Charles Kingsley Barrett (4 May 1917 – 26 August 2011) was a British biblical scholar and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister. He served as Professor of Divinity at the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

and wrote commentaries on the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, Romans,

1 Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in Anc ...

and

2 Corinthians The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is a Pauline epistle of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author named Timothy, and is addressed to the church in Corinth and Christians in ...

Early life and education

Barrett was born in

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

, and studied at Shebbear College, Devon,

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

, and Wesley House in Cambridge.

Career

Barrett was ordained to the ministry in the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, and appointed lecturer in divinity at the University of Durham in 1945, where he was elected professor in 1958. He also preached on a regular basis in the

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

circuit of the Methodist Church and more widely. Barrett has been described as standing alongside C. H. Dodd as "the greatest British New Testament scholar of the 20th century" and "the greatest UK commentator on New Testament writings since J. B. Lightfoot". Professor J D G Dunn, quoted i
Remembering C K Barrett
Retrieved 6 March 2016

Honours

Barrett was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

(FBA) in 1961, and was awarded its

Burkitt Medal The Burkitt Medal is awarded annually by the British Academy "in recognition of special service to Biblical studies, Biblical Studies". Awards alternate between Hebrew Bible studies (odd years) and New Testament studies (even years). It was establi ...

in 1966. He served as president of the Society for New Testament Studies in 1973. In 1982, a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' was published in his honour. ''Paul and Paulinism: Essays in Honour of C.K. Barrett'' included contributions from

Morna Hooker Morna Dorothy Hooker (born 19 May 1931) is a British theologian and New Testament scholar. Early life and education Morna Hooker was born in Beddington on 19 May 1931. She went to Bristol University where she graduated with first class honours ...

F. F. Bruce Frederick Fyvie Bruce (12 October 1910 – 11 September 1990) was a Scottish Evangelicalism, evangelical scholar, author and educator who was Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester from 1959 until 1 ...

, I. Howard Marshall, Martin Hengel, and John Painter.

Selected works

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, C. K. 1917 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Christian biblical scholars Academics of Durham University Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Arminian ministers Arminian theologians Bible commentators British biblical scholars English Methodist ministers Fellows of the British Academy Methodist biblical scholars New Testament scholars People educated at Shebbear College Clergy from Salford 20th-century English Methodist ministers