Eric William Heaton (15 October 1920 – 24 August 1996) was an

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

scholar and a former

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

(1979–1991). Eric Heaton's father was a sheep farmer at Long Preston in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He was educated at

Ermysted's Grammar School Ermysted's Grammar School is an 11-18 boys voluntary aided grammar school in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. It was founded by Peter Toller in the 15th century and is the seventh oldest state school in Britain. The first official record of t ...

and

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

(1939–1942) and a curate in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

. He was appointed

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

in 1945. After seven years he was appointed a

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury. The buildi ...

. He was Fellow, Chaplain, and Tutor in

Theology 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 ...

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

(1960–1974) and Senior Tutor (1967–1973). He was Dean of Durham Cathedral (1974–1979). In 1951, he married Rachel Dodd, daughter of the eminent theologian

C. H. Dodd Charles Harold Dodd (1884–1973) was a Welsh New Testament scholar and influential Protestant theologian. He is known for promoting "realized eschatology", the belief that Jesus' references to the kingdom of God meant a present reality rathe ...

whose work on the translation of the ''

New English Bible The New English Bible (NEB) is an English translation of the Bible. The New Testament was published in 1961 and the Old Testament (with the Apocrypha) was published on 16 March 1970. In 1989, it was significantly revised and republished as the Re ...

'' Heaton much admired.

Notable works by Heaton

*''The Book of Daniel - Introduction and Commentary'' (1956) *''Everyday Life in Old Testament Times'' (1956) *''The Old Testament Prophets'' (1958) *''Commentary on the Sunday Lessons — New Lectionary Year One'' (1959) *''The Hebrew Kingdoms'' (1968) *''Solomon's New Men: The Emergence of Ancient Israel as a National State'' (1974) *''School Tradition of the Old Testament'' (1994)

External links

Hugh Rice’s Obituary for 'The Rev. Eric Heaton' from ''The Independent on Sunday'', Friday 30 August 1996.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heaton, Eric William 1920 births 1996 deaths Deans of Christ Church, Oxford Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge 20th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Deans of Durham People educated at Ermysted's Grammar School