Cyril Easthaugh (22 December 189716 December 1988) was a British Anglican bishop in the 20th Century. He was

Bishop of Kensington The Bishop of Kensington is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The Bishop of Kensington is responsible for a part of Greater London, including Kensingt ...

from 1949 to 1961 and Bishop of Peterborough from 1961 to 1972.

Early life and education

Easthaugh was born on 22 December 1897 in South London, England. The family name had been changed from Eastaugh to Easthaugh in 1883. Having won a scholarship, he was educated at Archbishop Tenison's Grammar School (now Archbishop Tenison's Church of England School) in London. He left school at 17 to serve in the army during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was Commissioned into the

South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...

. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

(MC) in 1917, at the age of 19. After the war, he worked in business before feeling the call to the priesthood. He then

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

into Christ Church, Oxford to study theology. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1928; as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA (Oxon)) degree in 1932. In 1928, he entered

Cuddesdon College Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local ordained and lay min ...

, a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

in the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

, to train for ordination.

Ordained ministry

Easthaugh was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

in the

: made a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, ...

1929 (22 September), by

Cyril Garbett Cyril Forster Garbett (6 February 1875 – 31 December 1955) was an Anglican bishop and author. He was successively the Bishop of Southwark, the Bishop of Winchester and the Archbishop of York from 1942 to 1955. Early life Garbett was born in ...

, Bishop of Southwark, at

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwar ...

, and ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in 1930. He served his

curacy 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 John the Divine, Kennington, a church in the

of the Church of England. He returned to his

(

Cuddesdon Cuddesdon is a mainly rural village in South Oxfordshire centred ESE of Oxford. It has the largest Church of England clergy training centre, Ripon College Cuddesdon. Residents number approximately 430 in Cuddesdon's nucleated village centre a ...

) to serve as chaplain until 1934. He then served as

vice-principal In larger school systems, a head teacher principal is often assisted by someone known as a vice-principal, deputy principal, or assistant/associate principal. Unlike the principal, the vice-principal does not have quite the decision-making authorit ...

until 1935. He returned to parish ministry and became

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of St John the Divine, Kennington. He spent fourteen years there, before his consecration to the episcopate in 1949. In 1941, the church building was struck by a bomb during the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. On 1 November 1949, he was consecrated a bishop at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

Geoffrey Fisher Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth, (5 May 1887 – 15 September 1972) was an English Anglican priest, and 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, serving from 1945 to 1961. From a long line of parish priests, Fisher was educated at Marlb ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury. He was appointed

, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of London. From the confirmation of his election to the See in late December 1961, he became the Bishop of Peterborough until his retirement in 1971. For a decade he continued as chairman of the

Christian Evidence Society The Christian Evidence Society is a British Christian apologetics organisation that was founded in 1870. At its financial peak in 1883, it had slightly over 400 paying members, but that it had declined to below 300 by 1897. After 1900, its focus s ...

. He was an opponent of union between the Methodist Church and the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

. He was Life President of the

Guild of All Souls The Guild of All Souls is an Anglican devotional society dedicated to prayer for Afterlife, faithful departed Christians. As stated on its website, it is a "devotional society praying for the souls of the Faithful Departed, and teaching the Cathol ...

, an

Anglican devotional society Since the time of the Oxford Movement in the Church of England, there have been organizations whose purpose is the propagation of the Catholic Faith within the Anglican Communion. Each of these societies champions one aspect of Ritualism and Angl ...

. His

churchmanship Churchmanship (or churchpersonship; or tradition in most official contexts) is a way of talking about and labelling different tendencies, parties, or schools of thought within the Church of England and the sister churches of the Anglican Commun ...

fell within the Catholic wing of the Church of England and he hoped for the eventual union of Anglicans with the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. However, he supported the retention of the peculiar flavour of Catholicism that had developed in England and did not support the C of E becoming a carbon-copy of continental Roman Catholicism.

Later life

Easthaugh died on 16 December 1988. On 28 January 1989, a

Requiem Mass A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

was held for him at

St Stephen's, Gloucester Road St Stephen's Church, Gloucester Road, is a Grade II* listed Anglican church located on the corner of Gloucester Road and Southwell Gardens in South Kensington, London, England. History With the population of South Kensington expanding in the mid ...

, London. It was led by

Graham Leonard Graham Douglas Leonard (8 May 1921 – 6 January 2010) was an English Roman Catholic priest and former Anglican bishop. His principal ministry was as a bishop of the Church of England but, after his retirement as the Bishop of London, he becam ...

, the then Bishop of London who later entered the

Personal life

In 1948, Easthaugh married Lady Laura Mary Palmer, the third daughter of the

Earl of Selborne Earl of Selborne, in the County of Southampton, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1882 for the lawyer and Liberal politician Roundell Palmer, 1st Baron Selborne, along with the subsidiary title of Viscount Wo ...

.Marriage details
/ref> Together, they had three children; one son and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Easthaugh, Cyril 1897 births Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Bishops of Kensington Bishops of Peterborough British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross 1988 deaths 20th-century Church of England bishops South Staffordshire Regiment officers Clergy from London Anglo-Catholic bishops People educated at Archbishop Tenison's Church of England School, Lambeth English Anglo-Catholics Military personnel from London