Eric Kemp | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Chichester | |
| Church | Church of England |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | Chichester |
| Installed | 1974 |
| Term ended | 2001 (retirement) |
| Predecessor | Roger Wilson |
| Successor | John Hind |
| Other post(s) | Bishop Emeritus of Chichester (2001–2009) Dean of Worcester (1969–1974) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1939 (deacon) 1940 (priest) |
| Consecration | 1974 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1915-04-27)27 April 1915 |
| Died | 28 November 2009(2009-11-28) (aged 94) |
| Denomination | Anglicanism |
| Spouse | Patricia Kirk |
| Children | 1 son; 4 daughters[1] |
| Alma mater | Exeter College, Oxford |
Eric Waldram KempFRHistS (27 April 1915 – 28 November 2009) was aChurch of England bishop. He was theBishop of Chichester from 1974 to 2001. He was one of the leadingAnglo-Catholics of his generation and one of the most influential figures in the Church of England in the last quarter of the twentieth century.[2]
Kemp was educated atBrigg Grammar School andExeter College, Oxford, graduating with the degrees ofBachelor of Arts in 1936,Master of Arts in 1940,Bachelor of Divinity in 1944 andDoctor of Divinity in 1961. He was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Historical Society in 1951 and received an honoraryDLitt from theUniversity of Sussex.
Kemp trained for ordination atSt Stephen's House, Oxford from 1936 to 1939 where he later chaired the House Council. He was made deacon onTrinity Sunday (4 June) 1939[3] and ordained priest the following Trinity Sunday (19 May 1940) — both times byCyril Garbett,Bishop of Winchester, atWinchester Cathedral.[4] He served as assistant curate of St Luke's Church inNewtown from 1939 to 1941. He moved back toOxford, where he remained for almost 31 years, first as Priest Librarian ofPusey House, Oxford (1941–1946) and Chaplain ofChrist Church, Oxford (1943–1946) and then as Fellow, Tutor and Chaplain ofExeter College, Oxford, from 1946 to 1969. He was Dean ofWorcester from 1969 to 1974 andBishop of Chichester from 1974 to 2001. He was consecrated a bishop on 23 October 1974, byMichael Ramsey,Archbishop of Canterbury, atSouthwark Cathedral[5] — before the introduction of a mandatory retirement age and was able to continue in the post for as long as he chose. As a result, on his retirement he was one of the oldest and one of the longest-serving diocesan bishops inChurch of England history. He had also held subsidiary appointments asChaplain to the Queen (1967–1969) and Canon and Prebendary ofLincoln Cathedral (1952–2001). In April 1998 he was appointed Chanoine d'Honneur (Canon of Honour) ofChartres Cathedral. Following his retirement he was made Bishop Emeritus of Chichester.
Kemp's father-in-law,Kenneth E. Kirk, wasRegius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology in theUniversity of Oxford andBishop of Oxford. Kemp wrote a book about Kirk[6] and in 2001 presented his letters and papers toLambeth Palace Library. He and his wife Patricia had five children. One of his daughters, Alice Kemp, has been ordained a Church of England priest in the Diocese of Bristol.[7] His son is the playwrightEdward Kemp, a former director ofRADA.[8]
Kemp was one of the leading scholars of ecclesiastical law and a participant in conversations between theChurch of England and theMethodist Church of Great Britain. He was a former member of theCourt of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved.[9] In 1998 a volume of essays on English Canon Law was published in his honour.[10]
He had special concern forhomeless people and people living withHIV and Aids and was a supporter of the campaign to save theFrench Convalescent Home inBrighton. In 1994 he became President of theNational Liberal Club.
He was one of only four bishops in the United Kingdom who declined to sign theCambridge Accord, affirming thehuman rights ofhomosexuals.[11]
He encouraged women to serve in the permanent diaconate in his diocese but was an opponent of theordination of women to the priesthood and women priests were not licensed in theDiocese of Chichester during his episcopate. The first woman to be licensed in the diocese, following the appointment of Kemp's successor,John William Hind, was the Reverend Pat Sinton who was licensed as priest-in-charge of St Mary's Shipley in November 2001. In Kemp's time women were able to work within the diocese through the approval of theArchbishop of Canterbury.[12]
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