352 "C. R. ELRINGTON, Regius Professor of Divinity."
- The Irish Archaeological Society - Irish Archaeological Society 1841- Volume 1 - Page 118 "Rev. Charles R. Elrington, D.D., M.R.I.A., Regius Professor of Divinity, Dublin."
- Howard, Joseph Jackson & Crisp, Frederick Arthur (1898). Visitation of Ireland. Vol. II. Privately printed. p. 69.
- Comerford, Patrick (19 September 2013). "The Revd Professor RM Gwynn (1877-1962)". patrickcomerford.com. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
- "About". Trinity Centre for Biblical Studies. Trinity College Dublin. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- "Prizes and other Awards" (PDF). Calendar 2006–07. Trinity College Dublin. Newport White Prize. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
This prize was founded in 1935 by a gift from N. J. D. White, Regius Professor of Divinity 1930–35
- "Obituary: John Ernest Leonard Oulton" (PDF). Trinity News. Trinity College Dublin. 7 February 1957. p. 2. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- "Academic who modernised the study of theology at Trinity". The Irish Times. 22 April 2000. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- "J. E. L. Oulton". Harvard University Press. Harvard University. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- Semple, Patrick (2007). The Rector who Wouldn't Pray for Rain. Mercier Press Ltd. p. 89. ISBN 9781856355605. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
Sources
- Dixon, W. Macneile (1902). Trinity College, Dublin. College Histories. London: F. E. Robinson & Co. ASIN B000J2LZNK. LCCN 02021239. OCLC 2572402. OL 1091957W. Retrieved 22 August 2015.