Mark Turnham Elvins

OFMCap The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OF ...

(26 November 1939 – 1 May 2014) was

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

Greyfriars, Oxford Greyfriars is a Roman Catholic friary and parish located in East Oxford, which until 2008 was also a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford. Situated on the Iffley Road in East Oxford, it was one of the smallest constituent hall ...

, until its closure in 2008.

Life

Mark Turnham Elvins was born on 26 November 1939 in

Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of ...

, the son of an

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 t ...

priest who had been rector of St Mary in the Castle, Dover. Elvins was educated at Dover College,

St Stephen's House, Oxford St Stephen's House is an Anglican theological college and one of five permanent private halls of the University of Oxford, England. It will cease to be a permanent private hall in 2023. The college has a very small proportion of undergraduate s ...

, Beda College,

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

, and

Heythrop College Heythrop College, University of London, was a constituent college of the University of London between 1971 and 2018, last located in Kensington Square, London. It comprised the university's specialist faculties of philosophy and theology with soc ...

, where he earned his Master of Arts (MA) degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

. He received a Graduate Diploma in

Spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape ...

at Milltown Institute, Dublin. At the beginning of his career, he passed into the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town o ...

but opted for the Territorial Army, serving with the Honourable Artillery Company and eventually reaching the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

Royal Army Chaplains' Department The Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) is an all-officer department that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army. History The Army Chaplains' Department (AChD) was formed by Royal Warrant of 23 September 1796; until the ...

. In civilian life he began by working as a gallery manager at St James's Gallery,

Jermyn Street Jermyn Street is a one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London, England. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for gentlemen's-clothing retailers. His ...

, London, and as assistant editor of ''

Debrett's Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company, publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John De ...

Peerage''. Following his theological studies at St Stephen's House, Oxford, he was ordained an Anglican deacon. On 24 December 1968 he was received into the Roman Catholic Church. He was ordained a priest in Arundel on Easter Sunday 1973 and was assistant

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 ...

at Arundel Cathedral and

Chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area i ...

priest to the

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

from 1973 to 1979. From 1980 until 1990 he served at St Mary Magdalene's parish church in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, holding additionally the post of Chaplain to the Master of the

Worshipful Company of Scriveners The Worshipful Company of Scriveners is one of the 110 livery companies of the City of London. The Scriveners Company was originally known as the ''Mysterie of the Writers of the Court Letter'' and, since its incorporation, as ''Master Wardens ...

of the City of London. From 1990 until 1993 he was parish priest of

Henfield Henfield is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, northwest of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester at the road junction of the A281 and A2037. ...

. In 1999, he was professed in the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

and was a Provincial Definitor from 2006 to 11. During the academic years 2005–2007 he was the Roman Catholic chaplain to the

University of Central Lancashire , mottoeng = "From the Earth to the Sun" , established = as Institution for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledgere-established 1992 (University status granted) , type = Public , chancellor ...

. Following the retirement of Nicholas Richardson in 2007, Elvins was appointed warden of

, and upon the dissolution of the permanent private hall was appointed guardian of the friary (Greyfriars) from 2008 to 2011. Throughout his life Elvins was particularly concerned for the

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

and was the founder of Simon House in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(1967), the St Thomas Fund for the Homeless in

(1980) and Becket Homes in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...

(1997), as well as being a co-founder of the Thomas More Legal Centre. In 2011, he founded Regina Palestinae (Our Lady of Palestine), a charity for the support of poor families in Palestine. In 1982, Elvins was appointed an Ecclesiastical Knight of Grace of the

Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (SMOCG) ( it, Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio, es, Sagrada Orden Militar Constantiniana de San Jorge), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order ...

and chaplain and council member of the British and Irish delegation of the order. In 2003, the order awarded him the Gold Benemerenti Medal. He was also a chaplain of Magistral Grace of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta. In 2007, he led a wreath-laying ceremony in honour of

Henry Benedict Stuart Henry Benedict Thomas Edward Maria Clement Francis Xavier Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York (6 March 1725 – 13 July 1807) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, as well as the fourth and final Jacobite heir to publicly claim the thrones of Great Brita ...

at the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse, the ancient sense of the word "hospital", it is a site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea. It is an ...

in London.

The Heraldry Society The Heraldry Society is a British organization that is devoted to studying and promoting heraldry and related subjects. In 1947, a twenty-year-old John Brooke-Little founded the Society of Heraldic Antiquaries. This name was changed to The He ...

holds an annual Mark Elvins Lecture. On 16 April 2008, the Rt Revd Dom Geoffrey Scott OSB, Abbot of Douai, spoke on "The heraldry of James II and his cult".

Death

Elvins died on 1 May 2014, aged 74, from cancer.

Publications

* Mark Turnham Elvins (Mark of Whitstable), ''A Eucharistic vision and the spirituality of St Francis of Assisi'' (Leominster: Gracewing, 2007) *M.T. Elvins (Mark of Whitstable), ''Gospel chivalry: Franciscan Romanticism'' (Leominster: Gracewing, 2006) *M.T. Elvins, ''Catholic trivia: our forgotten heritage'', illustrated by John Ryan (Leominster: Gracewing, 2002; previously published London: HarperCollins Religious, 1992) *M.T. Elvins, ''Our Lady and the Ecumenical movement in the light of her maternal patronage: a paper given to members of the Canterbury branch of the Society on 27 September 1997'' (Wallington: Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 2000) *M.T. Elvins, ''St. Thomas Becket and the homeless'' (London: Buckland, 1994) *M.T. Elvins, ''"St." Thomas of Dover: monk and martyr'' (London: Buckland, 1994) *M.T. Elvins, ''Towards a people's liturgy: the importance of language'' (Leominster: Gracewing, 1994) *M.T. Elvins, ''Cardinals and heraldry'', illustrated by Anselm Baker, foreword by the

Archbishop of Birmingham The Archbishop of Birmingham heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham in England. As such he is the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Birmingham. The archdiocese covers an area of and spans of the counties of Oxfordshire, S ...

(

Maurice Noël Léon Couve de Murville Maurice Noël Léon Couve de Murville (27 June 1929 – 3 November 2007) was a French-born British Roman Catholic bishop. He was the seventh Archbishop of Birmingham from 25 March 1982 until his retirement on 12 June 1999, having formerly be ...

), preface by

John Brooke-Little John Philip Brooke Brooke-Little (6 April 1927 – 13 February 2006) was an English writer on heraldic subjects, and a long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London. In 1947, while still a student, Brooke-Little founded the Society of He ...

(

Norroy and Ulster King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the Provincial King of Arms at the College of Heralds with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is t ...

) (London: Buckland Publications, 1988) *M.T. Elvins and Teresa Searle, ''Drugs: how the Church can help'' (Great Wakering: McCrimmons, 1987) *M.T. Elvins, ''The Church's response to the homeless'' (Great Wakering: Mayhew McCrimmon, 1985) *M.T. Elvins, ''

Arundel Priory The Priory of St Nicholas was established at Arundel in West Sussex, England by Roger de Montgomery, earl of Shrewsbury, in 1102, when Gratian, a monk of Sées in Normandy, became first prior. In 1269, the priory granted Master William de Wedon, i ...

, 1380–1980: the College of the Holy Trinity'' (London: Phillimore, 1981) *M.T. Elvins, ''Bayham Abbey 1182–1982: its founder and his family'' (Hove: Chichester Diocesan Fund and Board of Finance, 1981) *M.T. Elvins, 'Oxford University Heraldry Society', ''The Coat of Arms'' NS 4.119 (1981) *M.T. Elvins, ''Old Catholic England'' (London: Catholic Truth Society, 1978)

References

External links

Biography
marymagdalen.blogspot.com. Retrieved 12 July 2014

constantinian.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2014
'Oration by the Vice-Chancellor', ''Oxford University Gazette'' supplement (3) to no. 4818
3 October 2007, pg. 100

''The Ark'' 187 (Spring 2001). Retrieved 12 July 2014

Papers on Proposed 5th Marian Dogma. Retrieved 12 July 2014. *[http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/marian/mary-ecum.htm Mark Turnham Elvins, 'Some Reflections on Our Lady and The Ecumenical Movement in the Light of Her Maternal Patronage', ''Papers on Proposed 5th Marian Dogma'']
Heraldry Society Annual Programme 2007/2008
theheraldrysociety.com. Retrieved 12 July 2014

Scuola di Spiritualita website. Retrieved 12 July 2014

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elvins, Mark 1939 births 2014 deaths Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the University of London Alumni of Heythrop College Alumni of St Stephen's House, Oxford Alumni of Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy People educated at Dover College Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Christian writers British theologians 20th-century English theologians 20th-century English Roman Catholic priests 21st-century English Roman Catholic priests Capuchins Wardens of Greyfriars, Oxford Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers Anglican priest converts to Roman Catholicism 20th-century English Anglican priests Place of death missing People from Whitstable Military personnel from Kent People from Henfield