Vigo Auguste Demant (1893–1983), known as V. A. Demant, was an English

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, theologian, and social commentator. He was one of the 14 committee members who served on the Wolfenden Report on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution.

Early life and education

Demant was born on 8 November 1893 in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, England. He was educated in Newcastle, England, and in Tournan, France. He studied engineering at

Armstrong College, Durham Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick unive ...

. He then studied

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 ...

Manchester College, Oxford Harris Manchester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded in Warrington in 1757 as a college for Unitarian students and moved to Oxford in 1893. It became a full college of th ...

Career

Ordained ministry and academia

Demant had originally intended to become a Unitarian

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

, but became attracted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

while studying 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 ...

and was received into 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 ...

in 1918. He trained for Holy Orders at

Ely Theological College Ely Theological College was a college in Ely, Cambridgeshire, for training clergy in the Church of England. Founded in 1876 by James Woodford, Anglican Bishop of Ely, the college had a strong Anglo-Catholic tradition. Ely's "ritualistic" (i.e. ...

, an

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...

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, ...

Ely, Cambridgeshire Ely ( ) is a cathedral city in the East Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, about north-northeast of Cambridge and from London. Ely is built on a Kimmeridge Clay island which, at , is the highest land in the Fens. It was d ...

. Demant 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 ...

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 1919 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 1920. He served

curacies 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 Thomas the Martyr's Church, Oxford St Thomas the Martyr Church is a Church of England parish church of the Anglo-Catholic tradition, in Oxford, England, near Oxford railway station in Osney. It is located between Becket Street to the west and Hollybush Row to the east, with St Th ...

; St Michael and All Angels Church, Summertown, Oxford; St Nicholas' Church, Plumstead, London; and All Saints' Church, Highgate, London. From 1929 to 1933, he was an assistant priest at

St Silas Church, Kentish Town The Church of Saint Silas the Martyr is a Church of England parish church in Kentish Town, London. The church is a grade II* listed building. History The church was built from 1911 to 1913, and designed by the architect Ernest Charles Shearman. ...

. Demant became

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

St John the Divine, Richmond St John the Divine, Richmond, in the Anglican Diocese of Southwark, is a Grade II listed church on Kew Road, in Richmond, London, near Richmond railway station. Built in 1836, and a parish in its own right since 1838, it was designed by Lewis V ...

, in 1933 and nine years later he became 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 can ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

. He served as canon chancellor of the cathedral from 1942 to 1948 and as canon treasurer from 1948 to 1949. He was a canon 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 ...

, and

Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology The Regius Professorship of Moral and Pastoral Theology, together with the Regius Professorship of Ecclesiastical History, was founded at the University of Oxford by act of Parliament in 1840, and first filled in 1842. The act attached the chair to ...

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 1949 to 1971.

Other work

Demant served on the Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution. The committee's report, was published in September 1957 and, recommended that "homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence." Demant was a regular broadcaster on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Third Programme The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 3, Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and quickly became one of the leading cultural and in ...

in the 1950s. He supported

Maurice Reckitt Maurice Benington Reckitt (19 June 1888 – 11 January 1980) was a leading English Anglo-Catholic and Christian socialist writer. He edited ''Christendom: A Journal of Christian Sociology'' from 1931 to 1950. He founded the charity Christendom Tr ...

in founding the Christendom Trust to encourage and fund research into the application of Christian social thought.

Later life

Demant retired from his post at Oxford to a cottage in

Headington Headington is an eastern suburb of Oxford, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames valley below, and bordering Marston to the north-west, Cowley to the south, and Barton and Risinghurst to the east. Th ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, in 1971. He died there on 3 March 1983 at the age of 89.

Writings

* ''The Just Price'' (1930) * ''This Unemployment: Disaster or Opportunity?'' (1932) * ''God, Man and Society: An Introduction to Christian Sociology'' (1933) * ''Christian Polity'' (1936) * ''The Religious Prospect'' (1939) * ''Theology of Society: More Essays in Christian Polity'' (1947) * ''Our Culture: Its Christian Roots and Present Crisis'' (1947) * ''The Responsibility and Scope of Pastoral Theology To-Day'' (1950) * ''Religion and the Decline of Capitalism'' (1952) * ''The Elements of Christianity'' (1955) * ''A Two-Way Religion'' (1957) * ''Christian Sex Ethics'' (1963) * ''The Idea of a Natural Order'' (1966) * ''Why the Christian Priesthood Is Male'' (1972)

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Demant, Vigo Auguste 1893 births 1983 deaths 20th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English theologians Alumni of Armstrong College, Durham Alumni of Ely Theological College Alumni of Harris Manchester College, Oxford LGBT and Anglicanism Anglo-Catholic clergy Anglo-Catholic socialists Anglo-Catholic theologians British social crediters Christian socialist theologians English Anglican theologians English Anglo-Catholics English Christian socialists Regius Professors of Moral and Pastoral Theology