Diocese Diocese of York Denomination Anglican Province Province of York Predecessor Stuart Blanch | Term ended 1995 Education Eton College Installed 18 November 1983 Name John Habgood Consecration 1973 | |
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Other posts Bishop of Durham
1973–1983 Born 23 June 1927 (age 96) ( 1927-06-23 ) Successor David Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes Books Faith and Uncertainty, Varieties of Unbelief, Making Sense, Being a Person, The Concept of Nature | ||
Birth name John Stapylton Habgood | ||
John Stapylton Habgood, Baron Habgood, PC (born 23 June 1927) is a retired British Anglican bishop, academic, and life peer. He was Bishop of Durham from 1973 to 1983, and Archbishop of York from 18 November 1983 to 1995. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1983, and was created a life peer as Baron Habgood, of Calverton in the County of Buckinghamshire on 8 September 1995. Later in his life he ceased attending the House of Lords and took leave of absence; on 3 October 2011 he became one of the first two peers to formally and permanently retire from membership under a newly instituted procedure.
Contents
"I am impressed too by the point of view of the present Archbishop of York (John Habgood, Science and Religion, [London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1964]), that to understand the Bible we must try to enter into the belief patterns of the period"
Earlier life and career
Habgood was born on 23 June 1927, the son of Dr Arthur Henry Habgood and his wife Vera. He was educated at Eton, King's College, Cambridge and Ripon College Cuddesdon. A University Demonstrator in Pharmacology from 1950 he became a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge in 1952. In 1961 Habgood married Rosalie Mary Anne Boston (died 2016), he has two daughters and two sons, including Francis Habgood, the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police.
From 1954 to 1956 Habgood was a curate at St Mary Abbots Church, Kensington, London. From 1956 to 1962 he was Vice-Principal of Westcott House theological college in Cambridge. From 1962 to 1967 he was Rector of St John's Church, Jedburgh. In 1967 he became Principal of Queen's College, Edgbaston, a theological college, until his appointment to the episcopate as Bishop of Durham in 1973.
York
Having been passed over by Margaret Thatcher for appointment as Bishop of London in 1981, Habgood was elevated to the more senior role of Archbishop of York in 1983. The other name put forward for her consideration was that of former England cricketer, David Sheppard, by then Bishop of Liverpool. Sheppard's socialist views - he later sat in the Lords as a Labour Peer - did not commend him to Thatcher. As Archbishop of York, Habgood was seen as a leader in keeping more conservative Anglicans within the church during growing divisions over the issue of women's ordination to the priesthood. Habgood retired as Archbishop of York in 1995.
Canterbury
When Robert Runcie announced his retirement as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1990, Habgood was regarded as one of the favourites to succeed him. The religious journalist Clifford Longley described him as "the outstanding churchman of his generation", although noting that Habgood had described himself as too old. As preparations for the selection of the new Archbishop began, Habgood gave a television interview stating that he was interested in being considered as "if I believed that this is what the church really wanted and if I believed that this is what God really wanted I would be under a strong obligation to say yes." At the same time it was reported that Habgood was not popular among those close to the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, who would make the actual recommendation to the Queen.
At the beginning of May a report in the Sunday Correspondent stated that four candidates were under active consideration: Habgood, David Sheppard (Bishop of Liverpool), Colin James (Bishop of Winchester) and John Waine (Bishop of Chelmsford). Habgood declined to take up the automatic place he could have had on the Crown Appointments Commission, which would select the two names to be given to the Prime Minister. He was endorsed in a leader in The Times on 10 July 1990, On 25 July it was announced that the next Archbishop of Canterbury would be George Carey, the Bishop of Bath and Wells. Habgood described him as "a good choice", adding that "there is a little human bit in anybody that likes the top job, but that is a very small part in my feelings. In my heart of hearts I didn't really want the job. If it had come five years ago I might have thought differently but you slow up and it is an enormously tiring job."
Religion and science
Habgood is a member and past president of The Science and Religion Forum. He has written in this area, e.g., his book Truths in Tension: New Perspectives on Religion and Science (1965). Another example of his work in this area is "Faith, Science and the Future: the Conference Sermon", which was given at the World Council of Churches' conference on Faith, Science and the Future held on the MIT campus (12–24 July 1979). An early 21st-century example is his review of Ronald L. Numbers's book The Creationists, which Habgood titled "The creation of Creationism: Today's brand of Protestant extremism should worry theologians as well as scientists".
Books
"I am impressed too by the point of view of the present Archbishop of York (John Habgood, Science and Religion, [London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1964]), that to understand the Bible we must try to enter into the belief patterns of the period"