Owen Chadwick
Encyclopedia
William Owen Chadwick, OM
, KBE
, FBA
, FRSE
(born 20 May 1916) is a British professor, writer and prominent historian of Christianity
. He was also a rugby union player.
in 1916. Chadwick attended Tonbridge School
and St John's College, Cambridge
, where he received three Blues in rugby
when he represented Cambridge University
in the annual Varsity Match
against Oxford in 1936, 1937 and 1938. In 1936, during his first year at Cambridge, he was selected to tour with a Great Britain
team in their third trip
to Argentina. Although no caps were awarded on this tour, Chadwick did play in the one match against the full Argentina
side, playing in his favoured position of hooker in a 23-0 victory. During the 1937/38 season, Chadwick played for invitational touring side, the Barbarians
.
He received a First
in History; he then attended Cuddesdon College
(a theological college) and was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood of the Church of England
.
), he was made Fellow
of Trinity Hall, Cambridge
in 1947. He was elected Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge
in 1955, retiring in 1983. In 1958 he was named Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History
, during which time he chaired the Archbishops' Commission on Church and State (1967–1971).
, University of Cambridge
. Elder brother of the Very Reverend Professor Henry Chadwick
, also a distinguished historian of the early Church and a former Dean
of Christ Church
, University of Oxford
, younger brother of Sir John Chadwick KCMG, a diplomat whose senior posting was as British Ambassador to Romania. He took a keen interest in sport and was elected to membership of the Hermes Club.
, a chair which he held until 1982, and was President of the British Academy
during the early 1980s. As Vice-Chancellor he guided Cambridge
through turbulent times in the late 1960s; and was Chancellor
of the University of East Anglia
between 1984 and 1994.
; on the Church of England in England and elsewhere. He has notably participated in the debate about Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust
.
Chadwick's books include:
From Bossuet to Newman (1957);
Victorian Miniature (1960);
The Victorian Church (in 2 volumes, 1966 and 1970);
The Secularization of the European Mind in the 19th Century (1975);
Newman (in the OUP's "Past Masters" series; 1983);
Hensley Henson: A study in the friction between Church and State (1983); and
A History of the Popes 1830-1914 (part of the Oxford History of the Christian Church; 1998).
Chadwick was also the General Editor of the Penguin (formerly Pelican) History of the Church, to which he contributed the third volume (The Reformation) and the seventh (The Christian Church in the Cold War, 1992). His brother Henry Chadwick wrote the first volume in the series (The Early Church, 1967).
. As a clergyman he did not receive the accolade and so remained the Revd Owen Chadwick rather than Sir Owen. He was appointed to the Order of Merit
(OM) on 11 November 1983.
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
, KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, FBA
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
, FRSE
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
(born 20 May 1916) is a British professor, writer and prominent historian of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. He was also a rugby union player.
Early life and education
Chadwick was born in BromleyBromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
in 1916. Chadwick attended Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...
and St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, where he received three Blues in rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
when he represented Cambridge University
Cambridge University R.U.F.C.
The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, or CURUFC, is the rugby union club of Cambridge University, and plays Oxford University in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham stadium every December. CURUFC players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest...
in the annual Varsity Match
The Varsity Match
The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. By tradition, the match is held on the second Tuesday of December. In 2005, however, this changed, and the match was on Tuesday 6 December. In 2007, it was held on a Thursday for...
against Oxford in 1936, 1937 and 1938. In 1936, during his first year at Cambridge, he was selected to tour with a Great Britain
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
team in their third trip
1936 British Lions tour to Argentina
The 1936 Great Britain tour of Argentina was a series of rugby union matches arranged between a British invitational team and various Argentine teams. The tourists played ten matches, nine of which were against club and combined teams while one match took in a full Argentina national team...
to Argentina. Although no caps were awarded on this tour, Chadwick did play in the one match against the full Argentina
Argentina national rugby union team
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
side, playing in his favoured position of hooker in a 23-0 victory. During the 1937/38 season, Chadwick played for invitational touring side, the Barbarians
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
.
He received a First
British undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
in History; he then attended Cuddesdon College
Ripon College Cuddesdon
Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England.-History:Ripon College Cuddesdon was formed from an amalgamation in 1975 of Cuddesdon College and Ripon Hall...
(a theological college) and was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
.
Trinity Hall
After the War (during which he was chaplain of Wellington CollegeWellington College, Berkshire
-Former pupils:Notable former pupils include historian P. J. Marshall, architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, impressionist Rory Bremner, Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, author Sebastian Faulks, language school pioneer John Haycraft, political journalist Robin Oakley, actor Sir Christopher...
), he was made Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
in 1947. He was elected Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College is a constituent college in the University of Cambridge in England, United Kingdom.The college was founded by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of the Rt Reverend George Selwyn , who rowed on the Cambridge crew in the first Varsity Boat Race in 1829, and went on to become the...
in 1955, retiring in 1983. In 1958 he was named Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History
Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History
The Dixie Professorship of Ecclesiastical History is one of the senior professorships in history at the University of Cambridge.Lord Mayor of London in the 16th century, Sir Wolstan Dixie, left funds to found both scholarships and fellowships at Emmanuel College, Cambridge...
, during which time he chaired the Archbishops' Commission on Church and State (1967–1971).
Selwyn College
He is a former Master of Selwyn CollegeSelwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College is a constituent college in the University of Cambridge in England, United Kingdom.The college was founded by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of the Rt Reverend George Selwyn , who rowed on the Cambridge crew in the first Varsity Boat Race in 1829, and went on to become the...
, University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. Elder brother of the Very Reverend Professor Henry Chadwick
Henry Chadwick (theologian)
Henry Chadwick KBE was a British academic and Church of England clergyman. A former Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford — and as such also head of Christ Church, Oxford — he also served as Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, becoming the first person in four centuries to have headed a college at...
, also a distinguished historian of the early Church and a former Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of Christ Church
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, younger brother of Sir John Chadwick KCMG, a diplomat whose senior posting was as British Ambassador to Romania. He took a keen interest in sport and was elected to membership of the Hermes Club.
Regius Professor
In 1968 he was elected Regius Professor of Modern HistoryRegius Professor of Modern History (Cambridge)
Regius Professor of Modern History is one of the senior professorships in history at Cambridge University. It was founded in 1724 by George I. The appointment is by Royal Warrant on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of the day...
, a chair which he held until 1982, and was President of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
during the early 1980s. As Vice-Chancellor he guided Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
through turbulent times in the late 1960s; and was Chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
between 1984 and 1994.
Books
He has written many books, on the formation of the papacy in the modern world; on Lord Acton; on the secularisation of European thought and culture; on the ReformationProtestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
; on the Church of England in England and elsewhere. He has notably participated in the debate about Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust
Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust
The relationship between Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust has long been disputed, with some scholars arguing that he kept silent during the Holocaust, while others have argued that he saved thousands if not tens or hundreds of thousands of Jews....
.
Chadwick's books include:
From Bossuet to Newman (1957);
Victorian Miniature (1960);
The Victorian Church (in 2 volumes, 1966 and 1970);
The Secularization of the European Mind in the 19th Century (1975);
Newman (in the OUP's "Past Masters" series; 1983);
Hensley Henson: A study in the friction between Church and State (1983); and
A History of the Popes 1830-1914 (part of the Oxford History of the Christian Church; 1998).
Chadwick was also the General Editor of the Penguin (formerly Pelican) History of the Church, to which he contributed the third volume (The Reformation) and the seventh (The Christian Church in the Cold War, 1992). His brother Henry Chadwick wrote the first volume in the series (The Early Church, 1967).
Awards
He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1982 New Year HonoursNew Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...
. As a clergyman he did not receive the accolade and so remained the Revd Owen Chadwick rather than Sir Owen. He was appointed to the Order of Merit
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
(OM) on 11 November 1983.