Charles Venn Pilcher (known as Venn; 4 June 1879 – 4 July 1961) was a theologian and clergyman born in England. He was also well known as a writer (as well as translator) of hymns. He spent his formative years in England and then moved in 1906 to Canada, where he lived for about three decades. He spent his latter years in Australia. Pilcher was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

into a well-known

clerical Clerical may refer to: * Pertaining to the clergy * Pertaining to a clerical worker * Clerical script, a style of Chinese calligraphy * Clerical People's Party See also

* Cleric (disambiguation) * Clerk (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

family, among the members of which were Henry Venn (1725-1797), John Venn (1759-1813), Charlotte Elliott (1789-1871), Edward Bishop Elliott (1793-1875), Emily Steele Elliott (1836-1807), Henry Venn Elliott (1792-1865), and Henry Venn the younger (1796-1873). He was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

. 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 1903. He was

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () 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 who are as ...

of St Thomas' Church, Birmingham and then

domestic chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligen ...

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 ...

, the Bishop of Durham. He was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

Wycliffe College Wycliffe College () is an evangelical Colleges of the University of Toronto, graduate school of theology of the University of Toronto located at the University of Toronto#St. George campus, St. George campus in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded i ...

at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and later of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

, during which tenure he was also among the founders of the

Canadian Society of Biblical Studies The Canadian Society of Biblical Studies (CSBS) is a Canadian learned society established in 1933 to support teaching and research relating to biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to t ...

. He was

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

at the Cathedral Church of St James, Toronto from 1931 to 1936. During his time in Toronto he also played the bass clarinet in the Toronto Symphony. He subsequently became a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

church history Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...

Moore Theological College Moore Theological College, otherwise known simply as Moore College, is the theological training seminary of the Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney holds ''ex officio'' the presidency of t ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. He was Bishop Coadjutor of Sydney from his arrival in Sydney until his death. He was a member and the Secretary of the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

Hymn Supplement Committee, and author of the Preface to the Australian Hymn Supplement to the ''Book of Common Praise''. He wrote hymns and composed tunes for both the original hymn book (produced in Canada) and for the Australian supplement. He was also a keen supporter of the Zionist cause.

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

, 6 July 1961; pg. 25; Issue 55126; col A ''The Right Rev. C. V. Pilcher''

References

1879 births 1961 deaths Clergy from Oxford People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Academic staff of the University of Toronto Academic staff of Moore Theological College Australian Zionists 20th-century Anglican bishops in Australia Assistant bishops in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney Grand Knights of the Order of the Falcon Christian Zionists {{Australia-anglican-bishop-stub