Arthur James Mason (4 May 1851 – 24 April 1928) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man,

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. He was

Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity The Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity is the oldest professorship at the University of Cambridge. It was founded initially as a readership by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII, in 1502. Since its re-endowment at the end o ...

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of Pembroke College, Cambridge, and

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

Early life

The third son of George William Mason JP, of Morton Hall,

Retford Retford (), also known as East Retford, is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England, and one of the oldest English market towns having been granted its first charter in 1105. It lies on the River Idle and the Chesterf ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, by his marriage to Marianne Atherton Mitford (born 1821 in India), a daughter of Captain Joseph George Mitford (1791–1875), of the Madras Army, Mason was educated at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, independent, day and boarding school in the English public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school whi ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. The third of four sons, his youngest brother, Charles Evelyn Mason, was killed in the

Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coup ...

of 1879. His brother William Henry Mason was a

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Nottinghamshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuri ...

. His sister, Harriet, was a poor law inspector and another sister, Agnes founded a religious community. Their grandfather, J. G. Mitford, was the son of Bertram Mitford (1748–1800) of

Mitford Castle Mitford Castle is an English castle dating from the end of the 11th century and located at Mitford, Northumberland. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed building, enlisted on 20 October 1969. The castle is also officially on ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

Career

Mason was elected a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of Trinity College in 1873 and was a college tutor from 1874 to 1877, when he went to

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

as Canon of

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

. His departure from Cambridge was at the urging of his friend Edward White Benson, who had been appointed as

Bishop of Truro The Bishop of Truro is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Truro in the Province of Canterbury. History There had been between the 9th and 11th centuries a Bishopric of Cornwall until it was merged with Credi ...

and wanted Mason to act as diocesan missioner. In 1884, after Benson had been translated to

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

, Mason took up a benefice as

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of All Hallows-by-the-Tower, Barking, in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, where he remained until 1895. That year he returned to Cambridge as

(1895–1903) and also became a canon of Canterbury Cathedral. He was a fellow of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

from 1896 to 1903, before serving as master of Pembroke from 1903 to 1912. In 1908 he was elected vice-chancellor of the university, continuing in the post for two years. As well as works on theology and biography, Mason wrote and translated

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s. As "A. J. M.", he was a contributor to the '' Dictionary of National Biography''.

Private life

On 11 January 1899, Mason married Mary Margaret, a daughter of the Rev. G. J. Blore DD, honorary canon of Canterbury Cathedral and a former head master of

King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...

. They had two sons,

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

and Lancelot, and a daughter, Mildred. Paul became a diplomat and was ambassador to the Netherlands in the 1950s, while Lancelot followed his father into the church and was archdeacon of

Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...

from 1946 to 1973. Arthur James Mason died at

on 24 April 1928.''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', Thursday, April 26, 1928, Issue 44877, p. 1, col. A

Major publications

*''The Persecution of Diocletian'', 1875 *''Commentary on Thessalonians and First Epistle of St Peter'', 1879 *''The faith of the Gospel: a manual of Christian doctrine'', 1887 *''The Relation of Confirmation to Baptism: as taught in Holy Scripture and the Fathers'', 1893 *''The Conditions of our Lord’s Life upon Earth'', 1896 *''Thomas Cranmer'', 1898 *''Purgatory: The State of the Faithful Departed; Invocation of Saints'' ( Hulsean Lecture for 1899) *''The Historic Martyrs of the Primitive Church'', 1905 *''Memoir of Bishop Wilkinson'', 1909 *''Life of William Edward Collins, Bishop of Gibraltar'', 1912 *''The Church of England and Episcopacy'', 1914 *''What Became of the Bones of St Thomas'', 1920 *''Fifty Spiritual Homilies of St. Macarius the Egyptian', 1921 *''Five Theological Orations of Gregory of Nazianzus'' (ed.) *''History of the Papacy in the 19th Century, by Bishop Nielsen'' (ed.)

Notes

External links

Bibliographic directory
from Project Canterbury * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Arthur James 1851 births 1928 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Masters of Pembroke College, Cambridge People from Retford Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge Lady Margaret's Professors of Divinity Canons of Canterbury