Christ Church Cathedral from across the Meadow

The Dean of Christ Church is the dean of

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford Christ Church Cathedral is a cathedral of the Church of England in Oxford, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Oxford and the principal church of the diocese of Oxford. It is also the chapel of Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, a colle ...

and head of the governing body of Christ Church, a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The cathedral is the mother church of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Diocese of Oxford The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, ...

and seat of the

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

. The chapter of

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

s of the cathedral formed the governing body of the college from its foundation until the Christ Church, Oxford Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 76), by which the governing body was expanded to include the students (academics) in addition to the dean and chapter. The dean was ''ex officio'' head of the chapter and ''ipso facto'' head of the college. From 26 April 2022 until July 2023, the position was vacant. As of 8 July 2023, Sarah Foot is the first female dean of Christ Church.

List of deans

From the diocese's foundation in 1542 until 1545, the cathedral was at Osney. There, the cathedral deans were: * John London (1542–1543) * Richard Cox (1543–1545, reappointed dean at Christ Church) The academic deans of Christ Church's predecessor Oxford colleges were: * John Hygdon (Dean of Cardinal College, 1525–1531; Dean of King Henry VIII's College, 1532–1533) *

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British and American comedian who hosts ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' on HBO. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom and came to wider attention for his work ...

(Dean of King Henry VIII's College, 1533–1545) Both the college and the see at Osney surrendered to the Crown on 20 May 1545. Christ Church, the double establishment of cathedral and college, was founded by

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

on 4 November 1546. Died in office

References

{{Deans of Christ Church, Oxford Deans of Christ Church Oxford, Deans of Christ Church Deans of Christ Church Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...