Sean William Doherty (born 1980) is a British

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 specialising in

Christian ethics Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system: it is a virtue ethic which focuses on building moral character, and a deontological ethic which emphasizes duty. It also incorporates natural law ethics, whic ...

. Since June 2019, he has been Principal of

Trinity College, Bristol Trinity College, Bristol is an evangelical Anglican theological college located in Stoke Bishop, Bristol, England. It offers a range of full-time and part-time taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses which are validated by the University o ...

, an

evangelical Anglican Evangelical Anglicanism or evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "conversionism, a ...

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

Biography

Doherty studied English literature, theology and ethics 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 ...

(BA, MPhil, DPhil), and trained for ordained ministry at

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England Seminary, theological college and a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was Master (college), mast ...

. His doctoral thesis was titled "Moral theological method in the theological ethics of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

and Arthur Rich, with particular reference to their economic ethics", and was completed in 2011. Doherty 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 va ...

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 Britain ...

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 Churc ...

in 2007 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 particu ...

in 2008. 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 ...

at St Gabriel's Church, Cricklewood in the Diocese of London from 2007 to 2010. He was additionally 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 ...

St Paul's Theological Centre St Paul's Theological Centre (SPTC) is a British centre for theological learning, based at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) in South Kensington, London. It is led by its principal, the Reverend Russell Winfield. SPTC runs a four-week Monday evening cou ...

Holy Trinity Brompton Holy Trinity Brompton with St Paul's, Onslow Square and St Augustine's, South Kensington, often referred to simply as HTB, is an Anglican church in London, England. The church consists of six sites: HTB Brompton Road, HTB Onslow Square (former ...

, between 2008 and 2010. In 2010, he joined

St Mellitus College St Mellitus College is an English theological college established in 2007 by the Diocese of London and the Diocese of Chelmsford of the Church of England. It has campuses in Earl's Court, Chelmsford, Liverpool and Plymouth, with growing links wit ...

, a Church of England theological college in London, as a tutor and lecturer in Christian ethics. He additionally served the college as Director of Studies from 2014, for his final four years with them. In February 2019, it was announced that he would be leaving St Mellitus College to become the next head of

. He took up the appointment as principal, in succession to

Emma Ineson Emma Gwynneth Ineson, (born 1969) is a British Anglican bishop and academic, specialising in practical theology. Since 2021, she has served as " Bishop to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York", i.e. assistant bishop on the staffs of both archb ...

, in June 2019. He has also held

permission to officiate A permission to officiate (PTO), also known as a licence to officiate, is a concessionary ministry licence granted by an Anglicanism, Anglican bishop. It is most commonly issued to a retired Deacon#Anglicanism, deacon, Priest#Anglican or Episcopal ...

in the

Diocese of Bristol The Diocese of Bristol is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England in the Province of Canterbury, England. It is based in the city of Bristol and covers South Gloucestershire and parts of north Wiltshire, as far east ...

since 2020. He was an elected member of the

General Synod of the Church of England The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

from 2015 to 2019. Doherty's research interests include

economic ethics Economic ethics is the combination of economics and ethics that unites value judgements from both disciplines to predict, analyze, and model economic phenomena. It encompasses the theoretical ethical prerequisites and foundations of economic syste ...

sexual ethics Sexual ethics (also known as sex ethics or sexual morality) is a branch of philosophy that considers the ethics or morality or otherwise in sexual behavior. Sexual ethics seeks to understand, evaluate and critique interpersonal relationships and ...

, and

medical ethics Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...

. Doherty is married to Gaby, and together they have four children. He is same-sex attracted but does not identify as gay. He was a founder of Living Out, a website aimed at people who are "same-sex attracted while remaining committed to a traditional view of Christian sexuality".

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Sean William Living people 21st-century Anglican priests Christian ethicists Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Staff of St Mellitus College Staff of Trinity College, Bristol Evangelical Anglican clergy Members of the General Synod of the Church of England 1980 births