Joshua Roy Porter (7 May 1921 – 31 December 2006) was a British

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest, theologian and author. Having been chaplain and fellow of

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

, from 1949 to 1962, he was Professor of Theology at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

from 1962 to 1986.

Early life and education

Porter was born on 7 May 1921 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, to Joshua Porter and Bessie Evelyn (nee Earlam). He attended

King's School, Macclesfield The King's School, Macclesfield, is an all through co-educational private day school in Prestbury, Cheshire, England, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It was founded in 1502 by Sir John Percyvale, a former Lor ...

, before studying at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, where he graduated with a double first in Modern History and Theology in 1942.

Career

Church of England

Porter trained for ordained ministry at

St Stephen's House, Oxford St Stephen's House is an external theological college with observer status at the University of Oxford, affiliated with the Church of England. From 2003 to 2023 it was a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford. The college typicall ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

as 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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1945 and as 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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1946. He went on to become curate at

St Mary's Church, Portsea St Mary's Church is the main Church of England parish church for the areas of Portsea and Fratton, both located in the city of Portsmouth, Hampshire. Standing on the oldest church site on Portsea Island, the present building, amongst the larges ...

between 1945 and 1947. He was resident chaplain to the

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East Sussex, East and West Sussex. The Episcopal see, see is based in t ...

( George Bell) from 1947 to 1949: he would then be honorary chaplain from 1949 to 1950, and an examining chaplain from 1950 to 2002. Porter served as a member of the

General Synod of the Church of England The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

from 1970 to 1990. A conservative thinker, he opposed liberalising changes to the Church of England (such as the

ordination of women The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...

), often working in tandem with fellow Exonian Margaret Hewitt.

Academic career

In 1949 Porter returned to Oxford, to

Oriel College Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

, where for the next thirteen years he held positions as Fellow, Chaplain and lecturer. In 1962 Porter joined the

, to the newly created Chair of Theology. Porter served as Professor until 1986 (and also as Dean of Arts from 1968 to 1971). As a scholar, Porter’s focus was the Old Testament. Porter also had an interest in folklore and served as President of the

Folklore Society The Folklore Society (FLS) is a registered charity under English law based in London, England for the study of folklore. Its office is at 50 Fitzroy Street, London home of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. It wa ...

from 1976 to 1979. His three Presidential addresses were titled, 'Two Presidents of the Folklore Society: S. H. Hooke and E. O. James' (1977), “The Daughters of Lot' (1978), and 'Folklore Between the Testaments' (1979)

Selected works

* Porter, J. R. (1963). ''Moses and monarchy: a study in the Biblical tradition of Moses. Inaugural lecture of the Chair of Theology in the University of Exeter delivered on 26 February 1963''. Oxford: Blackwell.

OCLC OCLC, Inc. See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was founded in 1967 as the ...

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* Porter, J. R. (1976).''The Book of Leviticus.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .

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* Porter, J. R. (1999) ''Jesus Christ: The Jesus of History, the Christ of Faith.'' New York: Oxford University Press. .

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* Porter, J. R. (2003) ''The new illustrated companion to the Bible: Old Testament, New Testament, the life of Jesus, early Christianity, Jesus in art''. London: Duncan Baird..

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Service
delivered by Porter at the

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) is a Baptist seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It was created in 1950 to meet a need in the SBC's East Coast region.William H. Bra ...

in 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Joshua Roy 20th-century British Christian theologians British folklorists 1921 births 2006 deaths Presidents of the Folklore Society Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford 20th-century Church of England clergy Anglo-Catholic clergy