The Cambridge Faculty of Divinity is the

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

of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. It houses the Faculty Library.

History

Divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

has been taught in the University of Cambridge since its foundation, in the early 13th century,A brief history of theology at Cambridge

Faculty of Divinity

, around the time the university itself was founded.800 Years of History: Cambridge through the Centuries
, University of Cambridge. It is one of only two subjects to have been taught continuously, in some form or other, throughout the entire 800-year history of the university.Introductory lecture, Divinity faculty, October 2008 The first professorship instituted at the university, the

Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity The Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity is the oldest professorship at the University of Cambridge. It was founded initially as a readership in divinity by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII, in 1502. Since its re-endowment ...

, was dedicated to the subject, in 1502. Similarly, the next professorships to be established at the university – the Regius chairs, of 1540 – included the

Regius Professor of Divinity The Regius Professorships of Divinity are amongst the oldest professorships at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. A third chair existed for a period at Trinity College Dublin. The Oxford and Cambridge chairs were founded by ...

. Beginning in 1879, the Faculty of Divinity was housed in the Selwyn Divinity School, constructed by

Basil Champneys Basil Champneys (17 September 1842 – 5 April 1935) was an English architect and author whose most notable buildings include Manchester's John Rylands Library, Somerville College Library (Oxford), Newnham College, Cambridge, Lady Margaret Ha ...

. Now known as The Old Divinity School, the building belongs to St John's College. Since 2001, the Faculty has been situated on the university's

Sidgwick Site The Sidgwick Site is one of the largest sites within the University of Cambridge, England. Overview and history The Sidgwick Site is located on the western side of Cambridge city centre, near the Backs. The site is north of Sidgwick Avenue an ...

,Official Map:Sidgwick Site
University of Cambridge. in the west of the city.plaque, Faculty of Divinity building

Professorships

Since the 16th century, the University of Cambridge has seen the institution of numerous professorships in different subject areas, beginning with divinity, civil law, physics, Hebrew, and Greek. The established chairs in the Faculty of Divinity include the following: *

(1502) *

(1540) * Norris-Hulse Professor of Divinity (1777), combined in 1934 from the Norrisian Professor (since 1780) and the Hulsean Professor (since 1860) *

Ely Professor of Divinity The Ely Professorship of Divinity was one of the professorships in divinity at the University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England ...

(1889)

Academics

The Faculty of Divinity is part of the

Cambridge Theological Federation The Cambridge Theological Federation (CTF) is an association of theological colleges, courses and houses based in Cambridge, England and founded in 1972. The federation offers several joint theological programmes of study open to students in mem ...

, offering academic training not only to the university's own graduates but also to

ordinand 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 vari ...

s as well.The Bachelor of Theology for Ministry (BTh)Cambridge Theological Foundation
University of Cambridge. The current undergraduate degree is called "Theological and Religious Studies," rather than divinity, which reflects the range of topics and diversification in the field covered by the teaching.The undergraduate Tripos
.

Subject areas

Thematic and disciplinary areas of teaching and research in the Faculty of Divinity: *

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

Christian Theology Christian theology is the theology – the systematic study of the divine and religion – of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. It concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Ch ...

History of Christianity The history of Christianity began with the life of Jesus, an itinerant Jewish preacher and teacher, who was Crucifixion of Jesus, crucified in Jerusalem . His followers proclaimed that he was the Incarnation (Christianity), incarnation of Go ...

Philosophy of Religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known Text (literary theo ...

Religious Studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

*Late antiquity *Hebrew, Jewish, Early Christian * World Christianities *Scriptural languages

Lectures series

Since 1820, the Faculty of Divinity has hosted

named lectures A Named Lecture is an academic lecture associated with a name of a person of outstanding significance to the subject the lecture is concerned with. They are usually delivered at a predefined frequency at an academic institution. Such lectures exist ...

. They include the following: *

Hulsean Lectures The Hulsean Lectures were established from an endowment made by John Hulse to the University of Cambridge in 1790. At present, they consist of a series of four to eight lectures given by a university graduate on some branch of Christian theology. ...

* Jeremie Lecture * Stanton Lectures * Tyrwhitt Lecture * Yerushah Lecture

Reputation and rankings

For centuries the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge, like the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, has been prominent in theological studies not only in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

but also across the globe. As

university rankings College and university rankings order higher education institutions based on various criteria, with factors differing depending on the specific ranking system. These rankings can be conducted at the national or international level, assessing inst ...

have increased in importance for

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

in recent decades, the Faculty of Divinity has also maintained a high international profile in this new metric system. In 2019, the

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

placed the University of Cambridge as 6th worldwide. Nationally, the Faculty has been ranked 1st by the Complete University Guide (2018) and by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' (2018).

Notable senior members

The following are notable past and present senior members of the Faculty of Divinity.Staff
Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. File:Joseph Barber Lightfoot by WB Richmond (crop).jpg,

Joseph Barber Lightfoot Joseph Barber Lightfoot (13 April 1828 – 21 December 1889), known as J. B. Lightfoot, was an England, English theology, theologian and Bishop of Durham. Life Lightfoot was born in Liverpool, where his father John Jackson Lightfoot was an ...

File:Richard Bentley 3.jpg,

Richard Bentley Richard Bentley FRS (; 27 January 1662 – 14 July 1742) was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. Considered the "founder of historical philology", Bentley is widely credited with establishing the English school of Hellenis ...

File:Erasmus.jpg,

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

Past

* John Arrowsmith *

Peter Baro Peter Baro (1534–1599) was a French Huguenot minister, ordained by John Calvin, but later in England a critic of some Calvinist theological positions. His views in relation to the Lambeth Articles cost him his position as Lady Margaret's Profe ...

* Joseph Beaumont * Robert Beaumont *

* James Bethune-Baker *

John James Blunt John James Blunt (1794 – 18 June 1855) was an English Anglican priest. His writings included studies of the early Church. Life Blunt was born at Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, where he ...

* Zachary Brooke *

Edward Harold Browne Edward Harold Browne (6 March 1811 – 18 December 1891) was a bishop of the Church of England. Early life and education Browne was born on 6 March 1811 at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, the second son of Robert Browne of Morton House in Buck ...

Martin Bucer Martin Bucer (; Early German: ; 11 November 1491– 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Anglican doctrines and practices as well as Reformed Theology. Bucer was originally a memb ...

William Buckmaster William Buckmaster (died 1545) was an English cleric and academic, three times vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge. Life Buckmaster graduated at Peterhouse, Cambridge, B.A. in 1513–14, M.A. in 1517, B.D. in 1525, and D.D. in 1528. ...

* George Bullock *

Francis Crawford Burkitt Francis Crawford Burkitt (3 September 1864 – 11 May 1935) was an English theologian. As Norris Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge from 1905 until shortly before his death, Burkitt was a sturdy critic of the notion of a dist ...

* John Burnaby * Thomas Jackson Calvert * Thomas Cartwright *

William Chaderton William Chaderton (c.1540 – 11 April 1608) was an English academic and bishop. He also served as Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity. He was born in Moston, Lancashire, what is now a part of the city of Manchester. After attending ...

* Henry Chadwick *

Eamon Duffy Eamon Duffy (born 9 February 1947) is an Irish historian. He is the emeritus professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Cambridge, and a fellow and former president of Magdalene College. Early life Duffy was born on 9 Februa ...

* Frederick Henry Chase *

Sarah Coakley Sarah Anne Coakley (born 1951) is an English Anglican priest, systematic theologian, and philosopher of religion with interdisciplinary interests. She became an honorary professor at the Logos Institute, the University of St Andrews, after retir ...

* Samuel Collins * George Elwes Corrie *

C. H. Dodd Charles Harold Dodd (7 April 1884 – 21 September 1973) was a Welsh New Testament scholar and influential Protestant theologian. He is known for promoting " realized eschatology", the belief that Jesus' references to the kingdom of God meant ...

Charles John Ellicott Charles John Ellicott (25 April 1819 – 15 October 1905) was an English Christian theologian, academic and churchman. He briefly served as Dean of Exeter, then Bishop of the united see of Gloucester and Bristol. Early life and family Elli ...

Desiderius Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

* James Fawcett *

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1504 to 1535 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Chu ...

* David Ford * Wiliam Glyn *

Humphrey Gower Humphrey Gower (1638–1711) was an English clergyman and academic, Master of Jesus College, Cambridge, and then St. John's College, Cambridge, and Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity. Life He was the son of Stanley Gower, successively rector ...

John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author and YouTuber. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including ''The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012), which is one of the List of best-selling books#Bet ...

Peter Gunning Peter Gunning (1614 – 6 July 1684) was an English Royalist church leader, Bishop of Chichester and Bishop of Ely. Life He was born at Hoo St Werburgh, in Kent, and educated at The King's School, Canterbury and Clare College, Cambridge, whe ...

John Hey John Hey (1734–1815) was an English cleric, the first Norrisian Professor of Theology at Cambridge. Life The son of Richard Hey of Pudsey and his wife Mary Simpson, and elder brother of William Hey and Richard Hey, he was born in July 173 ...

Richard Holdsworth Richard Holdsworth (or Houldsworth, Oldsworth) (1590, in Newcastle upon Tyne – 22 August 1649) was an English academic theologian, and Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge from 1637 to 1643. Although Emmanuel was a Puritan stronghold, Holdswo ...

* John Banks Hollingworth * Morna D. Hooker *

Fenton John Anthony Hort Fenton John Anthony Hort (23 April 1828 – 30 November 1892), known as F. J. A. Hort, was an Irish-born theologian and editor, with Brooke Foss Westcott of a critical edition of '' The New Testament in the Original Greek''. Life He w ...

* Matthew Hutton *

William Ralph Inge William Ralph Inge (; 6 June 1860 – 26 February 1954) was an English author, Anglican priest, professor of divinity at Cambridge, and dean of St Paul's Cathedral. Although as an author he used W. R. Inge, and he was personally known ...

* Robert Jenkin *

James Amiraux Jeremie James Amiraux Jérémie (12 April 1802, Saint Peter Port, Guernsey – 11 June 1872, Lincoln, England) was Professor of Classical Literature at The East India Company College 1830–50, Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge ...

* John Kaye * Alexander Francis Kirkpatrick * G. H. Lampe *

Nicholas Lash Nicholas Langrishe Alleyne Lash (6 April 1934 – 11 July 2020) was an English Roman Catholic theologian. Having served in the British Army, he trained for Holy Orders at St Mary's College, Oscott, and worked as a Catholic priest until 1975. He ...

Judith Lieu Judith Margaret Lieu (born 1951) is a British theologian and historian of religion. She specialises in the New Testament and early Christianity. Her research includes a focus on early Christian identity in its historical context, and literary an ...

Richard Love Richard Love (1596–1661) was an English churchman and academic, Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, member of the Westminster Assembly, and Dean of Ely. Life He was son of Richard Love, an apoth ...

Joseph Rawson Lumby Joseph Rawson Lumby (1831–1895) was an English cleric, academic and author and divine, Norrisian Professor of Divinity from 1879 and then Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity from 1892. Life He was the son of John Lumby of Stanningley, near Le ...

Donald MacKinnon Donald MacKinnon (29 September 1859 – 25 April 1932) was an Australian politician. Early life Born at Marida Yallock near Boorcan in Victoria to grazier David Mackinnon and Jane Kinross, both Scottish-born, he was educated at Geelong ...

* John Madew *

John Mainwaring __NOTOC__ John Mainwaring (1724 – 15 April 1807) was an English theologian and the first biographer of the composer Georg Friedrich Händel in any language. He was a Fellow (Oxbridge), Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, and parish priest ...

* Fred Shipley Marsh *

Herbert Marsh Herbert Marsh (10 December 1757 – 1 May 1839) was a bishop in the Church of England. Life The son of Richard Marsh (1709–1779), Vicar of Faversham in Kent, Marsh was born there and educated at Faversham Grammar School, the King's School, ...

Arthur James Mason Arthur James Mason (4 May 1851 – 24 April 1928) was an English clergyman, theologian and classical scholar. He was Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge ...

* Charles F. D. Moule * Handley Carr Glyn Moule * Alexander Nairne * Dennis Eric Nineham * Alfred Ollivant * John Overall * John Pearson *

John James Stewart Perowne John James Stewart Perowne (3 March 1823 – 6 November 1904) was an English Anglican bishop. Born in Burdwan, Bengal, Perowne was a member of a notable clerical family, whose origins were Huguenot. Life He was educated at Norwich School ...

James Pilkington James Pilkington may refer to: *James Pilkington (bishop) James Pilkington (1520–1576), was the first Protestantism, Protestant Bishop of Durham from 1561 until his death in 1576. He founded Rivington and Blackrod High School, Rivington Gram ...

* Leonard Pilkington *

Thomas Playfere Thomas Playfere (also Playford) (1561? – 2 February 1609) was an English churchman and theologian, Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity at Cambridge from 1596. Life Born in London about 1561, he was son of William Playfere and Alice, daugh ...

* Arthur Michael Ramsey *

Michael Ramsey Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury (14 November 1904 – 23 April 1988), was a British Anglican bishop and life peer. He served as the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England. He was appointed on 31 May 1961 and ...

* John Randolph * Edward Craddock Ratcliffe * Charles Earle Raven * John Redman (professor) * John Richardson * Nicholas Ridley *

Joseph Armitage Robinson Joseph Armitage Robinson (9 January 1858 – 7 May 1933) was a priest in 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 a ...

* J. A. T. Robinson *

Thomas Rutherforth Thomas Rutherforth (also Rutherford) (1712–1771) was an English churchman and academic, Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge from 1745, and Archdeacon of Essex from 1752. Life He was the son of Thomas Rutherforth, rector of Papworth Everar ...

Herbert Edward Ryle Herbert Edward Ryle (25 May 1856 – 20 August 1925) was an English Old Testament scholar and Anglican bishop, successively serving as the Bishop of Exeter, the Bishop of Winchester and the Dean of Westminster. Early life Ryle was born in ...

Thomas Sedgwick Thomas Sedgwick (Segiswycke) (died 1573 in a Yorkshire prison) was an English Roman Catholic theologian. An unfriendly hand in 1562 describes him as "learned but not very wise". Thomas Sedgwick was educated at the University of Cambridge, where ...

* William Selwyn *

Janet Soskice Janet Martin Soskice (born 16 May 1951) is a Canadian-born English Roman Catholic theologian and philosopher. Soskice was educated at Somerville College, Oxford. She is currently the William K. Warren Distinguished Research Professor of Catholic ...

* Graham N. Stanton * Vincent Henry Stanton * George Christopher Stead *

John Still John Still (c. 1543 – 26 February 1607/1608) was Master of two Cambridge colleges and then, from 1593, Bishop of Bath and Wells. He enjoyed considerable fame as an English preacher and disputant. He was formerly reputed to be the author of an ...

Charles Anthony Swainson Charles Anthony Swainson (1820–1887) was an English Anglican theologian, Principal of Chichester Theological College, Norrisian Professor of Divinity, and subsequently Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, Master of Christ's College, Cambri ...

Henry Barclay Swete Henry Barclay Swete (14 March 1835 in Bristol – 10 May 1917 in Hitchin) was an English biblical scholar. He became Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge in 1890. He is known for his 1906 commentary on the Book of Revelation, and other wor ...

Stephen Sykes Stephen Whitefield Sykes (1 August 1939 – 24 September 2014) was a Church of England bishop and academic specialising in divinity. He was Van Mildert Professor of Divinity at Durham University from 1974 to 1985, and Regius Professor of Divini ...

* William Telfer *

Anthony Tuckney Anthony Tuckney (September 1599, in Kirton-in-Holland – February 1670) was an English Puritan theologian and scholar. Life Anthony Tuckney was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and a fellow there from 1619 to 1630. He was town preache ...

* Denys Alan Turner *

Thomas Turton Thomas Turton (25 February 1780 – 7 January 1864) was an English academic and divine, the Bishop of Ely from 1845 to 1864. Life Thomas Turton was son of Thomas and Ann Turton of Hatfield, West Riding. He was admitted to Queens' College, ...

* Samuel Ward * Richard Watson * William Whitaker *

John Whitgift John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...

* Ralph Widdrington *

Brooke Foss Westcott Brooke Foss Westcott (12 January 1825 – 27 July 1901) was an English bishop, biblical scholar and theologian, serving as Bishop of Durham from 1890 until his death. He is perhaps most known for co-editing ''The New Testament in the Orig ...

* John Young

Present

Douglas Hedley Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

* George van Kooten *

Nathan MacDonald A British biblical scholar, Nathan MacDonald (born 1975) currently serves as Reader in the Interpretation of the Old Testament at Cambridge University as well as Fellow and College Lecturer in theology at St John's College, Cambridge. Much of his ...

Catherine Pickstock Catherine Jane Crozier Pickstock (born 1970) is an English philosophical theologian. Best known for her contributions to the radical orthodoxy movement, she has been Norris-Hulse Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge since 2018 ...

Krish Raval Krish Kumar Sureshchandra Raval, Baron Raval, is a British lawyer, life peer and the director of Faith in Leadership. Early life and education Raval was born in Ethiopia to Indian, Hindu parents. He read law at Trinity College, Cambridge and t ...

* Richard Rex *

Timothy Winter Timothy John Winter (born 15 May 1960), also known as Abdal Hakim Murad, is an English Islamic scholar and theologian who is a proponent of Islamic neo-traditionalism. His work includes publications on Islamic theology, modernity, and Anglo ...

Katharine Dell Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Christian sa ...

References

Bibliography

David M. Thompson
Cambridge Theology in the Nineteenth Century: Enquiry, Controversy and Truth
(London: Ashgate, 2008). {{DEFAULTSORT:Faculty Of Divinity, Cambridge Divinity, Faculty of Christianity in Cambridge 13th-century establishments in England Christian seminaries and theological colleges