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Henry Chadwick (theologian)
Encyclopedia
Henry Chadwick KBE
(23 June 1920 – 17 June 2008) was a British
academic and Church of England
clergy
man. A former Dean
of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
— and as such also head of Christ Church
, Oxford
— he also served as Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge
, becoming the first person in four centuries to have headed a college at both universities.
A leading historian of the early church, Chadwick was appointed Regius Professor
at both the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. He was a noted supporter of improved relations with the Roman Catholic Church
, and a leading member of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission
(ARCIC). An accomplished musician, having studied music to degree level, he took a leading part in the revision and updating of hymnals widely used within Anglicanism
, chairing the board of the publisher, Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd., for twenty years.
, Kent
, Henry Chadwick was the son of a barrister
(who died when Henry was just five), and a music-loving mother. He had a number of accomplished siblings: Sir John Chadwick served as the British Ambassador to Romania, and the Revd Prof William Owen Chadwick and his other brother also became clergymen. Despite this, it was one of his sisters he would later describe as "the brightest of us all". Chadwick was educated at St Hugh's School
(when it was located in Kent), and Eton College
, where he became a King's Scholar
. Although he did not show much aptitude as a Grecian
, his lifelong love of music made its first appearance and resulted in his receiving organ
lessons from Henry Ley
.
After leaving Eton, he went up to Magdalene College, Cambridge
on a music scholarship, and was expected to make music his career. A highlight of his undergraduate musical career was playing a two piano arrangement of Chabrier's España with Boris Ord
, then organist of King's College, Cambridge
. However, Chadwick chose to further his interest in Evangelical Christianity
, which had existed from his school days. He graduated in 1941 and began his theological training in 1942, at Ridley Hall, Cambridge
, being ordained deacon
by the Archbishop of Canterbury
, in Canterbury Cathedral
, in 1943 and priest
by the Bishop of Dover
in 1944. He served a curacy
at the Evangelical parish of Emmanuel, Croydon
, arriving towards the end of the Second World War, just as it was attacked by German V-weapons, which provided a difficult pastoral challenge. From there, he became an assistant master at Wellington College
. He married Peggy in 1945.
of Queens' College, Cambridge
with his appointment as Chaplain in 1946, and in 1950 advanced to the position of Dean. His rising academic reputation was confirmed in 1953 with the publication of a project had occupied him since the days of his curacy—his new translation of Origen
's Contra Celsum, with introduction and notes. He had by now made himself an expert in Patristic Greek; only an inexactness in philology
marking his earlier abandonment of Greek for music. Also in 1953 he was appointed co-editor (with Hedley Sparks) of the Journal of Theological Studies and continued editing it until 1985. He held the university appointment of Hulsean Lecturer from 1954–6.
Chadwick moved to Oxford in 1959, to take up the position of Regius Professor of Divinity
(and with it the associated canonry
at Christ Church Cathedral) at the relatively young age of 39. He was named a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) soon after, and in 1962 Gifford Lecturer at the University of St Andrews
lecturing on Authority in the Early Church. He gave a second series of lectures in 1963–4, on Authority in Christian Theology. 1963 also saw him appointed to an early Anglican inquiry into the issues surrounding the ordination of women
. In the 1960s, along with scholars like E. R. Dodds, Peter Brown
, and John Matthews, Chadwick helped make Oxford a centre in the developing study of Late Antiquity
. He clarified the classical philosophical roots of Christian thinkers from Justin Martyr
and Clement of Alexandria
to Augustine of Hippo
, and set about raising academic standards within the theology department—in particular making the degree of Doctor of Divinity
(DD) into a genuine research degree, as opposed to an honorary award made to senior clerics who had produced a volume of sermons. 1967 saw the publication of his most widely read work, The Early Church, published under the Pelican imprint of Penguin Books
. He was disappointed that he was allowed to include so few footnotes in the original publication, and correspondingly delighted when the publishers of a German edition requested additional notes for their translation. That same year he was appointed to a Church of England doctrine commission investigating "The place of the Articles
in the Anglican tradition and the question of Subscription and Assent to them", which produced its report in July 1968 ready for that year's Lambeth Conference. The report ultimately led to changes in the doctrinal affirmations required of Church of England clergy at their ordination or on taking up new appointments. In 1968 he was appointed a vice-president of the British Academy.
In 1969, Chadwick was appointed Dean of Christ Church, uniquely a dual role as a cathedral dean and head of a college. This period was not entirely happy; a scholarly ability to see all sides of a question, along with an ingrained desire not to upset his colleagues, sometimes made it hard for him to make a quick or firm decision. However, during his time as Dean the college benefited from a continued programme of renovation with internal changes that provided more student accommodation. The position gave Chadwick the chance to influence the musical direction of the cathedral. In The Independent
newspaper, obituary writer Andrew Louth notes that at the retirement of Sydney Watson as organist, when he and Chadwick played piano duets together Chadwick's technique was the equal of Watson's. The new organist, Simon Preston
, had ambitious plans for improving musical standards, and Chadwick was pleased to be able to support these, not least by raising funds for a new organ.
Chadwick also found time to contribute to the administration of the wider university, serving on the Hebdomadal Council
, as a Delegate of Oxford University Press
, as one of the curators of the Bodleian, and as Pro-Vice-Chancellor
1974–5. It was during this period that he began to participate in the discussions of ARCIC (he was a member of the commission 1969–81 and again 1983–90); his early Evangelical sympathies having been tempered over time, helped by his friendship with Edward Yarnold, Master of Campion Hall. He was a master of the Anglican approach of producing statements capable of a range of interpretations to enable common ground to be reached, this worked well for simpler historical differences, but did not always impress the Roman Catholic members of the commission when it came to questions of ecclesiology
and church authority. He was also able to use his historical background to put forward summaries of early church positions on a variety of subjects, and he had a true desire to establish consensus on the basis of the principles revealed by this research. Although his scholarly output suffered from the pressures on his time, he was editor of Oxford Early Christian Texts (from 1970), and was able to work on two major monograph
s, Priscillian of Avila: the occult and the charismatic in the early Church (published 1976) and Boethius: the consolations of music, logic, theology and philosophy (published 1981). The second of these in particular allowing him to draw on the full range of his interests.
, a Fellow of Magdalene, and was installed as an honorary canon of Ely Cathedral
. He gained a reputation as a popular lecturer in Cambridge, and between 1982 and 1983 gave the Sarum Lectures in Oxford, for which his subject was Augustine of Hippo
. Edited, these lectures became the basis for his 1986 book, Augustine. He retired from the professorship in 1983 and settled in Oxford.
After four years in retirement, he received an unexpected invitation to become Master of Peterhouse in 1987, thus becoming the first person in over four centuries to lead a college at both Oxford and Cambridge. Chadwick's second appointment as head of a college proved a happier experience than his first. The college had been experiencing some problems following the admission of the first female students, to which some fellows were implacably opposed, making their displeasure known at High Table
. Chadwick insisted on civility, which coupled with the retirement of some of the fellows, ensured an improvement in the atmosphere within the college. This continued after his second retirement (again to Oxford) in 1993. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours
. In 1991 he published a new translation of Augustine's Confessions
, with extensive notes revealing Augustine's debt to Plotinus
.
Chadwick also edited Oxford Early Christian Studies (from 1990), and with his brother, Owen, The Oxford History of the Christian Church. His own volume of this series, entitled The Church in Ancient Society: from Galilee to Gregory the Great, appeared in 2001. His final work was to have been on Photios I of Constantinople, research for which covered many of his interests, particularly classical learning and Christianity, and ecumenism. Some of his material on the topic was published in East and West: the making of a rift in the Church (2003) (also part of the Oxford History series). He was also an Editorial Advisor of Dionysius
. He died in Oxford on 17 June 2008.
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
, Rowan Williams
wrote, "'The Anglican church,' it was said, 'may not have a Pope, but it does have Henry Chadwick.'" and further described him as an "aristocrat among Anglican scholars". Other obituaries and appreciations describe how he was generous with his time and knowledge, and always ready to point students in the right direction. The Independent credits his capacious memory and a personal library of around 20,000 books as the foundation of his broad scholarship. According to The Times
, when reviewing others' writing he was usually generous, though capable of a courteous demolition job when well-deserved.
A capable preacher, though doubtful of his ability when preaching to a non-academic congregation, Chadwick was well regarded as a lecturer and companion at High Table. However, a natural shyness could give him a rather remote air. On an American lecture tour, he noticed three young women who came to every lecture, but took no notes. At the end of lectures he asked the women how they had enjoyed them, to be told that they had no real interest in the subject itself, but they loved to hear him speak. The character of the college provost in the A Staircase in Surrey
novels of Christ Church colleague J. I. M. Stewart
was based on that of Chadwick.
Chadwick held honorary degrees from the universities of Glasgow
, Uppsala, Yale
, Leeds
, Manchester
, Surrey
, Chicago, Harvard
, Jena and the Augustinian University of Rome. He was made an honorary fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge in 1958, just before he took up his Oxford Chair; and of Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1962. He also treasured a stole given to him by the pope, and this was placed on his coffin during his funeral at Christ Church on 25 June 2008. Two Festschriften were made in his honour, one for his contributions to the study of church history (Christian Authority, ed. Gillian Evans, 1988), the other for his ecumenical work (The Making of Orthodoxy, ed. Rowan Williams, 1989). In addition to his work on ARCIC he was involved in similar conversations with the Eastern Orthodox Churches. In 1974 Ladbrokes
had Chadwick at odds of 7–1 for appointment as the next Archbishop of Canterbury; his brother Owen was at 6–1. In 1984 The Times reported that both brothers were reputed to have turned down more than one bishopric
.
Chadwick's love of music led him to serve for twenty years as chairman of the council of Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd. During this time the company expanded its scope. From producing the hymnbooks Hymns Ancient and Modern
(A&M), and The English Hymnal, it also took ownership of Canterbury Press, SCM Press
, and the Church Times
, leading to jokes that Chadwick was an ecclesiastical Rupert Murdoch
. He was heavily involved in the editorial process leading to the supplements to A&M, 100 Hymns for Today, More Hymns for Today, Worship Songs Ancient and Modern, and Hymns Ancient and Modern New Standard, which combined the best of the original book with that from the supplements into a single volume, and also the most recent revision, Common Praise. He had particularly argued for the inclusion of the Spiritual
, Steal Away
, and this was amongst the music used at his funeral.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(23 June 1920 – 17 June 2008) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
academic and Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
man. A former Dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also, uniquely, the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford.-History:...
— and as such also head of Christ Church
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
— he also served as Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, becoming the first person in four centuries to have headed a college at both universities.
A leading historian of the early church, Chadwick was appointed Regius Professor
Regius Professor
Regius Professorships are "royal" professorships at the ancient universities of the United Kingdom and Ireland - namely Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dublin. Each of the chairs was created by a monarch, and each appointment, save those at Dublin, is approved by the...
at both the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. He was a noted supporter of improved relations with the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, and a leading member of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission
Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission
The Anglican—Roman Catholic International Commission is an organization which seeks to make ecumenical progress between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
(ARCIC). An accomplished musician, having studied music to degree level, he took a leading part in the revision and updating of hymnals widely used within Anglicanism
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
, chairing the board of the publisher, Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd., for twenty years.
Family and early life
Born in BromleyBromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, Henry Chadwick was the son of a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
(who died when Henry was just five), and a music-loving mother. He had a number of accomplished siblings: Sir John Chadwick served as the British Ambassador to Romania, and the Revd Prof William Owen Chadwick and his other brother also became clergymen. Despite this, it was one of his sisters he would later describe as "the brightest of us all". Chadwick was educated at St Hugh's School
St Hugh's School, Faringdon, Oxfordshire
St. Hugh's is a preparatory school near Faringdon in Oxfordshire. The school is co-educational, day and boarding, offering both weekly and flexi-boarding, and has 280 pupils aged 4 to 13 years....
(when it was located in Kent), and Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, where he became a King's Scholar
King's Scholar
A King's Scholar is a foundation scholar of one of certain public schools...
. Although he did not show much aptitude as a Grecian
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, his lifelong love of music made its first appearance and resulted in his receiving organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
lessons from Henry Ley
Henry Ley
Henry George Ley MA DMus FRCO FRCM HonRAM was an English organist, composer and music teacher.Dr Ley was born in Chagford in Devon on 30 December 1887...
.
After leaving Eton, he went up to Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
on a music scholarship, and was expected to make music his career. A highlight of his undergraduate musical career was playing a two piano arrangement of Chabrier's España with Boris Ord
Boris Ord
Boris Ord , born Bernhard Ord, was an English organist, composer and musical director best known as the choir master of King's College, Cambridge....
, then organist of King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
. However, Chadwick chose to further his interest in Evangelical Christianity
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
, which had existed from his school days. He graduated in 1941 and began his theological training in 1942, at Ridley Hall, Cambridge
Ridley Hall, Cambridge
Ridley Hall is a theological college located in Sidgwick Avenue in Cambridge in the United Kingdom, which trains intending ministers for the Church of England and other churches. It was founded in 1881 and named in memory of Nicholas Ridley, a leading protestant theologian of the sixteenth century...
, being ordained deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
by the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, in Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
, in 1943 and priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
by the Bishop of Dover
Bishop of Dover
The Bishop of Dover is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Dover in Kent...
in 1944. He served a curacy
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at the Evangelical parish of Emmanuel, Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, arriving towards the end of the Second World War, just as it was attacked by German V-weapons, which provided a difficult pastoral challenge. From there, he became an assistant master at Wellington College
Wellington College, Berkshire
-Former pupils:Notable former pupils include historian P. J. Marshall, architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, impressionist Rory Bremner, Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, author Sebastian Faulks, language school pioneer John Haycraft, political journalist Robin Oakley, actor Sir Christopher...
. He married Peggy in 1945.
Cambridge
Chadwick became a FellowFellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou , and refounded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville...
with his appointment as Chaplain in 1946, and in 1950 advanced to the position of Dean. His rising academic reputation was confirmed in 1953 with the publication of a project had occupied him since the days of his curacy—his new translation of Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
's Contra Celsum, with introduction and notes. He had by now made himself an expert in Patristic Greek; only an inexactness in philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
marking his earlier abandonment of Greek for music. Also in 1953 he was appointed co-editor (with Hedley Sparks) of the Journal of Theological Studies and continued editing it until 1985. He held the university appointment of Hulsean Lecturer from 1954–6.
Oxford
Regius Professor of Divinity
The Regius Professorship of Divinity is one of the oldest and most prestigious of the professorships at the University of Oxford and at the University of Cambridge.Both chairs were founded by Henry VIII...
(and with it the associated canonry
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
at Christ Church Cathedral) at the relatively young age of 39. He was named a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) soon after, and in 1962 Gifford Lecturer at the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
lecturing on Authority in the Early Church. He gave a second series of lectures in 1963–4, on Authority in Christian Theology. 1963 also saw him appointed to an early Anglican inquiry into the issues surrounding the ordination of women
Ordination of women
Ordination in general religious usage is the process by which a person is consecrated . The ordination of women is a regular practice among some major religious groups, as it was of several religions of antiquity...
. In the 1960s, along with scholars like E. R. Dodds, Peter Brown
Peter Brown (historian)
Peter Robert Lamont Brown is Rollins Professor of History at Princeton University. His principal contributions to the discipline have been in the field of late antiquity and, in particular, the religious culture of the later Roman Empire and early medieval Europe.-Life:Peter Brown was born in...
, and John Matthews, Chadwick helped make Oxford a centre in the developing study of Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
. He clarified the classical philosophical roots of Christian thinkers from Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
and Clement of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens , known as Clement of Alexandria , was a Christian theologian and the head of the noted Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement is best remembered as the teacher of Origen...
to Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
, and set about raising academic standards within the theology department—in particular making the degree of Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
(DD) into a genuine research degree, as opposed to an honorary award made to senior clerics who had produced a volume of sermons. 1967 saw the publication of his most widely read work, The Early Church, published under the Pelican imprint of Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
. He was disappointed that he was allowed to include so few footnotes in the original publication, and correspondingly delighted when the publishers of a German edition requested additional notes for their translation. That same year he was appointed to a Church of England doctrine commission investigating "The place of the Articles
Thirty-Nine Articles
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion are the historically defining statements of doctrines of the Anglican church with respect to the controversies of the English Reformation. First established in 1563, the articles served to define the doctrine of the nascent Church of England as it related to...
in the Anglican tradition and the question of Subscription and Assent to them", which produced its report in July 1968 ready for that year's Lambeth Conference. The report ultimately led to changes in the doctrinal affirmations required of Church of England clergy at their ordination or on taking up new appointments. In 1968 he was appointed a vice-president of the British Academy.
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
newspaper, obituary writer Andrew Louth notes that at the retirement of Sydney Watson as organist, when he and Chadwick played piano duets together Chadwick's technique was the equal of Watson's. The new organist, Simon Preston
Simon Preston
Simon John Preston CBE is an English organist, conductor, and composer.- Early life :He attended the Canford School in Wimborne in Dorset. Originally a chorister at King's College, Cambridge, he studied the organ with C. H...
, had ambitious plans for improving musical standards, and Chadwick was pleased to be able to support these, not least by raising funds for a new organ.
Chadwick also found time to contribute to the administration of the wider university, serving on the Hebdomadal Council
Hebdomadal Council
The Hebdomadal Council was the chief executive body for the University of Oxford from its establishment in 1854 until its replacement, in the Michaelmas term of 2000, by the new University Council...
, as a Delegate of Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, as one of the curators of the Bodleian, and as Pro-Vice-Chancellor
Pro-Vice-Chancellor
In a university, an assistant to a vice-chancellor is called a pro-vice-chancellor . These are sometimes teaching academics who take on additional responsibilities. Some of these responsibilities are in charge of Administration, Research and Development, Academic and Education affairs...
1974–5. It was during this period that he began to participate in the discussions of ARCIC (he was a member of the commission 1969–81 and again 1983–90); his early Evangelical sympathies having been tempered over time, helped by his friendship with Edward Yarnold, Master of Campion Hall. He was a master of the Anglican approach of producing statements capable of a range of interpretations to enable common ground to be reached, this worked well for simpler historical differences, but did not always impress the Roman Catholic members of the commission when it came to questions of ecclesiology
Ecclesiology
Today, ecclesiology usually refers to the theological study of the Christian church. However when the word was coined in the late 1830s, it was defined as the science of the building and decoration of churches and it is still, though rarely, used in this sense.In its theological sense, ecclesiology...
and church authority. He was also able to use his historical background to put forward summaries of early church positions on a variety of subjects, and he had a true desire to establish consensus on the basis of the principles revealed by this research. Although his scholarly output suffered from the pressures on his time, he was editor of Oxford Early Christian Texts (from 1970), and was able to work on two major monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
s, Priscillian of Avila: the occult and the charismatic in the early Church (published 1976) and Boethius: the consolations of music, logic, theology and philosophy (published 1981). The second of these in particular allowing him to draw on the full range of his interests.
Return to Cambridge
In 1979, Chadwick resigned the deanship, returning to Cambridge to take up the Regius Chair of Divinity. Additionally, he became a Syndic of Cambridge University PressCambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, a Fellow of Magdalene, and was installed as an honorary canon of Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon...
. He gained a reputation as a popular lecturer in Cambridge, and between 1982 and 1983 gave the Sarum Lectures in Oxford, for which his subject was Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
. Edited, these lectures became the basis for his 1986 book, Augustine. He retired from the professorship in 1983 and settled in Oxford.
After four years in retirement, he received an unexpected invitation to become Master of Peterhouse in 1987, thus becoming the first person in over four centuries to lead a college at both Oxford and Cambridge. Chadwick's second appointment as head of a college proved a happier experience than his first. The college had been experiencing some problems following the admission of the first female students, to which some fellows were implacably opposed, making their displeasure known at High Table
High Table
At Oxford, Cambridge and Durham colleges — and other, similarly traditional and prestigious UK academic institutions At Oxford, Cambridge and Durham colleges — and other, similarly traditional and prestigious UK academic institutions At Oxford, Cambridge and Durham colleges — and other, similarly...
. Chadwick insisted on civility, which coupled with the retirement of some of the fellows, ensured an improvement in the atmosphere within the college. This continued after his second retirement (again to Oxford) in 1993. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...
. In 1991 he published a new translation of Augustine's Confessions
Confessions (St. Augustine)
Confessions is the name of an autobiographical work, consisting of 13 books, by St. Augustine of Hippo, written between AD 397 and AD 398. Modern English translations of it are sometimes published under the title The Confessions of St...
, with extensive notes revealing Augustine's debt to Plotinus
Plotinus
Plotinus was a major philosopher of the ancient world. In his system of theory there are the three principles: the One, the Intellect, and the Soul. His teacher was Ammonius Saccas and he is of the Platonic tradition...
.
Chadwick also edited Oxford Early Christian Studies (from 1990), and with his brother, Owen, The Oxford History of the Christian Church. His own volume of this series, entitled The Church in Ancient Society: from Galilee to Gregory the Great, appeared in 2001. His final work was to have been on Photios I of Constantinople, research for which covered many of his interests, particularly classical learning and Christianity, and ecumenism. Some of his material on the topic was published in East and West: the making of a rift in the Church (2003) (also part of the Oxford History series). He was also an Editorial Advisor of Dionysius
Dionysius (journal)
Dionysius is a scholarly journal published by the Department of Classics at Dalhousie University. It was established originally in 1977, and a new series began in 1998. It publishes articles on the history of ancient philosophy and theology, and has a special interest in the Aristotelian and...
. He died in Oxford on 17 June 2008.
Reputation and recognition
Writing in an obituary for The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
wrote, "'The Anglican church,' it was said, 'may not have a Pope, but it does have Henry Chadwick.'" and further described him as an "aristocrat among Anglican scholars". Other obituaries and appreciations describe how he was generous with his time and knowledge, and always ready to point students in the right direction. The Independent credits his capacious memory and a personal library of around 20,000 books as the foundation of his broad scholarship. According to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, when reviewing others' writing he was usually generous, though capable of a courteous demolition job when well-deserved.
A capable preacher, though doubtful of his ability when preaching to a non-academic congregation, Chadwick was well regarded as a lecturer and companion at High Table. However, a natural shyness could give him a rather remote air. On an American lecture tour, he noticed three young women who came to every lecture, but took no notes. At the end of lectures he asked the women how they had enjoyed them, to be told that they had no real interest in the subject itself, but they loved to hear him speak. The character of the college provost in the A Staircase in Surrey
A Staircase in Surrey
A Staircase in Surrey is a sequence of five novels byScottish novelist and academic J. I. M. Stewart , and published between 1974 and 1978. The title refers to student accommodation in an imaginary Oxford college...
novels of Christ Church colleague J. I. M. Stewart
J. I. M. Stewart
John Innes Mackintosh Stewart was a Scottish novelist and academic. He is equally well-known for the works of literary criticism and contemporary novels published under his real name and for the crime fiction published under the pseudonym of Michael Innes...
was based on that of Chadwick.
Chadwick held honorary degrees from the universities of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, Uppsala, Yale
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
, Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
, Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, Surrey
University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
, Chicago, Harvard
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, Jena and the Augustinian University of Rome. He was made an honorary fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge in 1958, just before he took up his Oxford Chair; and of Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1962. He also treasured a stole given to him by the pope, and this was placed on his coffin during his funeral at Christ Church on 25 June 2008. Two Festschriften were made in his honour, one for his contributions to the study of church history (Christian Authority, ed. Gillian Evans, 1988), the other for his ecumenical work (The Making of Orthodoxy, ed. Rowan Williams, 1989). In addition to his work on ARCIC he was involved in similar conversations with the Eastern Orthodox Churches. In 1974 Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes plc is a British based gambling company. It is based in Rayners Lane in Harrow, London owned by Bhavin Kakaiya. From 14 May 1999 to 23 February 2006, when it owned the Hilton hotel brand outside the United States, it was known as Hilton Group plc...
had Chadwick at odds of 7–1 for appointment as the next Archbishop of Canterbury; his brother Owen was at 6–1. In 1984 The Times reported that both brothers were reputed to have turned down more than one bishopric
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
.
Chadwick's love of music led him to serve for twenty years as chairman of the council of Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd. During this time the company expanded its scope. From producing the hymnbooks Hymns Ancient and Modern
Hymns Ancient and Modern
Hymns Ancient and Modern was a hymnal in common use within the Church of England. Over the years it has grown into a large family of hymnals....
(A&M), and The English Hymnal, it also took ownership of Canterbury Press, SCM Press
SCM Press
SCM Press is a UK-based academic publisher of theology, established more than a century ago. It was purchased by Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd. in 1997. In 1989 the Los Angeles Times described SCM Press as "Britain's leading theological publisher"....
, and the Church Times
Church Times
The Church Times is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper. It is published in the United Kingdom on Fridays.The Church Times was founded in 1863 to campaign for Anglo-Catholic principles and has always been independent of the Church of England hierarchy. It was a family concern The Church Times...
, leading to jokes that Chadwick was an ecclesiastical Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
. He was heavily involved in the editorial process leading to the supplements to A&M, 100 Hymns for Today, More Hymns for Today, Worship Songs Ancient and Modern, and Hymns Ancient and Modern New Standard, which combined the best of the original book with that from the supplements into a single volume, and also the most recent revision, Common Praise. He had particularly argued for the inclusion of the Spiritual
Spiritual (music)
Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...
, Steal Away
Steal Away
"Steal Away" is an American Negro spiritual. The song is well known by variations of the chorus:Many say that songs like "Steal Away to Jesus", and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", "Wade in the Water" and the "Gospel Train" are secret codes not only to have faith in God, but were hidden messages for...
, and this was amongst the music used at his funeral.
Publications
Chadwick published over 125 books, monographs, articles etc. Mentioned in obituaries as being particularly notable are:- Origen: Contra Celsum (1953)
- Early Christian Thought and The Classical Tradition: Studies in Justin, Clement, and Origen (Oxford, 1966)
- Priscillian of Avila: The Occult and the Charismatic in the Early Church (1976)
- Augustine (Past Masters, Oxford, 1986)
- Saint Augustine: Confessions (Translation, introduction, notes. Oxford, 1991)
- The Early Church (The Penguin History of the Church, 1967 revised 1993)
- The Church in Ancient Society: From Galilee to Gregory the Great (Oxford History of the Christian Church, 2001)
- East and West: the making of a rift in the Church (History of the Christian Church, 2003)