Cranmer Hall is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church record ...

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

based at

Durham, England Durham ( , locally ), is a cathedral city and civil parish on the River Wear, County Durham, England. It is an administrative centre of the County Durham District, which is a successor to the historic County Palatine of Durham (which is diffe ...

. Cranmer Hall forms part of

St John's College, Durham St John's College is a college of the University of Durham, United Kingdom. It is one of only two "recognised colleges" of the university, the other being St Chad's. This means that it is financially and constitutionally independent of the unive ...

which is a recognised college of

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

. It stands in the

Open Evangelical An open evangelical attempts to uphold evangelical doctrines, morality, and spirituality, while also being inclusive of others. It is a term which is commonly used in the United Kingdom in reference to both individuals and institutions. Uses Open ...

tradition. Cranmer Hall currently trains ordinands for the Church of England and the wider

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

History

The college is named after

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry' ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is J ...

during the reign of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...

. St John's College, of which Cranmer is one of the two constituent halls, was established in 1909. Having become part of Durham University in 1919, the college was formally divided into the two halls in 1958. Cranmer Hall, the theological training institution and the non-theological John's Hall.

Diversification

The Wesley Study Centre, named after

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric 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 ...

, formerly trained ministers for the

Methodist Church of Great Britain The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestant Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, and the World Council of Churches among other ecumenical a ...

, but now focuses on postgraduate research. In October 2015, the college accepted the first students on its Free Church Track, training leaders for churches outside of the Church of England. In October 2016, the college began to train students for Baptist ministry via an alliance with Northern Baptist College, Manchester.

Notable members of staff

* Calvin T. Samuel, Academic Dean and Director of the Wesley Study Centre * Michael Volland, Director of Mission (2009-2015)

List of wardens

The head of Cranmer Hall is the

warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

. *1968-1970: John C. P. Cockerton (formerly Chaplain to Cranmer Hall) *1971-1979: Timothy Yeats *1979-1983: Christopher Byworth *1983–1992:

Ian Cundy Ian Patrick Martyn Cundy (23 April 19457 May 2009) was a Church of England cleric who served successively as area Bishop of Lewes and Bishop of Peterborough. Background Born in Sherborne, Dorset, on 23 April 1945, he was the son of Henry M ...

*1993–1996: John Pritchard *1996–2004: Steven Croft *2005–2011: Anne Dyer *2011–2016:

Mark Tanner Mark Simon Austin Tanner (born November 1970) is a British Anglican bishop and academic. Since 2020, he has been the Bishop of Chester; he previously served as Bishop of Berwick, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Newcastle since his 2016 con ...

*2017–present:

Philip Plyming Philip James John Plyming (born 1974) is a British Anglican priest. Since May 2017, he has been the Warden of Cranmer Hall, Durham, an open evangelical Church of England theological college. Previously, from 2006 to 2017, he was the Vicar of Holy ...

Notable alumni

Arun Arora Arun Arora (born 10 October 1971) is a British Anglican bishop and solicitor. Since, 2022 he has served as Bishop of Kirkstall in the Diocese of Leeds. From 2012 to 2017, he served as Director of Communications of the Archbishops' Council of t ...

, former Director of Communications of the Church of England *

Angela Berners-Wilson Angela Veronica Isabel Berners-Wilson (born 1954) is a Church of England priest and chaplain. She is considered to be the first woman to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England. She was chaplain at the University of Bath from 2004 to 201 ...

, first woman ordained a priest in the Church of England * Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford *

Chris Edmondson Christopher Paul Edmondson (born 25 June 1950) is a British Anglican retired bishop. He was the Bishop of Bolton, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Manchester, from 2008 to 2016. He is presently an Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese ...

, Bishop of Bolton * Michael Gear, former Bishop of Doncaster *

John Gladwin John Warren Gladwin (born 30 May 1942) is a retired Anglican bishop. From 2004 to 2009, he was the Bishop of Chelmsford in the Church of England. He stands in the open evangelical tradition. Early life Gladwin was born on 30 May 1942 in Hertf ...

, former Bishop of Chelmsford *

Libby Lane Elizabeth Jane Holden Lane (born 8 December 1966) is a British Anglican bishop and Lord Spiritual. Since February 2019, she has served as Bishop of Derby in the Church of England, the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Derby. From January 2015 ...

, Bishop of Stockport, first woman consecrated a Church of England bishop * Geoff Pearson, Bishop of Lancaster * Robert Paterson, Bishop of Sodor and Man * Joanna Penberthy, first woman consecrated a Church in Wales bishop * John Saxbee, former Bishop of Lincoln * Keith Sinclair, Bishop of Birkenhead * Michael Turnbull, Bishop of Durham (1994–2003) * Richard Turnbull, Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford *

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for j ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury *

, Bishop of Berwick

References

External links

Cranmer Hall website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cranmer Hall, Durham Bible colleges, seminaries and theological colleges in England Anglican seminaries and theological colleges Evangelicalism in the Church of England Durham University St John's College, Durham Anglican buildings and structures in the United Kingdom