Nicholas Langrishe Alleyne Lash (6 April 1934 – 11 July 2020) was an English

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

theologian 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 ...

. Having served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, he trained for Holy Orders at

St Mary's College, Oscott St Mary's College in New Oscott, Birmingham, often called Oscott College, is the Roman Catholic seminary of the Archdiocese of Birmingham in England and one of the three seminaries of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Purpose Oscott Co ...

, and worked as a Catholic priest until 1975. He left the priesthood and turned to full-time academia, working as a lecturer and then

Norris–Hulse Professor of Divinity The Norris–Hulse Professorship of Divinity is one of the senior professorships in divinity at the University of Cambridge. History The Norrisian chair was founded in 1777 by a bequest from John Norris. Among the original stipulations of the beq ...

(1978–1999) at 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 ...

Career

Military service

Lash served in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

from 1951 to 1957. He was commissioned in the

on 10 January 1953 as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

, as part of his

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

. On 1 October 1954, he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

and moved to a short service commission allowing him to continue his army career. He was moved to the

Regular Army Reserve of Officers The Regular Reserve is the component of the military reserve of the British Armed Forces whose members have formerly served in the " Regular" (full-time professional) forces. (Other components of the Reserve are the Volunteer Reserves and the Sp ...

on 29 August 1957, thereby ending his military service.

Ministry and academia

He studied for the Roman Catholic priesthood at

, between 1957 and 1963. After being ordained, he worked as an assistant priest in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

. In 1969, he was elected a Fellow of

St Edmund's College, Cambridge St Edmund's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. Founded in 1896, it is the second-oldest of the four Cambridge colleges oriented to mature students, which accept only students reading for postgraduate degr ...

, the only college of the

whose college chapel is Roman Catholic. From 1971 to 1975 he served as Dean of St Edmund's. In 1975 he left the priesthood and became a lecturer in the Faculty of Divinity of the University of Cambridge. From 1978 to 1999 he held the post of

in the University of Cambridge, succeeding

Donald MacKinnon Donald Mackinnon (29 September 1859 – 25 April 1932) was an Australian politician. Early life Born at Marida Yallock near Boorcan in Victoria to grazier David Mackinnon and Jane Kinross, both Scottish-born, he was educated at Geelong ...

, and being succeeded by

Denys Turner Denys Alan Turner (born 5 August 1942) is a British-born American philosopher and theologian. He is Horace Tracy Pitkin Professor of Historical Theology emeritus at Yale University having been appointed in 2005, previously having been Norris ...

Theology

Nicholas Lash was the author of numerous theological books, and was a regular contributor to ''

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by a Quaker convert ...

''. A Roman Catholic, and considered a liberal, Lash has voiced strong but measured criticism of practices among leading figures in his tradition, arguing for open debate on a variety of topics, including 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 ...

. He is reportedly one of the few Catholic theologians who have read the whole of

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declara ...

's ''

Church Dogmatics ''Church Dogmatics'' () is the four-volume theological summa and ''Masterpiece, magnum opus'' of Swiss Protestant theologian Karl Barth, and was published in thirteen books from 1932 to 1967. The fourth volume of the ''Church Dogmatics'' (CD) is ...

'' and the whole of

Karl Rahner Karl Rahner (5 March 1904 – 30 March 1984) was a German Jesuit priest and theologian who, alongside Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Yves Congar, is considered to be one of the most influential Roman Catholic theologians of ...

's ''Theological Investigations''. One of Lash's strongest intellectual influences seems to have been the recovery of

Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

's theology, using forms of philosophical argument influenced by

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is considere ...

, which became influential in the 1970s, associated with Cornelius Ernst and

Fergus Kerr Fergus Gordon Thomson Kerr (born 16 July 1931) is a Scottish Roman Catholic priest of the English Dominican province. He has published significantly on a wide range of subjects, but is famous particularly for his work on Ludwig Wittgenstein an ...

. Arguably his most significant piece of writing is also one of his shortest, his reflections on the

Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century Ga ...

, which includes discussion of the doctrine of the Trinity. He helped organize the 1973 symposium at Maynooth on

Bernard Lonergan Bernard Joseph Francis Lonergan (17 December 1904 – 26 November 1984) was a Canadian Jesuit priest, philosopher, and theologian, regarded by many as one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century. Lonergan's works include ''Insight: A ...

's Method in Theology.

Family

Lash was born to Joan Mary Moore, a Roman Catholic of Irish descent, and

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Henry Alleyne Lash, an officer in the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

. He had an elder brother, Father Ephrem Lash ( Christopher John Alleyne; 3 December 1930 – 15 March 2016), who was an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

and prominent translator of patristic and liturgical texts. He also had two sisters: the writer Jini Fiennes – who had seven children, including actors

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

and

Joseph Fiennes Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (), known as Joseph Fiennes, is an English actor of film, stage, and television. Journalist Zoe Williams observed that "he seemed to be the go-to actor for English cultural history". Fiennes is particu ...

, filmmakers Sophie and

Martha Fiennes Martha Maria Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes () is an English film director, writer and producer. Fiennes is best known for her film '' Onegin'' (1999), which starred her elder brother, Ralph, and her subsequent film ''Chromophobia'' (2005). Career ...

, conservationist Jacob Fiennes, and musician Magnus Fiennes – and Susannah Lash, an artist and novelist. Lash was educated at Worth Preparatory School (Jan 1945 – July 1947) and

Downside School Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 11 to 18. It is located between Bath, Frome, Wells and Bruton, and is attached to Downside Abbey. Originall ...

(Sep 1947 – Dec 1950). Nicholas Lash married Janet in 1976. Together they had a son,

Dominic Dominic is a name common among Roman Catholics and other Latin-Romans as a male given name. Originally from the late Roman-Italic name "Dominicus", its translation means "Lordly", "Belonging to God" or "of the Master". Variations include: Domini ...

Works

His books include *''His Presence in the World: A Study in Eucharistic Worship and Theology'' (1968) *''Change in Focus: A Study of Doctrinal Change and Continuity'' (1973) *''Newman on Development: The Search for an Explanation in History'' (1975) *''Voices of Authority'' (1976) *''Theology on Dover Beach'' (1979) *''A Matter of Hope: A Theologian's Reflections on the Thought of Karl Marx'' (1981) *''Theology on the Way to Emmaus'' (1986) *'' Easter in Ordinary: Reflections on Human Experience and the Knowledge of God'' (1988) *''Believing Three Ways in One God: A Reading of the Apostles' Creed'' (1992) *''The Beginning and the End of 'Religion (1996) *''Holiness, Speech and Silence: Reflections on the Question of God'' (2004)

References

External links

Articles by Nicholas Lash
in

Index Theologicus Index (or its plural form indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on a Halo megastru ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lash, Nicholas 1934 births 2020 deaths 20th-century British Roman Catholic theologians 20th-century English Roman Catholic priests 20th-century English theologians English people of Irish descent Fellows of Clare Hall, Cambridge Fellows of St Edmund's College, Cambridge Laicized Roman Catholic priests Royal Engineers officers Norris–Hulse Professors of Divinity