Joshua Roy Porter (7 May 1921 – 31 December 2006) was a British

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest, theologian and author. Having been chaplain and fellow of

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

, from 1949 to 1962, he was Professor of Theology at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

from 1962 to 1986.

Early life and education

Porter was born on 7 May 1921 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, to Joshua Porter and Bessie Evelyn (nee Earlam). He attended

King's School, Macclesfield The King's School, Macclesfield, is an independent school for day pupils in Prestbury, Cheshire, England, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It was founded in 1502 by Sir John Percyvale, a former Lord Mayor of Lon ...

, before studying at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

, where he graduated with a double first in Modern History and Theology in 1942.

Career

Church of England

Porter trained for ordained ministry at St Stephen's House, Oxford. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1945 and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1946. He went on to become curate at St Mary's Church, Portsea between 1945 and 1947. He was resident chaplain to the Bishop of Chichester (

George Bell George Bell may refer to: Law and politics * George Joseph Bell (1770–1843), Scottish jurist and legal author * George Alexander Bell (1856–1927), Canadian pioneer and Saskatchewan politician * George Bell (Canadian politician) (1869–1940) ...

) from 1947 to 1949: he would then be honorary chaplain from 1949 to 1950, and an examining chaplain from 1950 to 2002. Porter served as a member of the General Synod of the Church of England from 1970 to 1990. A conservative thinker, he opposed liberalising changes to the Church of England (such as the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

), often working in tandem with fellow Exonian Margaret Hewitt.

Academic career

In 1949 Porter returned to Oxford, to Oriel College, where for the next thirteen years he held positions as Fellow, Chaplain and lecturer. In 1962 Porter joined the

, to the newly-created Chair of Theology. Porter served as Professor until 1986 (and also as Dean of Arts from 1968 to 1971). As a scholar, Porter’s focus was the Old Testament. Porter also had an interest in folklore and served as President of the Folklore Society from 1976 to 1979. His three Presidential addresses were titled, 'Two Presidents of the Folklore Society: S. H. Hooke and E. O. James' (1977), “The Daughters of Lot' (1978), and 'Folklore Between the Testaments' (1979)

Selected works

* Porter, J. R. (1963). ''Moses and monarchy: a study in the Biblical tradition of Moses. Inaugural lecture of the Chair of Theology in the University of Exeter delivered on 26 February 1963''. Oxford: Blackwell.

OCLC OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...

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* Porter, J. R. (1976).''The Book of Leviticus.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .

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* Porter, J. R. (1999) ''Jesus Christ: The Jesus of History, the Christ of Faith.'' New York: Oxford University Press. .

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* Porter, J. R. (2003) ''The new illustrated companion to the Bible: Old Testament, New Testament, the life of Jesus, early Christianity, Jesus in art''. London: Duncan Baird..

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Service
delivered by Porter at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Joshua Roy 20th-century British theologians British folklorists 1921 births 2006 deaths Presidents of the Folklore Society Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford 20th-century Church of England clergy Anglo-Catholic clergy