John Richard Humpidge Moorman, (born

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, 4 June 1905; died

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 N ...

, 13 January 1989) was an English divine, ecumenist and writer who was

Bishop of Ripon The Bishop of Ripon is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. The bishop is one of the area bishops of the Diocese of Leeds in the Province of York. The area bishop of Ripon has oversight o ...

from 1959 to 1975.

Early life and education

Born in

, the son of

Frederic William Moorman Frederic William Moorman (1872–1919) was a poet and playwright, and Professor of English Language at the University of Leeds from 1912 to 1918. Biography Moorman grew up in Devon. He married Frances Beatrice Humpidge (1867–1956) and was th ...

(1872–1918),

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of English Language at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, and his wife Frances Beatrice Humpidge (1867–1956), Moorman was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...

, Holt and

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

. He later gained the degree of

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

(BD) in 1940 with his work ''The Sources for the Life of Saint Francis of Assisi''.

Ecclesiastical career

In 1929 Moorman was ordained and became a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

, first in Holbeck,

and later in Leighton Buzzard. In 1935 he was appointed

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Fallowfield Fallowfield is a suburb of Manchester, England, with a population at the 2011 census of 15,211. Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east–west by Wilmslow Road and north–south by Wil ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Moorman resigned his living and worked as a farmhand in

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is the valley of the upper parts of the River Wharfe and one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated within the districts of Craven and Harrogate in North Yorkshire, and the cities of Leeds and Bradford in West Yorkshire. It is ...

. During this period completed his thesis ''Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century'' for the degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

(DD) awarded by the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1945. In 1945 he went to

Lanercost Priory Lanercost Priory was founded by Robert de Vaux between 1165 and 1174, the most likely date being 1169, to house Augustinian canons. The priory is situated at the village of Lanercost, Cumbria, England, within sight of Naworth Castle, with whi ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

and in 1946 re-opened

Chichester Theological College Chichester Theological College (1838–1994) was an Anglican theological college for the Diocese of Chichester in Sussex, England. Its churchmanship was high church and Anglo-Catholic. History Chichester Theological College college was foun ...

. While there, he also served as Chancellor of

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of the ...

. In 1956 he resigned to concentrate on his Franciscan writings. In 1959 he was appointed

where he remained until his retirement in 1975. He was a frequent visitor to the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

and led a delegation of Anglican observers to the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

. In 1967 he became the chairman of the Anglican commission which led to the ''Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission''. He remained a member until 1981.

Marriage

In 1930, Moorman married Mary Caroline Trevelyan (1905–1994), daughter of the historian

G. M. Trevelyan George Macaulay Trevelyan (16 February 1876 – 21 July 1962) was a British historian and academic. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1898 to 1903. He then spent more than twenty years as a full-time author. He returned to the ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

FRS FBA.

Death

Moorman died in

on 13 January 1989, aged 84.

Publications

*''Sources for the Life of St Francis of Assisi'' (1940) * ''Church Life In England In the Thirteenth Century'' (Cambridge University Press, 1945) *''A New Fioretti'' (1946) *'' B. K. Cunningham, a Memoir'' (1947) *''St Francis of Assisi'' (1950, second edition 1976) *''The Grey Friars in Cambridge'' (Birkbeck Lectures, 1952) * ''A History of the Church in England'' (Adam & Charles Black, 1953, 3rd revised edition 1973) *''The Curate of Souls'' (1958) *''The Path to Glory'' (1960) *''Vatican Observed'' (1967) *''A History of the Franciscan Order'' (1968) *''The Franciscans in England'' (1974) *''Richest of Poor Men'' (1977) *''The Anglican Spiritual Tradition'' (1983) *''Medieval Franciscan Houses'' (1983)

References

John Moorman at the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
*Obituary in

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, 18 January 1989 *''John Moorman, Anglican, Franciscan, Independent'' by Michael Manktelow (Canterbury Press, 1999) -
Papers relating to Moorman, including his correspondence, at Lambeth Palace Library
1905 births 1989 deaths Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge People educated at Gresham's School Bishops of Ripon (modern diocese) Principals of Chichester Theological College 20th-century Church of England bishops {{churchofEngland-bishop-stub