Eric Arthur James (14 April 1925 – 1 May 2012) was an Anglican priest,

Chaplain Extraordinary A chaplain in extraordinary was a chaplain appointed to the Household of the British crown. The term was most used under the Stuarts after the Restoration, in the 17th century, but lasted with decreasing importance into the 18th and 19th centurie ...

to HM the Queen, and for many years a regular participant in the "

Thought for the Day ''Thought for the Day'' is a daily scripted slot on the ''Today'' programme on BBC Radio 4 offering "reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news", broadcast at around 7:45 each Monday to Saturday morning. Lasting 2 minu ...

" feature of

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 ...

's ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' programme.Obituary: Canon Eric James
''Daily Telegraph'', 2 May 2012 He was associated with

St Albans Cathedral St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, also known as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Normans, Norman times. It ceased to be an abb ...

for some years.

Early life

James was born in Essex. He left Dagenham County High School in

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, at fourteen, when the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out, and worked for seven years at a riverside wharf on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

where the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

now stands. After the war, he was accepted as a student by

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, where he studied theology, gaining

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 ...

and

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

degrees.

Career

After he was ordained he became Assistant Curate of St Stephen with St John, Westminster, from 1951 to 1955. He was Chaplain of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

from 1955 to 1959, and thereby became associated with some of the best known clerics of his generation:

Mervyn Stockwood Arthur Mervyn Stockwood (27 May 1913 – 13 January 1995) was a Church of England bishop who served as vicar of St Matthew's Church, Moorfields, then of Great St Mary's, Cambridge, and finally as Bishop of Southwark, retiring in 1980. Early li ...

, John Robinson (author of the bestseller ''

Honest to God ''Honest to God'' is a book written by the Anglican Bishop of Woolwich John A.T. Robinson, criticising traditional Christian theology. It aroused a storm of controversy on its original publication by SCM Press in 1963. Robinson's own evaluation ...

''),

Robert Runcie Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, (2 October 1921 – 11 July 2000) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991, having previously been Bishop of St Albans. He travelled the world widely ...

, and

Trevor Huddleston Ernest Urban Trevor Huddleston (15 June 191320 April 1998) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Stepney in London before becoming the second Archbishop of the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean. He was best known for ...

. He was Select Preacher from 1959–60 to the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. From 1959 to 1964 he was Vicar of St George, Camberwell, and Warden of Trinity College Mission. From 1964 to 1969 he was Director o
Parish and People
From 1964 to 1972 he was also

Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: # In law, a proctor is a historica ...

in Convocation. James was made Chaplain to the Queen in 1984 and was Preacher to

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

from 1978 to 1997, as well as Director of Christian Action from 1979 to 1990 and one of the people who inspired the 1985 ''

Faith in the City ''Faith in the City: A Call for Action by Church and Nation'' was a report published in the United Kingdom in autumn 1985, authored by the Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie's Commission on Urban Priority Areas. The report created a large amo ...

'' report. He was Select Preacher from 1991 to 1992 to 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 ...

, and was awarded the

Lambeth degree A Lambeth degree is an academic degree conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury under the authority of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 as successor of the papal legate in England. The degrees conferred most commonly are DD (Doctor of Div ...

of DD in 1993. He was also the biographer of John Robinson, Bishop of Woolwich.

Personal life

He lived in the

London Charterhouse The London Charterhouse is a historic complex of buildings in Clerkenwell, London, dating to the 14th century. It occupies land to the north of Charterhouse Square, and lies within the London Borough of Islington. It was originally built (and ...

. He died on 1 May 2012.

References

External links

Eric James's biography on UPSO
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Eric 1925 births 2012 deaths British chaplains Alumni of King's College London Associates of King's College London Fellows of King's College London 20th-century English Anglican priests English radio personalities English biographers Clergy from Essex