| Archbishop of Canterbury Awards Lambeth Degrees | 22nd Jul 2009 | Download | Email to a Friend |
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, awarded Lambeth Degrees to the Rt Revd John Hind and the Revd Canon Vincent Strudwick, yesterday in Lambeth Palace.
The Lambeth Degree is a real academic award. The candidates are exempt from both residential and examination requirements and the special awards are made on merit in recognition of the recipients' contribution to religious, academic and public life.
The Archbishop of Canterbury's right to grant degrees is derived from the Peter's Pence Act of 1533 which empowered the Archbishop to grant dispensations previously granted by the Pope. The practice began during the time when attendance at Oxford and Cambridge, the only universities at that time in England, was frequently disrupted by the difficulty of travel or outbreaks of the plague. The Archbishop was empowered to grant exemption from the residential requirements necessary for a degree.
Lambeth Degrees can be awarded in Divinity, Law, Arts, Literature, Medicine and Music.
ENDS
Notes for editors:
Brief biographies and citations:
The Rt Revd John Hind
Bishop of Chichester since 2001. Previously Principal of Chichester Theological College 1982-91; Area Bishop of Horsham 1991-93 and Bishop of the Diocese in Europe 1993-2001. He has made a significant and distinctive contribution to the Church of England’s ecumenical relations over many years, and to the study of ecclesiology. He served as a member, and later as Chairman, of the Faith and Order Group which advises the House of Bishops and the Council for Christian Unity on matters of ecumenical and theological concern. His involvement in this field has provided continuity and coherence in the different ecumenical conversations including Meissen, Porvoo, Reuilly and the Methodist Covenant. In addition, he has published a number of articles on ecumenism, ecclesiology and Anglicanism.
DD awarded In recognition of his significant contribution to the Faith and Order Movement, to the development of the Church of England's ecumenical relations over many years and to the study of ecclesiology.
The Revd Canon Vincent Strudwick
Has made an outstanding contribution over many years to theological and ministerial education, and as a historian, has undertaken considerable research on the English Reformation and on the Sixteenth Century priest and theologian, Richard Hooker. His position as Tutor and then Sub-Warden at Kelham was followed by a series of appointments as Adult Education Adviser for the Diocese of Chichester and later as Diocesan Director of Education in Oxford. Two notable initiatives were the establishment and the development of the St Albans and Oxford Ministry Course and the formation of the Theology Summer School within the Oxford University Department of Continuing Education. Both owe much to his vision and energy, to his administrative skills and to his commitment.
DD awarded In recognition of his outstanding work in theological and ministerial education and, as a historian, for his research on the English Reformation and Richard Hooker.
David Brownlie-Marshall
Press Officer
Lambeth Palace
London
SE1 7JU
020 7898 1280
www.archbishopofcanterbury.org