Canon Richard Knowling, DD (1851 – 4 July 1919) was the Chaplain of King's College London, canon of Durham and professor of divinity at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

Early life

Richard John Knowling was born in Devonport, England and educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the tim ...

in Tiverton and at

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 ...

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. After taking

Honours Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

in ''Lit.Hum'' and

theology 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 ...

, he was appointed classical master at

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

in 1874. In 1875 Knowling was ordained deacon and from 1878 to 1879 served as

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 ...

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Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, where his father,

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

Knowling, was vicar.

Later career

From 1878 Knowling spent six years as curate at

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

and in 1884 began a connection with

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

(which continued until his appointment in 1905 as canon of

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

and professor of divinity at Durham University). Beginning as censor and lecturer, he became vice principal of King's College in 1890 and professor of New Testament exegesis in 1894. In 1903 Knowling was appointed examining chaplain to the

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 Justi ...

and the

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

. Knowling married Miss Ellen Raban in 1893 and died a widower in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

in 1919. Knowling's publications included ''The Witness of the Epistles'' (1892), but his main period of writing was from 1901 onwards. In addition to original work he contributed to the content on The Acts of the Apostles in the ''Expositors Greek Testament'' and the Epistle of St James in the ''Westminster Commentaries'', whilst also contributing to the ''Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels'' and the ''Dictionary of Christian Biography''.

Publications

''The Witness of the Epistles; A Study in Modern Criticism''
(1892)
''Epistle of Saint James''
(1904)
''Our Lord's Virgin Birth: And the Criticism of To-day''
(1904) *''The Testimony of St. Paul to Christ Viewed in Some of Its Aspects'' (1905) *''Literary Criticism and the New Testament'' (1907) *''Messianic Interpretation and Other Studies'' (1910)

Sources

*Obituary of Canon R. J. Knowling, The Times, 7 July 1919 (pg. 16; Issue 42145; col F) {{DEFAULTSORT:Knowling, Richard 1851 births 1919 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English Anglican priests Academics of Durham University Academics of King's College London Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Chaplains of King's College London Critics of the Christ myth theory English theologians People educated at Blundell's School People from Devonport, Plymouth Clergy from Plymouth, Devon