News Desk
The Bishop of Ely and St. John’s College Durham
The President of the Council of St. John’s College Durham is pleased to announce that The Bishop of Ely, the Right Reverend Stephen Sykes, is to be the next Principal of St. John’s College Durham. He will also be appointed to a personal chair in the Department of Theology of Durham University. He will take up his appointment on September 1st 1999.
St. John’s College, Durham
St. John’s is both a College of Durham University, and a major Theological College for the training of priests for the Church of England. This combination of roles is unique in higher education in Britain.
There are 450 undergraduates, postgraduates and ordinands. The College has 84 full time and 52 part time staff, including academic teachers, pastoral tutors and support staff.
The College buildings are largely based in the heart of the medieval citadel conservation area of Durham, close to the Cathedral.
The College is a dynamic and vibrant community in excellent spirit at the present time. Evidence of this is the recent Development Campaign which has raised almost £1 million for projects connected with the College in Durham; the establishment of a Centre for Christian Communication; and Outdoor Activities Centre and the strengthening of the Urban Mission Centre in Gateshead.
St. John’s College was established in 1909 as a Protestant and Evangelical foundation for the purpose of providing residential education and training for ordinands of the Church of England. Since that time its role has extended to providing a university education in a Christian environment for students from all walks of life.
It is a constituent college of the University of Durham, with two Halls within the foundation.
The Senior Tutor of John’s Hall, which has 350 undergraduates, is responsible for students across a wide range of academic disciplines.
Ordinands and others train at Cranmer Hall, under the direction of the Warden.
Today Cranmer Hall has important ecumenical links with Ushaw College, a Roman Catholic Seminary, and houses the Wesley Study Centre which provides ministerial training for the Methodist Church.
Role of the Principal
In defining the role of the Principal of the College, the Council included the following
- The Principal of this unique Christian college undertakes an ambassadorial role within the Church, both in the regional context of the North-East and at national and international levels.
- The Principal is expected to contribute to the academic and administrative life of the University and must, therefore, be a person of academic standing. As a University Head of House, the Principal is a member of the University Senate
- The Principal will be expected to contribute in his own field of academic research and writing
Biographical details
Bishop Sykes was born in 1939, the youngest son of the Reverend W. Dodgson Sykes, Principal of the Bible Churchman’s Missionary and Theological College, Bristol. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School, Monkton Combe School and St. John’s College Cambridge (BA, 1961). He was Assistant Lecturer in Divinity (1964-68), Lecturer in Divinity (1968-74), and Dean of St. John’s College, Cambridge (1964-74). In 1974 he was appointed to be Van Mildert Canon Professor of Divinity in the University of Durham, a post he held until 1985 on his appointment as Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Cambridge. He was consecrated Bishop of Ely in 1990.
He served with Mr David Day, outgoing Principal of St. John’s College, Durham, on the Durham Commission on Religious Education in Schools, which produced The Fourth R in 1967. He was the first chairman of the North of England Institute for Christian Education from 1980-85, and served as President of St. John’s College Council from 1984-94.
He was appointed Chairman of the Church of England Doctrine Commission in 1997.
He is author and editor of numerous publications on Christian theology and Anglicanism.
He is married to Joy, and has three grown-up children.
Welcoming the new Principal
The President of the Council of St.
John’s is the Right Reverend Ian Cundy, Bishop of
Peterborough. He says:
I am particularly pleased to welcome Bishop Stephen
back to the College, and that he has agreed to take up
this important role for the Church and the University. He
has a great affection for St. John’s College, having
served as President of the College Council, and for the
City and University of Durham. As a former Van Mildert
Professor of Divinity at the University of Durham and
Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University he
will bring to the post a concern for scholarship and
theological research at the highest level as well as his
own interests in Mental Health and Medical Ethics. His
episcopal vocation will continue to be expressed in the
development of Christian thinking amongst young people
working in the range of academic disciplines, in the
training of ordinands for the Church, and in his
continuing role in the Anglican Communion and on the
Doctrine Commission.
The Vice Chancellor of Durham University,
Professor Sir Kenneth Calman KCB MD PhD FRCS FRSE,
warmly welcomed the appointment:
I look forward to welcoming Bishop Stephen back to the
University and am delighted that St John’s will have
such an experienced and able Principal, who will continue
its distinguished tradition of contribution to the life
of the University and the region.
The Rt Revd Michael Turnbull, Bishop of Durham
welcomed the announcement:
The University of Durham, and St John’s College
in particular, is fortunate to have such a distinguished
scholar back in its midst. I am delighted that Bishop
Stephen has accepted my invitation to become an Assistant
Bishop in the Diocese of Durham. He will be welcomed here
by me personally and by many others within the diocese.
We shall look forward to benefiting from his scholarship
and teaching.
Contacts
The Bishops of Ely and Peterborough will be available
for media interviews on Monday 19th April at Church
House, Westminster at 4 p.m.
| The Bishop of Ely | 01353 662749 |
| The Bishop of Peterborough | 01733 562492 |
| The Warden of Cranmer Hall,
Durham, The Revd Dr Steven Croft |
0191 374 3500 |
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18th April 1999
