David Vivian Day (born 11 August 1936) is a retired British theologian,

school teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, academic, and

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. From 1992 to 1999, he was

Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

St John's College, Durham St John's College is one of the Colleges of Durham University#Types of College, recognised colleges of Durham University. The college was established in 1909 as a Church of England theological college and became a full constituent college of th ...

Early life and education

Day was born on 11 August 1936 to Frederick Vivian Day and Enid Blodwen (''née'' Evans). He was educated at

Tottenham Grammar School Tottenham Grammar School (TGS) was a grammar school in North London, with local football connections. Its history goes back beyond the 1631 Sarah, fourth duchess of Somerset Seymour, bequest by the Duchess of Somerset. It closed in 1988, but ...

, a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

grammar school in north London. He studied

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

Queen Mary College Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London. Today, ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1957. Day continued his university studies in later life. He studied education at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

while he was a teacher in the city, and graduated with a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...

(MEd) degree in 1973. He later studied theology at Nottingham, graduating with a

Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

(MTh) degree in 1977.

Career

Day's early career was spent as a

. From 1958 to 1964, he was a

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

at Southgate County School, the a

grammar school in the

London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London boroughs, London borough in Greater London, England. The main communities in the borough are Edmonton, London, Edmonton, Enfield, London, Enfield, Southgate, London, Southgate and Palmers Green. Enfi ...

. Then, from 1964 to 1966, he was Head of

Religious Education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to t ...

at Southgate. He moved to Bilborough School, then a grammar school in

Bilborough Bilborough is a suburb of the city of Nottingham, in the Nottingham district, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. The population of the City of Nottingham ward at the 2011 census was 16,792. St Martin of Tours' Church, Bilbor ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, and was its Head of Religious Education between 1966 and 1973. Day then moved into

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. From 1973 to 1979, he was a senior lecturer in theology at Bishop Lonsdale College, an

teacher training college in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

. In 1979, he moved to the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

. He was a senior lecturer in education between 1979 and 1997, and was

between 1992 and 1999. As head of St John's College, he was also part of the leadership of Cranmer Hall, Durham, an Anglican

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

that trains people for

ordained ministry 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 vari ...

. Having retired from academia, Day felt the call to ordination. 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 1999 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 2000. From 1999 to 2007, he was a

non-stipendiary minister In the Church of England, self-supporting ministers (SSMs), previously called non-stipendiary ministers (NSMs) or non-stipendiary priests, are ministers who do not receive a stipend. They usually have alternative employment. There were around 2,000 ...

at St Nicholas' Church, Durham. Since 2007, he has held

Permission to Officiate A permission to officiate (PTO), also known as a licence to officiate, is a concessionary ministry licence granted by an Anglican bishop. It is most commonly issued to a retired deacon, priest, or lay reader over the age of 70 years. It allows the ...

in the

Diocese of Durham The diocese of Durham is a diocese of the Church of England in North East England. The boundaries of the diocese are the historic boundaries of County Durham, meaning it includes the part of Tyne and Wear south of the River Tyne and contemporary ...

, and continues to preach at St Nicholas' .

Personal life

In 1959, Day married Lorna Rosemary Taylor. Together they have three children; one daughter and two sons.

Honours

On 31 March 2016, Day was awarded the Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship by

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is an Anglican bishop who served as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 2013 to 2025. After an 11-year career in the oil industry, Welby trained for ordination at St John ...

, the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, during a ceremony at

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament of the United King ...

Selected works

* * * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, David V. 1936 births Living people People educated at Tottenham Grammar School Alumni of Queen Mary University of London Alumni of the University of Nottingham British theologians Schoolteachers from London 21st-century Church of England clergy Academics of Durham University Principals of St John's College, Durham