George Leonard Prestige (1889–1955) was Fellow and Chaplain of

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

. His theological research showed particular competence in

patristics Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

and touched on

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, e.g., in ''God in Patristic Thought'' (1936). He is perhaps best known for his illuminating and in places entertaining work, ''Fathers and Heretics'' (1954), given initially as

Bampton Lectures The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have typically been biennial ...

in 1940. Prestige also wrote a biography of

Charles Gore Charles Gore (22 January 1853 – 17 January 1932) was a Church of England bishop, first of Worcester, then Birmingham, and finally of Oxford. He was one of the most influential Anglican theologians of the 19th century, helping reconcile the c ...

(1935) and ''St Paul's in Its Glory'' (1955). From 1920 to 1944, Prestige held the country living of

Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire Upper Heyford is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish about northwest of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,295. The village is just east of the ...

. Many of his early books were written there. He also served as deputy editor of the ''

Church Times The ''Church Times'' is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper based in London and published in the United Kingdom on Fridays. History The ''Church Times'' was founded on 7 February 1863 by George Josiah Palmer, a printer. It fought for the ...

'', succeeding as editor in 1941 and serving until 1948. In 1949 Prestige was secretary of 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 ...

Council for Foreign Relations. He was also sent by Archbishop

Geoffrey Fisher Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth, (5 May 1887 – 15 September 1972) was an English Anglican priest, and 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, serving from 1945 to 1961. From a long line of parish priests, Fisher was educated at Marlb ...

to Rome to explore avenues for ecumenical dialogue in the course of which he met with Giovanni Battista Montini, the future

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. Prestige died on 19 January 1955 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. At his death Prestige was Canon Treasurer of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

References

External links

Bibliographic directory
from

Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ho ...

1889 births 1955 deaths 20th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English theologians 20th-century Protestant theologians Anglo-Catholic clergy Anglo-Catholic theologians Chaplains of New College, Oxford English Anglican theologians English Anglo-Catholics Fellows of New College, Oxford Patristic scholars People in Christian ecumenism Treasurers of St Paul's Cathedral {{ChurchofEngland-clergy-stub