John Fenton (priest)

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Principal of St Chad's College, Durham
ChurchChurch of England
DioceseDiocese of Durham
In office1965 to 1978
PredecessorTheodore S. Wetherall
SuccessorRonald C. Trounson
Other post(s)Canon of Christ Church, Oxford (1978–1991)
Principal of Lichfield Theological College (1958–1965)
Personal details
Born
John Charles Fenton

(1921-06-05)5 June 1921
Liverpool, England
Died27 December 2008(2008-12-27) (aged 87)
NationalityBritish
DenominationAnglicanism
ChildrenJames Fenton

John Charles Fenton (5 June 1921 – 27 December 2008) was a British

Canon of Christ Church, Oxford, from 1978 to 1991.[1][2][3]

Early life and education

Fenton was born on 5 June 1921 in Liverpool, England,[2] to Cornelius O'Connor Fenton and his wife Agnes Claudina Fenton (née Ingoldby).[1] His father was a vicar.[3] He was educated at St Edward's School, then an all-boys private boarding school in Oxford.[4]

In 1940, he matriculated at

Holy Orders at Lincoln Theological College, a Church of England theological college in the Central tradition.[5]

Career

Fenton's ecclesiastical career was mainly focused on teaching and working within the Church of England's theological colleges. However, he also served in parish ministry, and wrote a substantial number of books for academic and general audiences.[4]

Fenton was

Diocese of Liverpool from 1944 to 1947.[5] He then returned to Lincoln Theological College, where he had trained for ordination, having been appointed its chaplain in 1947 and promoted to sub-warden in 1951.[6] At the college, he taught mainly on the New Testament.[4] He returned to parish ministry, and was Vicar of Wentworth in the Diocese of Sheffield between 1954 and 1958.[5]

In 1958, Fenton began his career as a senior member of the church hierarchy, having been appointed

ordinands: in addition to teaching them the New Testament, he saw it as his duty to challenge their faith.[4] In 1965, he left Lincoln for the last time having been appointed Principal of St Chad's College, Durham, which was both a theological college and a college of the university.[1] During his time in charge of St Chad's, the college ceased its formal training of ordinands for the Church of England, and he led its integration into the wider university with students reading for all degrees offered by Durham University.[2][4]

Fenton's final appointment was as a

fellows).[2][5]

Views

Fenton's Christianity was originally a form of "extreme Anglo-Catholicism". This changed during his university studies where he was introduced to modern biblical criticism.[3]

A scholar of the New Testament, he did not superscribe to

first-century context of Christ's teaching had to be recognised to truly understand them.[2]

Personal life

In 1945, Fenton married Mary (née Ingoldby). Together they had four children: two boys and two girls.[6] One of their sons is the poet James Fenton.[2] Mary died in 1960.[6] In 1963, he married Linda Brandham. Together they had three children: one daughter and two sons.[3][6]

Works

Books

Articles and chapters

  • ——— (April 1952). "Destruction and salvation in the Gospel according to St Mark". Journal of Theological Studies. New Series. 3 (1): 56–58.
  • ——— (1953). "Pseudonymity in the New Testament". Theology. 58: 51–56.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Eyre, Richard (26 January 2009). "Canon John Fenton". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Canon John Fenton". The Daily Telegraph. 8 January 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "The Reverend Canon John Fenton: Gregarious priest, teacher and scholar of the New Testament". The Independent. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "The Rev Canon John Fenton: Canon of Christ Church, Oxford". The Times. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "John Charles Fenton". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  6. ^
    Who Was Who
    . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
Academic offices
Preceded by
Theodore S. Wetherall
 Principal of
St Chad's College

1965–1978 		Succeeded by
Ronald C. Trounson
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