The Lord Ramsey of Canterbury | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Canterbury | |
 Ramsey in 1974 | |
| Church | Church of England |
| Diocese | Canterbury |
| Appointed | 31 May 1961 |
| In office | 1961–1974 |
| Predecessor | Geoffrey Fisher |
| Successor | Donald Coggan |
| Other post | Primate of All England |
| Previous posts | Bishop of Durham (1952–1956) Archbishop of York (1956–1961) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 23 September 1928(deacon) 22 September 1929(priest) by Albert David |
| Consecration | 29 September 1952(bishop) by Cyril Garbett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Arthur Michael Ramsey (1904-11-14)14 November 1904 Cambridge,Cambridgeshire, England |
| Died | 23 April 1988(1988-04-23) (aged 83) Oxford,Oxfordshire, England |
| Buried | Canterbury Cathedral |
| Nationality | British |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Parents | Arthur Stanley Ramsey |
| Spouse | Joan A. C. Hamilton |
| Signature |  |
| Member of theHouse of Lords | |
| Life peerage 18 November 1974 – 23 April 1988 | |
| In office 12 November 1952 – 15 November 1974 | |
Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury (14 November 1904 – 23 April 1988), was a BritishAnglican bishop andlife peer. He served as the 100thArchbishop of Canterbury in theChurch of England. He was appointed on 31 May 1961 and held the office until 1974, having previously been appointedBishop of Durham in 1952 and theArchbishop of York in 1956.
He was known as a theologian, educator, and advocate of Christian unity.[1]
Ramsey was born inCambridge, England, in 1904. His parents wereArthur Stanley Ramsey (1867–1954) and Mary Agnes Ramsey née Wilson (1875–1927); his father was aCongregationalist and mathematician and his mother was a socialist and suffragist.[2] He was educated atSandroyd School, at the time based in the large village ofCobham inSurrey (now near the village ofTollard Royal inWiltshire), followed byKing's College School, Cambridge,[3]Repton School (where the headmaster was a futureArchbishop of Canterbury,Geoffrey Francis Fisher) andMagdalene College, Cambridge, where his father was president of the college. At university he was president of theCambridge Union Society and his support for theLiberal Party won him praise fromH. H. Asquith.[4]
Ramsey's elder brother,Frank P. Ramsey (1903–1930), was amathematician andphilosopher (of atheist convictions).[5] He was something of a prodigy who, when only 19, translatedWittgenstein'sTractatus into English.[6]
During his time in Cambridge, Ramsey came under the influence of theAnglo-Catholic dean ofCorpus Christi College,Edwyn Clement Hoskyns. On the advice ofEric Milner-White he trained atCuddesdon, where he became friends withAustin Farrer and was introduced toOrthodox Christian ideas byDerwas Chitty.[7] He graduated in 1927 with a first-class degree in theology.[8]
Ramsey was ordained in 1928 and became a curate inLiverpool, where he was influenced byCharles Raven.[2]
After this he became a lecturer to ordination candidates at theBishop's Hostel inLincoln. During this time he published a book,The Gospel and the Catholic Church (1936). He then ministered atSt Botolph's Church, Boston and atSt Bene't's Church, Cambridge, before being offered theVan Mildert Chair of Divinity in the Department of Theology atDurham University, and a canonry atDurham Cathedral. After this, in 1950, he became theRegius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, but left to become a bishop after only a short time in office.[9]
Ramsey married Joan A. C. Hamilton (1909–1995) at Durham in the early summer of 1942.[10][11]
In 1952, he was appointedBishop of Durham. He was consecrated a bishop byCyril Garbett,Archbishop of York, atYork Minster onMichaelmas (29 September) that year[12] (by which hiselection to the See of Durham must have already beenconfirmed). In 1956 he becameArchbishop of York and, in 1961,Archbishop of Canterbury.[8] During his time as archbishop he travelled widely and saw the creation of theGeneral Synod. Retirement ages for clergy were cut from 75 to 70.[13]
Ramsey’s "life was rooted in prayer, worship and a sense of the reality of God, yet this was all tempered with a sense of humour which prevented it from ever degenerating into pomposity or unreal pietism. This spiritual depth was just as important for his leadership in an unsettled time as was his intellectual and theological power."[14]
In a lecture on Ramsey,John Macquarrie asked, "what kind of theologian was he?" and answered that "he was thoroughly Anglican". Macquarrie explained that Ramsey's theology is (1) "based on the scriptures", (2) the church's "tradition", and (3) "reason and conscience". Ramsey held to theAnglo-Catholic tradition, but he appreciated other points of view. This was especially true after he became a bishop who ministered to diverse Anglicans.[14]
As an Anglo-Catholic with anonconformist background, Ramsey had a broad religious outlook. He had a particular regard for theEastern Orthodox concept of "glory", and his favourite book he had written was his 1949 workThe Transfiguration.[2]
Ramsey's first reaction toJ. A. T. Robinson'sHonest to God (1963) was hostile.[14] However, he soon published a short response entitledImage Old and New, in which he engaged seriously with Robinson's ideas.[2]
Conscious always of the atheism which his short-lived brother Frank had espoused, he maintained a lifelong respect for honest unbelief, and considered that such unbelief would not automatically be a barrier to salvation.[2] Acting on his respect for beliefs other than his, Ramsey made a barefoot visit to the grave of Mahatma Gandhi.[15]
Although he disagreed with a lot ofKarl Barth's thinking, his relations with him were warm.[2]
Following observations of a religious mission at Cambridge, he had an early dislike of evangelists and mass rallies, which he feared relied too much on emotion. This led him to be critical ofBilly Graham, although the two later became friends and Ramsey even took to the stage at a Graham rally inRio de Janeiro.[2] One of his later books,The Charismatic Christ (1973), engaged with thecharismatic movement.
Ramsey believed there was no decisive theological argument against women priests, although he was not entirely comfortable with this development. The first women priests in theAnglican Communion were ordained during his time as Archbishop of Canterbury.[2] In retirement he received communion from a woman priest in the United States.[15]
Ramsey was active in theecumenical movement, and while Archbishop of Canterbury in 1966 he metPope Paul VI in Rome, where the Pope presented him with the episcopal (bishop's) ring he had worn asArchbishop of Milan.[16] The two prelates issued "The Common Declaration by Pope Paul VI and the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Michael Ramsey". In it they said that their meeting "marks a new stage in the development of fraternal relations, based upon Christian charity, and of sincere efforts to remove the causes of conflict and to re-establish unity."[17]
Ramsey preached at the Roman CatholicSt Patrick's Cathedral in New York City in 1972. It was the first time that a leader of the Anglican Communion had done so.[18] However, while fostering ties with the Roman Catholic Church, Ramsey criticised the Pope's 1968 encyclicalHumanae Vitae against birth control.[18]
These warm relations with Rome caused Ramsey to be dogged by protests by fundamentalist Protestants, particularlyIan Paisley.[15]
Ramsey encouraged efforts to promote closerrelations between Anglicans and Orthodox.[14] He enjoyed friendship with the OrthodoxPatriarch of Constantinople,Athenagoras, andAlexius,Patriarch of Moscow.[2]
As Archbishop of Canterbury, Ramsey served as president of theWorld Council of Churches (1961–68).[1] However, he opposed the granting of aid money by the World Council of Churches to guerrilla groups.[2]
Ramsey's willingness to talk to officially sanctioned churches in theEastern Bloc led to criticisms fromRichard Wurmbrand.[15]
He also supportedefforts to unite the Church of England with theMethodist Church and was disappointed when the plans fell through.[2]
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Before entering the clergy, Michael Ramsey had participated in the Liberal Party. In 1925, Ramsey travelled with the debate club and spoke at multiple venues in the United States. Upon his return, he heardLord Hugh Cecil remark that the Church was the place to go for those who wanted to help people, and Ramsey heard that as his vocation from God. He had sympathies with liberal politics for the rest of his life and admiredH. H. Asquith.[19][20] He became close friends with party leaderJeremy Thorpe. Ramsey and his wife Joan were godparents of Thorpe's son Rupert, whom Ramsey baptized in 1969, and Ramsey officiated at Thorpe's second marriage toMarion Stein. Both Ramsey and Thorpe had lost family members to car collisions: Ramsey's mother in 1927 and Thorpe's first wife Caroline in 1970.
Ramsey disliked the power of the government over the church. "Establishment has never been one of my enthusiasms," he said, and "he was not at ease with the royal family."[2] He supported thedecriminalisation of homosexuality in the 1960s, which brought him enemies in theHouse of Lords.[2][18]
In 1965, "he outraged right-wingers when he declared that under certain circumstances, there would be Christian justice in using British troops to overthrow the white-minority regime [ofIan Smith] inRhodesia."[18] He also called theVietnam War a "futility".[18] Regarding Africa, Ramsey opposed curbs on immigration to the UK ofKenyan Asians, which he saw as a betrayal by Britain of a promise. He was againstapartheid, and he left an account of a very frosty encounter withJohn Vorster.[2] In 1970, Ramsey attacked apartheid, saying that it was "being increased by more ruthless actions” and describing it as an "abuse of power at the expense of others".[18] He was also a critic of the Chilean dictatorAugusto Pinochet.[2]
After retiring as Archbishop of Canterbury on 15 November 1974[21] he was created alife peer three days later,[22] asBaron Ramsey of Canterbury, ofCanterbury in Kent, enabling him to remain in theHouse of Lords where he had previously sat as one of theLords Spiritual.
Although retired, Ramsey remained active, "a fact reflected in his writing of four books and numerous additional undertakings".[23]
He went to live first at Cuddesdon, where he did not settle particularly well, and then for a number of years back in Durham, where he was regularly seen slowly making his way through thecathedral, and talking to students. A benevolent and popular figure, he occasionally participated in services there, notably giving an address at the 1984 dedication of theMarks & Spencer financed Daily Bread window, on the topic of St Michael.[24] However, Durham's hills were rather steep for him and he and Lady Ramsey accepted the offer of a flat atBishopthorpe in York by then archbishopJohn Habgood. They stayed there just over a year, moving finally to St John's Home, attached to theAll Saints' Sisters inCowley, Oxford, where he died in April 1988.[2]
During his retirement, he also spent several terms atNashotah House, an Anglo-Catholic seminary of the Episcopal Church in Wisconsin where he was much beloved by students. A first-floor flat was designated "Lambeth West" for his personal use. A stained-glass window in the Chapel, bears his image and the same inscription as is on the memorial near his grave.[2] The window (placed in the chapel by the class of 1976 who were among his first students at Nashotah) also includes a miniature image of the Bishop and his wife Joan. Ramsey Hall at Nashotah House was named in his honor, and is a residence for students and families. The Board of Directors of Nashotah House also presents, from time to time, the Michael Ramsey award for distinguished mission or ecumenical service in the Anglican Communion.
Ramsey's funeral was held inCanterbury Cathedral on 3 May. He was cremated and his ashes buried in the cloister garden at the cathedral, not far from the grave ofWilliam Temple. His wife's ashes were also buried there. On the memorial stone are inscribed words fromSt Irenaeus: "The Glory of God is the living man; And the life of man is the vision of God." A side chapel at Canterbury Cathedral was subsequently dedicated to Ramsey's memory, situated next to a similar memorial chapel to Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher.[2] Ramsey had no children. Lady Ramsey died on 17 February 1995 and was buried alongside her husband.
Ramsey received numerous honours, he was an honorary fellow of Magdalene College and Selwyn College, Cambridge, and of Merton College, Keble College, and St Cross College, Oxford. He was made an honorary master of the bench, Inner Temple in 1962; was a trustee of the British Museum from 1963 to 1969; and made an honorary Fellow of the British Academy in 1983. He held honorary degrees from Durham, Leeds, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Hull, Manchester, London, Oxford, Kent, and Keele and from a number of overseas universities.”[23]
Dr Sam Brewitt-Taylor, a historian at Lincoln College, University of Oxford,[25] holds that “there is much more historical and theoretical work to be done before Ramsey’s legacy can be properly ascertained.”[26]
Ramsey's name has been given toRamsey House, a residence ofSt Chad's College,University of Durham. He was a Fellow and Governor of the college (resident for a period) and he regularly worshipped and presided at the college's daily Eucharist. A building is also named after him atCanterbury Christ Church University. Ahouse atTenison's School is named in his honour. He also gave his name to the former Archbishop Michael Ramsey Technology College (from September 2007St Michael and All Angels Church of England Academy) in Farmers' Road,Camberwell, South East London.[27]
An annual Michael Ramsey Lecture on an appropriate theological topic is delivered atLittle St Mary's, Cambridge in early November.
Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing launched in 2005 and awarded every three years.[28]
In October 2009 it was reported byMaev Kennedy that two divers had found a number of gold and silver items in theRiver Wear inDurham which were subsequently discovered to have come from Ramsey's personal collection, including items presented to him from dignitaries around the world while he was Archbishop of Canterbury. It is unclear how they came to be in the river. The divers were licensed by the dean and chapter of the cathedral as the owners of the land around the stretch of the river where the items were found. The current legal ownership of the items is yet to be determined. The cathedral was planning an exhibition relating to Ramsey's life in 2010 and a new stained-glass window dedicated to him by artistTom Denny.[29]
The two amateur divers, brothers Gary and Trevor Bankhead, found a total of 32 religious artefacts in theRiver Wear in Durham during a full underwater survey of the area aroundPrebends Bridge. The underwater survey commenced in April 2007 and took two and half years to complete. The finds were individually handed over to the resident archaeologist fromDurham Cathedral to formally record where and when they were found.[30]
Books
Works online
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Van Mildert Professor of Divinity 1940 – 1950 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge 1950–1952 | Succeeded by |
| Church of England titles | ||
| Preceded by | Bishop of Durham 1952–1956 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Archbishop of York 1956–1961 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Archbishop of Canterbury 1961–1974 | |
