Robin Morton Gill (born 18 July 1944) is a British Anglican priest, theologian, and academic, specialising in Christian ethics. Since 2012, he has been canon theologian of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar: he was acting dean from 2017 to 2020. He was William Leech

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Applied Theology Practical theology is an academic discipline that examines and reflects on religious practices in order to understand the theology enacted in those practices and in order to consider how theological theory and theological practices can be more full ...

at the University of Newcastle (1988–1992), and was then Michael Ramsey Professor of Modern Theology (1992–2011) and Professor of Applied Theology (2011–2014) at the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

. He has also served as a parish priest in 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 Britai ...

and the

Scottish Episcopal church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

, serving in the dioceses of Coventry, of Edinburgh, of Newcastle, and of Canterbury.

Early life and education

Gill was born on 18 July 1944. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, an all-boys public school within the precincts of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

. He studied theology and trained for holy orders at

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

, graduating with a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree and the

Associateship of King's College The Associateship or Associate of King's College (AKC) award was the degree-equivalent qualification of King's College London from 1833. It is the original qualification that King's awarded to its students. In current practice, it is an optional ...

(AKC) in 1966. He remained at King's to undertake postgraduate research, and completed his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1969. He later studied at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

, graduating with a Master of Social Sciences (MSocSc) degree in 1972.

Career

Gill was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

in the

as a

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 Chur ...

in 1968 and as a

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 partic ...

in 1969. From 1968 to 1971, he served his

curacy 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 ...

St Andrew's Church, Rugby The Church of St Andrew is a Church of England parish church in the centre of Rugby, in Warwickshire, England. It is a grade II* listed building. It is unique in having two peals of bells hung in separate towers and is part of the Major Churches N ...

in the

Diocese of Coventry The Diocese of Coventry is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Coventry, who sits at Coventry Cathedral in Coventry, and is assisted by one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Warwick. The dioce ...

. From 1971 to 1972, he was a lecturer at

Newton Theological College Newton Theological College is a Papua New Guinean educational institution in Popondetta, Papua New Guinea. It trains candidates for ordination in the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea. History Anglican mission activity commenced in the Territ ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. In 1972, he joined the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

as a lecturer in Christian ethics. Additionally, he was priest-in-charge of St Philip's and St James', Edinburgh from 1973 to 1975 in the Diocese of Edinburgh and priest-in-charge of the Church of St Michael and All Angels,

Ford, Northumberland Ford is a small village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, about from Berwick-upon-Tweed. The parish also includes Etal. History before 1513 Very little is known of the history of the area before the Norman Conquest in the 11th cen ...

from 1975 to 1987 in the

Diocese of Newcastle The Diocese of Newcastle is a Church of England diocese based in Newcastle upon Tyne, covering the historic county of Northumberland (and therefore including the part of Tyne and Wear north of the River Tyne), as well as the area of Alston Moo ...

. He served as associate dean of Edinburgh's faculty of theology from 1985 to 1988. He was promoted to

senior lecturer Senior lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, and Israel senior lecturer is a faculty position at a university or similar institution. The position is tenured (in systems with this conce ...

in 1986. In 1988, Gill was appointed William Leech

Research Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Professorial Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

at the University of Newcastle. He was also priest-in-charge of St Mary and All Souls, Coldstream, in the Diocese of Edinburgh during this time. In 1992, he moved to the

having been appointed the first Michael Ramsey Professor of Modern Theology. He was made an Honorary Provincial Canon of Canterbury Cathedral in 1992. He served as Chair of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Medical Ethics Advisory Group between 1993 and 2006. From 1997 to 1998, he was a theological consultant at the 1998 Lambeth Conference. From 2003 to 2011, he was additionally an honorary priest-in-charge of All Saints Church, Hollingbourne in the

Diocese of Canterbury The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering East Kent, eastern Kent which was founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The diocese is centred on Canterbury Cathedral and is the oldest episcopal see, see of the Church o ...

. He stepped down as Michael Ramsey Professor in 2011 and was appointed Professor of Applied Theology. On 4 November 2012, Gill was installed as canon theologian of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar in the

Diocese in Europe The Diocese in Europe (short form for the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe) is a diocese of the Church of England. It was originally formed in 1842 as the Diocese of Gibraltar. It is geographically the largest diocese of the Church of England and th ...

. He retired from the University of Kent in 2014 and was appointed

emeritus professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. He has held

permission to officiate A permission to officiate (PTO), also known as a licence to officiate, is a concessionary ministry licence granted by an Anglican bishop. It is most commonly issued to a retired deacon, priest, or lay reader over the age of 70 years. It allows th ...

in the Diocese of Canterbury since 2014. From 2017 to 2020, he was Acting Dean of Gibraltar Cathedral.

Views

Gill has expressed support for partial-decriminalisation of assisted suicide so that people would not be prosecuted for helping end the lives of their terminally ill relatives, stating in 2005 that "There is a very strong compassionate case for

voluntary euthanasia Voluntary euthanasia (VE) is the ending of a person's life at their request in order to relieve them of suffering. Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have been the focus of intense debate in recent years. Some forms of ...

". In a submission to the

Select Committee on Science and Technology The Science and Technology Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The original Science and Technology Committee was abolished upon the creation of the Innovation, Universities, Sci ...

in 2007, he stated that he supports a

gradualist Gradualism, from the Latin ''gradus'' ("step"), is a hypothesis, a theory or a tenet assuming that change comes about gradually or that variation is gradual in nature and happens over time as opposed to in large steps. Uniformitarianism, incrementa ...

approach to abortions in that early abortions are preferable to late abortions and the limit should be the point of foetal viability (22 weeks): "In terms of the gradualist position it would be consistent to reduce both the upper limit for abortions and the procedures that may be delaying first trimester abortions unnecessarily."

Personal life

In 1967, Gill married Jennifer Margaret Sheppard. Together they have two children: one son and one daughter.

Selected works

* * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Robin 1944 births Living people 20th-century Anglican theologians 21st-century Anglican theologians British Anglican theologians 20th-century Anglican priests 21st-century Anglican priests Practical theologians Christian ethicists Academics of the University of Kent People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the University of Birmingham Associates of King's College London Academics of the University of Edinburgh Church of England priests Scottish Episcopalian priests Deans of Gibraltar People from Ford, Northumberland