Archbishop of Canterbury awards Lambeth Degrees
Tuesday 19th April 2005
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is to award eight Lambeth Degrees this summer.The Lambeth Degree is a real academic award. The candidates are exempted from the requirement to sit an examination: the awards are made on merit in recognition of their contribution to religious, academic and public life.
Lambeth degrees can be awarded in Divinity, Law, Arts, Literature, Medicine and Music.
The Archbishop will preside over a ceremony at Lambeth Palace on Monday 6th June when the degrees will be awarded.
A list, together with the formal citations, is below.
The Archbishop of Canterbury's right to grant degrees is derived from Peter's Pence Act of 1533 which empowered the Archbishop to grant dispensations previously granted by the Pope. The practice began during the time when attendance at Oxford and Cambridge, the only universities at that time in England, was frequently disrupted by the difficulty of travel or outbreaks of the plague. The Archbishop was empowered to grant exemption from the residential requirements necessary for a degree.
Those to be awarded degrees are:
The Revd Professor Leslie Houlden
DD: In recognition of his contribution to New Testament scholarship as a lecturer and theologian, who has sought in many of his numerous books and articles to revisit the expression of Christian doctrine in the light of modern New Testament studies.
The Rt. Revd Dr. Michael Nazir-Ali
DD: In recognition of his work in inter-faith and ecumenical relations, notably in the Christian-Muslim dialogue, to which he has made a significant contribution through his writings.
The Revd Edwin Robertson
DD: In recognition of his contribution to Christian communication and the contemporary ecumenical movement as a broadcaster, author, translator and editor, notably in making known the life and work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Professor Norman Doe
DCL: In recognition of pioneering and sustaining the LLM in Canon Law at the University of Wales and for writing groundbreaking leading works, including 'The Legal Framework of the Church of England'.
Dr Harry Grindle
DMus: In recognition of his contribution to the Church of Ireland and bringing church music to the forefront of community life in Northern Ireland.
Mr Alan Thurlow
DMus: In recognition of his significant contribution to church music, particularly as Organist and Master of the Choristers of Chichester Cathedral.
Mr Anthony Dunford
MA: In recognition of his contribution to the formal training and examination of notaries and in particular for writing 'The General Notary', the standard text book.
The Revd Canon David Hutt
MA: In recognition of his extensive ministry to clergy and laity over many years and of his wider contribution to the public face of the Church offered in parishes and as a Canon of Westminster.