Peter Bingham Hinchliff (25 February 1929 - 17 October 1995) was a South African

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 and academic. He was the

Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History The Regius Chair of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford was founded by Queen Victoria in 1842. Previous Holders of the chair include John McManners, Peter Hinchliff and Henry Mayr-Harting. The current Regius Professor of Ecclesias ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

from 1992 to 1995.

Early life

Hinchliff was born in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on 25 February 1929 to an Anglican priest who had moved to the country in 1914. Hinchliff attended St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown He studied at

Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...

, before moving to England. There he matriculated into

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, where he studied theology under

Austin Farrer Austin Marsden Farrer (1 October 1904 – 29 December 1968) was an English Anglican philosopher, theologian, and biblical scholar. His activity in philosophy, theology, and spirituality led many to consider him one of the greatest figures of 20 ...

. Returning to South Africa, he attended St Paul’s Theological College, Grahamstown before his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

Career

Ecclesiastical career

Hinchliff was ordained

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 ...

1952 and

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 1953. His first posting was 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 ...

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

Eastern Cape Province The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 199 ...

. From 1955 to 1959, he was sub-warden of his alma mater, St Paul's College, Grahamstown. In 1964, he was appointed a

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 ca ...

and

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Grahamstown Cathedral The Cathedral of St Michael and St George is the home of the Anglican Diocese of Grahamstown in Makhanda in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Grahamstown. The cathedral is located on Church ...

. In 1974, it was suggested that he was a candidate for the position of Archbishop of Cape Town, however Bill Burnett was eventually appointed. In January 1992, he was appointed a canon of Christ Church Cathedral.

Academic career

From 1957 to 1959, Hinchliff was a

Lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

in Comparative Religion at

. In 1960, he was appointed Professor of Ecclesiastical History. He resigned the position in 1969 in protest against

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

that had worsened with the passing of the

Separate Representation of Voters Amendment Act, 1968 The Separate Representation of Voters Amendment Act, 1968 (Act No. 50 of 1968) was an act of the Parliament of South Africa enacted under the government of B. J. Vorster, which repealed the Separate Representation of Voters Act, 1951. This had th ...

. From 1969 until 1972 Hinchliff served as secretary of the Missionary and Ecumenical Council of the Church Assembly. In 1972 he became Chaplain and Fellow of

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

in Oxford. In January 1992, Hinchliff was appointed

and Fellow of

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

Publications

* * * * * * * * * *

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinchliff, Peter 1929 births 1995 deaths 20th-century South African Anglican priests Regius Professors of Ecclesiastical History Rhodes University alumni Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Alumni of St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown St Paul's College, Grahamstown alumni Academic staff of St Paul's College, Grahamstown