Kenneth John Woollcombe (Ken; 2 January 19242 March 2008) was an
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 the ...
academic
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...
who was
Bishop of Oxford
The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft, following the confirmation of his election ...
in the middle part of his career, from 1971 to 1978.
Early years
Woollcombe was born in
Sutton, where his father, the Reverend
Edward Woollcombe, was
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 ...
. He was educated at
Sandroyd School
Sandroyd School is an independent co-educational preparatory school for day and boarding pupils aged 2 to 13 in the south of Wiltshire, England. The school's main building is Rushmore House, a 19th-century country house which is surrounded by the ...
before heading to
Haileybury, and served in the
RNVR
The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...
in the
Second World War, being commissioned in the engineering branch in 1945 and confirmed in the rank of
sub-lieutenant in 1946. He served on several
minesweepers
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
.
He read theology at
St John's College, Oxford, from 1948. He won an exhibition, a scholarship, and the
Ellerton Prize, but only achieved a 2:1. He married Gwendolyn Hodges in 1950. They had three daughters.
[ He studied for ordination at Westcott House in ]Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge becam ...
; was made a deacon on Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: th ...
1951 (20 May) and priested the next Trinity Sunday (8 June 1952) — both times by Maurice Harland
Maurice Henry Harland (17 April 1896 – 29 September 1986) was a 20th-century Anglican bishop, his most significant appointment being Bishop of Durham from 1956 to 1966. He was one of nine Diocesan bishops in England in the 1950s who had served ...
, Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.
The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and N ...
, at Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England, is a Listed building, Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Angl ...
; and spent two years as 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 ...
at St James, Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linc ...
, before returning to St John's College in 1955, combining the roles of Fellow, Chaplain and Lecturer.[Obituary](_blank)
'' The Times'', 6 March 2007 He contributed to a book, ''The Historic Episcopate'', in 1954 and published ''Essays on Typology
Typology is the study of types or the systematic classification of the types of something according to their common characteristics. Typology is the act of finding, counting and classification facts with the help of eyes, other senses and logic. Ty ...
'' with Geoffrey Lampe, his predecessor as chaplain, in 1957.
Scholar and bishop
Woollcombe was Professor of Dogmatic Theology at the General Theological Seminary in New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* ...
from 1960 to 1963, and then became principal of Coates Hall, the theological college of the Scottish Episcopal Church in Edinburgh, and a canon of Edinburgh Cathedral. He became Bishop of Oxford
The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft, following the confirmation of his election ...
in 1971, succeeding Harry Carpenter
Harry Leonard Carpenter, OBE (17 October 1925 – 20 March 2010) was a British BBC sports commentator broadcasting from the early 1950s until his retirement in 1994. His speciality was boxing. He was presenter of programmes such as ''Sportsnig ...
; Woollcombe was consecrated a bishop by Michael Ramsey, 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 Jus ...
, on 16 March 1971 at Westminster Abbey. He supported rapprochement with the Methodist Church
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...
, and became well known as a committed advocate of the ordination of women as full priests within the Church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chri ...
. He was chairman of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world.
The SPCK is t ...
(SPCK) from 1973 to 1979, and a delegate to the World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most jur ...
(WCC) in Nairobi, later joining the central committee of the WCC. He was mentioned as a possible 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 Jus ...
. However, he found his position a strain, and suffered from poor health. His first wife died of cancer in 1976, and he resigned as Bishop of Oxford in 1978. He moved to London to become an Assistant Bishop
An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop.
Church of England
In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...
(1978–1981) to the Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, Gerald Ellison
Gerald Alexander Ellison (19 August 1910 – 18 October 1992) was an Anglican bishop and rower. He was the Bishop of Chester from 1955 to 1973 and the Bishop of London from 1973 to 1981.
Early life and education
Ellison was the son of a chaplai ...
; he was given responsibility for the City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a city and borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of central Greater London, including most of the West En ...
. He remarried in 1980, to Juliet Dearmer (granddaughter of Canon Percy Dearmer) who had become a deaconess in 1977. They had one daughter.
He declined the positions of Provost of Coventry Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The cur ...
and Bishop of Worcester
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
, deciding to serve as 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 ...
precentor at St Paul's Cathedral instead, an office that he was installed into on 1 November 1981 and held until he retired in 1989. He was committed to ecumenism
Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
, serving as a member of the Churches Council for Covenanting for Unity, and as chairman of the English Anglican-Roman Catholic Conversations. He sat as one of the five judges of the Court of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved
The Court of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved is an appellate court within the hierarchy of ecclesiastical courts of the Church of England. Hearing cases involving church doctrine, ceremony, or ritual, the court has jurisdiction over both the Provin ...
which granted a retrospective faculty for Henry Moore's controversial new altar commissioned by Chad Varah
Edward Chad Varah (12 November 1911 – 8 November 2007) was a British Anglican priest and social activist from England. In 1953, he founded the Samaritans, the world's first crisis hotline, to provide telephone support to those contemplati ...
and Peter Palumbo, Baron Palumbo
Peter Garth Palumbo, Baron Palumbo (born 20 July 1935) is a property developer and art collector. Palumbo was the last chairperson of the Arts Council of Great Britain and a life peer. He sat as a Conservative in the House of Lords from 1991 to ...
for St Stephen Walbrook.
Final years and death
He retired to Worcestershire in 1989 where he served as an Assistant Bishop of Worcester. In 1991 he took over four parishes with his wife, who was ordained as a priest in 1994. He retired again, to Pershore
Pershore is a market town in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Counties of England, county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. The area that is now Wor ...
, in 1998; he died in Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
. He is survived by his second wife and their daughter and his three daughters from his first marriage. His memorial service – attended by (among others) Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham
The Bishop of Buckingham is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name from the historic county town of Buckingham; the See was erec ...
; and Michael Scholar
Sir Michael Charles Scholar, KCB (born 3 January 1942) is a British civil servant and former President of St John's College, Oxford.
Personal Life and Education
He was educated at St Olave's Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge ( BA ...
, President of St John's College, Oxford — took place at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford. This dual r ...
on 28 May 2008.['']Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'', Court and Social (p28) Issue no 47,584, 30 May 2008
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woollcombe, Kenneth John
1924 births
2008 deaths
People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College
People educated at Sandroyd School
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
Alumni of St John's College, Oxford
Fellows of St John's College, Oxford
Bishops of Oxford
Alumni of Westcott House, Cambridge
20th-century Church of England bishops