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Charles Francis Digby "Charlie" Moule (; 3 December 1908 – 30 September 2007), known professionally as C. F. D. Moule, was an English
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
priest and theologian. He was a leading scholar of the New Testament and was
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 by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII, in 1502. Since its re-endowment at the end of ...
at the University of Cambridge for 25 years, from 1951 to 1976.


Early life and education

Moule was born on 3 December 1908 in Hangzhou, China, near Shanghai, where his father, H. W. Moule, and mother were missionaries. He was their third son. His family were Anglican clerics from Dorset. His paternal grandfather George Evans Moule was bishop of mid-China, and his great-uncle,
Handley Moule Handley Carr Glyn Moule (23 December 18418 May 1920) was an evangelical Anglican theologian, writer, poet, and Bishop of Durham from 1901 to 1920. Biography Moule was schooled at home before entering Trinity College, Cambridge in 1860, where ...
, was the first Principal at Ridley Hall, Cambridge and later
Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Church of England, Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Pau ...
. He was a nephew of the noted Cambridge sinologist
Arthur Christopher Moule Arthur Christopher Moule (1873–1957) was a British Anglican sinologist. He held the Professorship of Chinese at the University of Cambridge from 1933 to 1938. Moule was born on 18 May 1873 in Hangzhou, China. His father was missionary George ...
. His family returned to England after the First World War. He was educated at
Weymouth College Weymouth College is a further education college located in Weymouth, England. The college has over 4,000 students, studying on a wide range of practical and academic courses in many subjects. The college is part of The University of Plymouth ...
in Dorset, and won a scholarship to read
classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classi ...
at
Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican m ...
, graduating with first-class honours in both parts and winning the Jeremie Septuagint prize, the Evans prize, and the Crosse scholarship. He studied theology at
Ridley Hall Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and member ...
, and was ordained as a deacon in 1933 and as a priest in 1934.


Ecclesiastical and academic career

He served as
curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
at St Mark's Church,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge becam ...
, from 1933 to 1934, during which time he was also a tutor at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He moved to Rugby in 1934, became curate of
St Andrew's Church, Rugby The Church of St Andrew is a Church of England parish church in the centre of Rugby, in Warwickshire, England. It is a grade II* listed building. It is unique in having two peals of bells hung in separate towers and is part of the Major Churches ...
, before moving back to Cambridge in 1936 to become curate at
Great St Mary's, Cambridge St Mary the Great is a Church of England parish and university church at the north end of King's Parade in central Cambridge, England. It is known locally as Great St Mary's or simply GSM to distinguish it from " Little St Mary's". It is one of ...
, the University Church of the University of Cambridge, where he remained until 1940. He was also Vice-Principal of Ridley Hall from 1936 to 1944. He became a Fellow at
Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...
, in 1944, serving as Dean from 1944 to 1951. He remained a Fellow at Clare until his death, and was secretary of the Clare Association for many years. He was also a Faculty Assistant Lecturer in divinity at Cambridge University from 1944 to 1947, and a University Lecturer from 1947 to 1951, when he was appointed Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, succeeding F. S. Marsh. Founded as a readership by Lady Margaret Beaufort in 1502, it is the oldest chair in the University of Cambridge, and is traditionally held by a New Testament scholar. He was also a non-residentiary
Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...
Theologian at
Leicester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Martin, Leicester, commonly known as Leicester Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral in Leicester, England and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester. The church was elevated to a collegiate church in 192 ...
from 1955 to 1976, and was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in 1966. He was a President of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas in 1967, and became an honorary Fellow at Emmanuel in 1972. He delivered the Ethel M. Wood lecture in 1964, on "Man and Nature in the New Testament". He produced two main written works: ''The Birth of the New Testament'', first published in 1962, which explores the context in which the New Testament was written, and ''The Origin of Christology'', published in 1977, which proposed that the church's understanding of Jesus had not evolved but rather developed and matured over the centuries. He also contributed to the translations of the
Apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...
and New Testament in the ''
New English Bible The New English Bible (NEB) is an English translation of the Bible. The New Testament was published in 1961 and the Old Testament (with the Apocrypha) was published on 16 March 1970. In 1989, it was significantly revised and republished as the ...
'', although he preferred the Revised Version. His other published works include ''An Idiom Book of New Testament Greek'' (1953, 2nd ed. 1959), ''The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon'' (1957), ''The Phenomenon of the New Testament'' (1967), ''The Holy Spirit'' (1978), and ''Essays in New Testament Interpretation'' (1982) and ''Forgiveness and Reconciliation, and other New Testament Themes'' (1998). He influenced many students who now hold chairs of divinity – including his successor as Lady Margaret's Professor,
Graham Stanton Graham Norman Stanton (1940–2009) was a New Zealand biblical scholar who taught at King's College, London, and as Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. A New Testament specialist, Stanton's special interests were ...
 – or who rose high within the Anglican hierarchy, including future
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Jus ...
Rowan Williams (Moule officiated at his wedding) and
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
John Sentamu John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, Baron Sentamu, (; ; born 10 June 1949) is a retired Anglican bishop and life peer. He was Archbishop of York and Primate of England from 2005 to 2020. Born near Kampala in Uganda, Sentamu studied law at Makerere Un ...
. His first doctoral student was
Margaret Thrall Margaret Eleanor Thrall (1928–2010) was a Welsh theologian, academic, and Anglican priest. Thrall studied at Girton College, Cambridge, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1950 and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1960. Her d ...
(PhD, 1960), who herself became a New Testament scholar. A humble, prayerful man, of slim build and small stature, he held a profound faith. A friend,
Joachim Jeremias Joachim Jeremias (20 September 1900 – 6 September 1979) was a German Lutheran theologian, scholar of Near Eastern Studies and university professor for New Testament studies. He was abbot of Bursfelde, 1968–1971. He was born in Dresden and sp ...
, said, "In him could be seen no trace of original sin." Like his great-uncle, he became known affectionately as "Holy Mouley". He was a leading advocate for the Ridley Hall in the early 1970s, when it was threatened with closure. He retired in 1976 and lived at Ridley Hall until 1980, acting as New Testament tutor. He moved to
Pevensey Pevensey ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located north-east of Eastbourne, one mile (1.6 km) inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part of ...
in Sussex in 1981, close to his friend, Bishop Stanley Betts. He continued to preach into his 90s. He became an honorary
Doctorate of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...
at
St Andrew's University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = public university, Public research university Ancient university , en ...
in 1958, and won the
British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
's Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies in 1970. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1985 for his services to New Testament studies and became an honorary Doctor of Divinity at Cambridge in 1988, in celebration of his 80th birthday. He moved to a nursing home in Dorset in 2003, to be near his family. He died on 30 September 2007 in
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staff ...
, Dorset, aged 98. He never married.


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Bibliography at theologicalstudies.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moule, C. F. D. 1908 births 2007 deaths British biblical scholars 20th-century English Anglican priests English Anglican theologians New Testament scholars Writers from Hangzhou Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge Translators of the Bible into English Educators from Hangzhou People educated at Weymouth College (public school) 20th-century translators Anglican biblical scholars Lady Margaret's Professors of Divinity 20th-century Christian biblical scholars People from Pevensey