John Dudley Irvine (born 2 January 1949) is a British

Anglican 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 ...

Early life, career and ministry

Irvine is the son of former Labour MP and

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

Sir Arthur Irvine, QC and the brother of Michael Irvine, a former Conservative Party MP for

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

. He was educated at Haileybury and studied law at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

, later studying theology at

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Wycliffe Hall () is a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford affiliated with the Church of England, specialising in philosophy, theology, and religion. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was mas ...

. He was a barrister in London before his ordination to the priesthood. He served a curacy at

Holy Trinity Brompton Holy Trinity Brompton with St Paul's Onslow Square and St Augustine's South Kensington, often referred to simply as HTB, is an Anglican church in London, England. The church consists of six sites: HTB Brompton Road, HTB Onslow Square (''formerly ...

and was one of the founders of the Alpha course. Having taken charge of the Alpha course, he played a major part in transforming it from its original four-week form to its current 10-week form. In 1985 Irvine led the first "church plant" from HTB to St Barnabas Kensington. Irvine was appointed Dean of Coventry in March 2001. He retired on 29 July 2012. He was then associate vicar at

Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge Holy Trinity Church is a church in Market Street, in the city of Cambridge, in Cambridgeshire, England, on the corner with Sidney Street. Its current vicar is Stuart Browning. Theologically, it stands within the charismatic evangelical traditi ...

from September 2012 until 2016, and remains Dean Emeritus of Coventry.

Styles

* ''

The Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

'' John Irvine (1981–2001) * ''The

Very Reverend The Very Reverend (abbreviated as The Very Revd or The Very Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. The definite article "t ...

'' John Irvine (2001–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irvine, John Living people 1949 births Church of England deans Provosts and Deans of Coventry Holy Trinity Brompton people People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Alumni of the University of Sussex Alumni of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford