John Richard Humpidge Moorman, (4 June 1905 – 13 January 1989) was an English divine, ecumenist and writer who was

Bishop of Ripon The Bishop of Ripon is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. The bishop is one of the area bishops of the Diocese of Leeds in the Province of York. The area bishop of Ripon has oversight o ...

from 1959 to 1975.

Early life and education

Born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, the son of Frederic William Moorman (1872–1918),

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of English Language at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, and his wife Frances Beatrice Humpidge (1867–1956), Moorman was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

, Holt and

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

. He later gained the degree of

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. ...

(BD) in 1940 with his work ''The Sources for the Life of Saint Francis of Assisi''.

Ecclesiastical career

In 1929 Moorman was ordained and became a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () 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 who are as ...

, first in

Holbeck Holbeck is an inner city area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It begins on the southern edge of Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 postcode district. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is t ...

and later in

Leighton Buzzard Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/ Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is nor ...

. In 1935 he was appointed Rector of

Fallowfield Fallowfield is a bustling area of Manchester with a population of 14,869 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east&n ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. During 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 ...

Moorman resigned his living and worked as a farmhand in

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated at source in North Yorkshire and then flows into West Yorkshire and forms the upper valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale (downstream, from west to east) includ ...

. During this period completed his thesis ''Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century'' for the degree of

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) awarded by 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 ...

in 1945. In 1945 he went to

Lanercost Priory Lanercost Priory was founded by Robert de Vaux, Sheriff of Cumberland, Robert de Vaux between 1165 and 1174, the most likely date being 1169, to house Augustinians, Augustinian Canon (priest), canons. The priory is situated in the village of Lan ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

and in 1946 re-opened

Chichester Theological College Chichester Theological College (1838–1994) was an Anglican theological college for the Diocese of Chichester in West Sussex, Sussex, England. Its churchmanship was high church and Anglo-Catholic. History Chichester Theological College was ...

. While there, he also served as Chancellor of

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of th ...

. In 1956 he resigned to concentrate on his Franciscan writings. In 1959 he was appointed

where he remained until his retirement in 1975. He was a frequent visitor to the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

and led a delegation of Anglican observers to the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. In 1967 he became the chairman of the Anglican commission which led to the ''Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission''. He remained a member until 1981.

Marriage

In 1930, Moorman married Mary Caroline Trevelyan (1905–1994), daughter of the historian

G. M. Trevelyan George Macaulay Trevelyan (16 February 1876 – 21 July 1962) was an English historian and academic. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1898 to 1903. He then spent more than twenty years as a full-time author. He returned to th ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

FRS FBA.

Death

Moorman died in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

on 13 January 1989, aged 83.

Publications

*''Sources for the Life of St Francis of Assisi'' (1940) * ''Church Life In England In the Thirteenth Century'' (Cambridge University Press, 1945) *''A New Fioretti'' (1946) *'' B. K. Cunningham, a Memoir'' (1947) *''St Francis of Assisi'' (1950, second edition 1976) *''The Grey Friars in Cambridge'' (Birkbeck Lectures, 1952) * ''A History of the Church in England'' (Adam & Charles Black, 1953, 3rd revised edition 1973) *''The Curate of Souls'' (1958) *''The Path to Glory'' (1960) *''Vatican Observed'' (1967) *''A History of the Franciscan Order'' (1968) *''The Franciscans in England'' (1974) *''Richest of Poor Men'' (1977) *''The Anglican Spiritual Tradition'' (1983) *''Medieval Franciscan Houses'' (1983)

References

John Moorman at the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
*Obituary in

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, 18 January 1989 *''John Moorman, Anglican, Franciscan, Independent'' by Michael Manktelow (Canterbury Press, 1999) - * 1905 births 1989 deaths Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge People educated at Gresham's School Bishops of Ripon (modern diocese) Principals of Chichester Theological College 20th-century Church of England bishops {{churchofEngland-bishop-stub