John Vernon Taylor

John Vernon Taylor (born September 11, 1914 in Cambridge , † January 30, 2001 in Oxford , England) was a British Anglican theologian . He was Bishop of Winchester in the Church of England from 1975 to 1985 .

Life

Taylor came from a family of churchmen. Taylor's father, John Ralph Strickland Taylor, was initially Vice-Principal of Ridley Hall College, an evangelical theological college, in Cambridge. He later became Rector of Wycliffe Hall College, Oxford . From 1943 to 1954 he was Bishop of Sodor and Man .

John Vernon Taylor attended St Lawrence College at Ramsgate . He studied history at Trinity College of the University of Cambridge and at St Catherine's Society. In preparation for the priesthood he studied theology at Wycliffe Hall College, Oxford. His educational training took place at the Institute of Education at the University of London .

1938 Taylor was in the St Paul's Cathedral for priests ordained the Church of England. After his ordination he was from 1938 to 1940 parish vicar ( curate ) at All Souls Church in the West End in London . From 1940 to 1943 he was pastor ( Curate-in-charge ) at St Andrew's Church in St. Helens in the county of Lancashire . In 1945 he was appointed warden of Bishop Tucker College in Mukono , Uganda , and went to Africa as a missionary . He took the position that missionaries of Christian churches should support the striving of the African states for political and religious independence.

In 1954 he returned to Britain and worked as a researcher ( Research worker ) for the International Missionary Council . In 1959 he became Africa Secretary of the Church Missionary Society . In 1963, he succeeded Max Warren as General Secretary ( General Secretary ); he held this office until 1973. From 1975 to 1985 he was Bishop of Winchester , succeeding Sherard Falkner Allison . He was the first clergyman to be ordained direct Bishop of Winchester since William Day in 1595. From 1978 to 1985 he was Chairman ( Chairman ) of the Doctrine Commission of the Church of England. In 1985 Taylor retired as Bishop of Winchester. He was succeeded by Colin Clement Walter James .

Taylor enjoyed great esteem in the diocese and in Great Britain, both among liberal and modernist currents within the Church of England. However , he could not win the trust of the representatives of Anglo-Catholicism . Within the Church of England, Taylor took a liberal, evangelical course. He advocated a greater use of gospels in worship. He was skeptical of conservatism and traditionalism. Taylor took the view, based on the novels of the writer George Eliot , that experiences of God are also possible outside of the church. In a speech to the General Synod of the Church of England , he called for the Church to go unknown ways in order to gain new experiences. It is necessary, so Taylor, citing a poem by Wilfred Owen , "to go into no man's land".

Taylor authored several books and also wrote religious plays and passion plays . His African Passion Play was made into a film in the 1950s; his passion play Winchester Cathedral Passion and Resurrection (1981) showed his skills as a writer and actor.

He wrote several books on Africa and religion in Africa. His book The Primal Vision (1963) is considered a fundamental work for the African understanding of religion. His other books on Africa, including Growth Of The Church In Buganda (1958) and Christianity And Politics In Africa (1957), showed Africans' understanding of faith and the expression of their faith in gospel singing. The Go-Between God (1972) and Enough is Enough (1975) are regarded as his most important books, laying the foundations for a more modern understanding of the church towards the demands of society and the challenges of the Third World .

Membership in the House of Lords

Taylor was a member of the House of Lords from 1975 to 1985 as Spiritual Lord . As Bishop of Winchester , Taylor was one of the Lords Spirituals who, under the constitution, automatically hold a seat in the House of Lords.

Private and death

Taylor was married to Margaret Wright since 1940; the marriage had three children, a son and two daughters. Taylor died, almost completely blind, in Oxford at the age of 86.

Web links

• The Right Rev John Taylor - Obituary in: The Daily Telegraph, February 1, 2001
• The Right Rev John Taylor - Obituary in: The Guardian, February 7, 2001

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} John Vernon Taylor Biography in: Love's Redeeming Work: The AnglicanQuest for Holiness (2004) (excerpts from Google Books)
2. ^ ^{A b c} The Rt Rev John Taylor obituary in: The Guardian, February 1, 2001
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} The Rt Rev John Taylor obituary in: The Guardian, February 7, 2001

predecessor	Office	successor
Sherard Falconer Allison	Bishop of Winchester 1974–1985	Colin Clement Walter James