Diarmaid Ninian John MacCulloch (; born 31 October 1951) is an English

academic 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 ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

, specialising in

ecclesiastical 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 the ...

and the

history of Christianity The history of Christianity began with the life of Jesus, an itinerant Jewish preacher and teacher, who was Crucifixion of Jesus, crucified in Jerusalem . His followers proclaimed that he was the Incarnation (Christianity), incarnation of Go ...

. Since 1995, he has been a fellow of St Cross College, Oxford; he was formerly the senior tutor. Since 1997, he has been Professor of the History of the Church at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. Though ordained 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 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, ...

, he declined ordination to the priesthood because of the church's attitude to homosexuality. In 2009 he encapsulated the evolution of his religious beliefs: "I was brought up in the presence of the Bible, and I remember with affection what it was like to hold a dogmatic position on the statements of Christian belief. I would now describe myself as a candid friend of Christianity." MacCulloch sits on the editorial board of the '' Journal of Ecclesiastical History''.

Life

Diarmaid MacCulloch was born in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England, to the Rev. Nigel John Howard MacCulloch (an Anglican priest) and Jennie Chappell. He moved to

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

as a boy when his father was appointed rector of Wetherden and Haughley. He attended Hillcroft Preparatory School, Haughley and Stowmarket Grammar School. He subsequently studied history at Churchill College, Cambridge, where he obtained a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1972; this was promoted to a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in 1976. During that period, he was also organ scholar at the college. After completing a Diploma in Archive Administration at Liverpool University in 1973, he then returned to Cambridge to complete a PhD degree in 1977 on Tudor history under the supervision of Geoffrey Elton, combining this with a position as Junior Research Fellow at Churchill College. MacCulloch joined the Gay Christian Movement in 1976, serving twice on its committee and briefly as honorary secretary. From 1978 to 1990 he tutored at Wesley College, Bristol, and taught church history in the department of theology at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

. He interrupted his teaching to study for the Oxford Diploma in Theology (awarded 1987) at Ripon College Cuddesdon. In 1987 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

and from 1987 to 1988 he served as a non-stipendiary minister at All Saints' Clifton with St John's in the Diocese of Bristol. However, in response to a motion put before the

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church ...

in 1987 by Tony Higton regarding the sexuality of clergy, he declined ordination to the priesthood and ceased to minister at Clifton. Regarding the conflict between his homosexuality and the Church of England and his own retreat from orthodoxy he said:

I was ordained Deacon. But, being a gay man, it was just impossible to proceed further, within the conditions of the Anglican set-up, because I was determined that I would make no bones about who I was; I was brought up to be truthful, and truth has always mattered to me. The Church couldn't cope and so we parted company. It was a miserable experience.

MacCulloch was awarded a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

(DD) degree by the

in 2001. In 1996 his book ''Thomas Cranmer: A Life'' won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. His 2003 book '' Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490–1700'' won the 2004 National Book Critics Circle Award, the 2004 British Academy Book Prize and the Wolfson History Prize. '' A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years'' was published in September 2009 with a related 6-part television series called '' A History of Christianity'' which first aired on BBC4 in 2009 and then on BBC2 and BBC4 in 2010. The book won

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

's Cundill Prize in History, a $75,000 prize, the largest such prize in Canada at the time. In 2011, he delivered the Gifford Lectures on ''Silence in Christian History: the witness of Holmes' Dog'' at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. In 2012, he wrote and presented '' How God Made the English'', a three-part documentary series tracing the history of English identity from the Dark Ages to the present day. In 2013 he presented a documentary on

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

and his place in English ecclesiastical and political history. His 2015 series '' Sex and the Church'' on BBC Two explored how Christianity has shaped western attitudes to sex, gender and sexuality throughout history. In 2018, MacCulloch published the biography ''Thomas Cromwell: A Life''. MacCulloch sits on the European Advisory Board of

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

. In 2019, MacCulloch retired as Professor of the History of the Church and was made

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

. In addition to his position at St Cross College, he has been a senior research fellow in church history and archivist at Campion Hall, Oxford since 2020.

Honours

MacCulloch was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) in 1978, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS) in 1982, and a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

(FBA) in 2001. In 2003, he was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(DLitt) degree by the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

. He was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to scholarship. While '' Debrett's'' gives his formal style as "Prof Sir", MacCulloch has expressed the preference that he not be addressed in that manner, in accordance with protocol which dictates that clergy holding knighthoods are addressed as "Sir" only if so honoured before their ordination. *1996 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for ''Thomas Cranmer: A Life'' *2004 National Book Critics Circle Award for ''Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490–1700'' *2004 British Academy Book Prize for ''Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490–1700'' *2004 Wolfson History Prize for ''Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490–1700'' *2010 Hessell-Tiltman Prize for ''A History of Christianity'' *2010 Cundill Prize in History for ''A History of Christianity'' In 2021, he was awarded a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' titled "Contesting Orthodoxies in the History of Christianity: Essays in Honour of Diarmaid MacCulloch".

Selected works

Filmography

* '' A History of Christianity (TV series)'' (2009) * '' How God Made the English'' (2012) * ''Henry VIII's Enforcer: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell'' (2013) * '' Sex and the Church'' (2015)

Books

* ''Suffolk and the Tudors: Politics and Religion in an English County 1500–1600'' (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1986) * ''Groundwork of Christian History'' (London, Epworth Press, 1987) * ''The Later Reformation in England'' (1990) * ''Henry VIII: Politics, Policy, and Piety'' (1995) * ''Thomas Cranmer: A Life'' (1996) * ''Tudor Church Militant: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation'' (1999) ** republished as ''The Boy King: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation'' (2001) * '' Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490–1700'' (2003) ** republished as ''The Reformation: A History'' (2005) * * ''Silence: A Christian History'' (London, Allen Lane, 2013) * ''All Things Made New: The Reformation and its Legacy'' (London, Allen Lane, 2016) * ''Thomas Cromwell: A Life'' (London, Allen Lane, 2018) * '' Lower than the Angels: A History of Sex and Christianity'' (2024)

References

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

* * *

Interviews

With Melvyn Bragg in '' In Our Time'' radio episodes

Radio host Melvyn Bragg discusses various historical topics on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

with several guests including MacCulloch. * On the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, 27 November 2003. 45 m. * On the Diet of Worms, 12 October 2006. 45 m. * On the Dissolution of the Monasteries, 27 March 2008. 45 m. * On the Siege of Münster, 5 November 2009. 45 m. * On

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

, 25 February 2010. 45 m. * On '' Foxe's Book of Martyrs'', 18 November 2010. 45 m. * On

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

, 9 February 2012. 42 m. * On the ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

'', 17 October 2013. 42 m. * On the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of t ...

, 12 November 2015. 43 m. * On the Siege of Malta, 11 January 2018. 50 m. * On William Cecil, 7 March 2019. 51 m.

With Henk de Berg

Three-part video interview conducted by Henk de Berg (2018): * Video duration: 7m 59 s. Uploader: SLC Tech chool of Languages and Cultures, University of Sheffield 2018. Part I on the existence of God. * Video duration: 8m 59s. Uploader: SLC Tech, 2018. Part II on gay marriage and women priests. * Video duration: 8m 27s. Uploader: SLC Tech, 2018. Part III on faith, violence and terrorism. {{DEFAULTSORT:Macculloch, Diarmaid 1951 births 20th-century Anglican deacons 20th-century English historians 20th-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English historians 21st-century English LGBTQ people Academics of the University of Bristol Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Alumni of the University of Liverpool Anglican clergy in the United Kingdom Anglican scholars British LGBTQ historians English Anglicans English gay writers Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of St Cross College, Oxford Historians of Christianity Historians of Protestantism James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients Knights Bachelor LGBTQ and Anglicanism LGBTQ Anglican clergy Living people Academics from Kent Reformation historians National Book Critics Circle Award winners Wolfson History Prize winners 20th-century Anglican theologians 21st-century Anglican theologians