Peter Toon
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Peter Toon (1939 – 25 April 2009) was a priest and theologian and an international advocate of traditional
Anglicanism 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 ...
.


Early life and education

Toon was born to Thomas Arthur and Hilda Toon in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
, England, in 1939. His younger siblings were Paul, David and Christine. He attended and graduated from the following schools and colleges: *
Hemsworth Grammar School Outwood Academy Hemsworth, known previously as Hemsworth Arts and Community Academy and Hemsworth Arts and Community College, is a Mixed-sex education, co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Hemsworth in the City of Wakefield ...
, near
Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...
, Yorkshire *
Cliff College Cliff College is a Christian theological college in Calver, Derbyshire, that teaches Biblical Theology at the undergraduate level and a number of mission courses to postgraduates. There are currently about 30 full-time undergraduates, 80 part-tim ...
, near Sheffield *
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 ...
(
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. ...
with upper second-class honours) *
University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...
* Christ Church,
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
(
DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
)


Career

After an earlier career as a college lecturer in religious studies, Toon was ordained
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 1973 and priest in 1974 in the
Diocese of Liverpool The diocese of Liverpool is a diocese of the Church of England in North West England. The diocese covers Merseyside north of the River Mersey, south-west Lancashire, western Greater Manchester, and part of northern Cheshire. Liverpool Cathedral ...
(
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 served a short title curacy in Skelmersdale (just over a year, compared with the usual requirement of three years), before taking a post in Oxford as Librarian of Latimer House, the headquarters and library of a conservative evangelical pressure group (subsequently the Latimer Trust, without property, but maintaining its library at Oak Hill Theological College, London) during which time he also served as curate of St Ebbe's, a central Oxford evangelical parish church. In 1976 he became a tutor at Oak Hill Theological College in London, training ordinands, and then from 1982 Director of Post-Ordination Training in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in
East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
. He returned briefly to parish ministry (
Staindrop Staindrop is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated approximately north east of Barnard Castle, on the A688 road. According to the 2011 UK census the population was 1,310, this includes the hamlets of Cleatlam ...
, County Durham) before moving to the United States of America in 1991. In the last decade of his working life, he served as President and CEO of the Prayer Book Society of the USA, and his life and work were centred in America, although he did return briefly to England, and was for four years the priest-in-charge of the villages of
Biddulph Moor Biddulph Moor is a village located on the hill which bears the same name. It is in Biddulph parish and is a part of the Staffordshire Moorlands district in England. It is very similar to Mow Cop which is located on the other side of the valley ...
and Brown Edge in Staffordshire. Toon wrote over 25 books, together with numerous booklets, essays and articles. He also engaged in internet authorship and discussion, contributing to these topical online discussions until his death.


Style and beliefs

Toon's work repeatedly stressed the importance of the " Historic Formularies" of the Anglican tradition, defined in the Preface to the Declaration of Assent as "the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, 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 ...
'', and the Ordering of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons". His work was marked by clarity of presentation and strength of persuasion, attracting praise from supporters and critical attention from antagonists. He often wrote and spoke about the controversies in the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...
concerning issues of liturgical reform, the ordination of women, and the reception of homosexuals in the Church, all of which he took a strong conservative line. With the widespread adoption of the new liturgies in the Church of England (''
Alternative Service Book The ''Alternative Service Book 1980'' (''ASB'') was the first complete prayer book produced by the Church of England since 1662. Its name derives from the fact that it was proposed not as a replacement for the 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'' ( ...
'' 1980, and then ''
Common Worship ''Common Worship'' is the name given to the series of services authorised by the General Synod of the Church of England and launched on the first Sunday of Advent in 2000. It represents the most recent stage of development of the Liturgical M ...
'' 2000) and similar liturgical resources in other provinces (notably the 1979 ''Book of Common Prayer'' of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America), Toon became a notable spokesman and theological advocate for the strong minority lobby favouring traditionalist views, and the retention of the seventeenth-century liturgies of the (original) ''Book of Common Prayer''.Episcopal Innovations 1960–2004 by Dr. Peter Toon
.


Personal life

He was married to Vita for forty-seven years. Vita graduated from London and Oxford universities. They had one daughter, Deborah, who is married to a naval officer and lives in California. Deborah graduated from
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
in Nashville, and the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
at Austin. Toon died on 25 April 2009, in San Diego, California. The cause of death was
amyloidosis Amyloidosis is a group of diseases in which abnormal proteins, known as amyloid fibrils, build up in tissue. There are several non-specific and vague signs and symptoms associated with amyloidosis. These include fatigue, peripheral edema, weigh ...
, a rare auto-immune disease, which he had been battling for some months. There was a private family funeral in California followed by a public memorial service organised by the Prayer Book Society of the USA at All Saints' Church, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania on 24 July 2009.


Bibliography

*''The Oxford Orations of Dr. John Owen''. Ed. Peter Toon. Trans. rom the Latinsupervised by John Glucker. Callington (Cornwall): Gospel Communication. 1971. . *''Evangelical Theology 1833–1856: a response to Tractarianism'' London: Marshall, Morgan and Scott 1979 *''God's Statesman: the Life and Work of John Owen'' Exeter: Paternoster Press 1971 *Peter Toon and Michael Smout ''J C Ryle – Evangelical Bishop'' Cambridge: James Clark 1976 *''Puritans and Calvinism'' Swengel, Pennsylvania: Reiner Publications 1973
''The Emergence of Hyper-calvinism in English Nonconformity 1689–1765''. London: The Olive Tree 1967
*''Correspondence of John Owen'' Ed. Peter Toon Cambridge: James Clark 1970 *Peter Toon (ed) ''Puritans, the Millennium and the Future of Israel'' Cambridge: James Clark 1970 *''God's Church for Today'' (Christian Faith for Today Series) Westchester, Ill.: Crossway Books 1979 Reprint. Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock 2018 *''Justification and Sanctification'' London: Marshall, Morgan and Scott 1983; Westchester, Ill.: Crossway Books 1983. Reprint. Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock 2018. *Peter Toon ''The Anglican Way: Evangelical and Catholic''. Wilton, Conn.: Morehouse-Barlow 1983. *Peter Toon ''The End of Liberal Theology: Contemporary Challenges to Evangelical Orthodoxy''. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books 1995. *Peter Toon ''Our Triune God: A Biblical Portrayal of the Trinity''. Wheaton, Ill.: BridgePoint/Victor Books 1996. Reprint. Vancouver, B.C.: Regent College Publishing 2002. *''Heaven and Hell: A Biblical and Theological Overview''. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1986.


References


External links


Archived Writings of Peter Toon
New Scriptorium.com * Bibliography o
Published Academic Writings of Peter Toon, 1964–2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toon, Peter 1939 births 2009 deaths 20th-century English Anglican priests English Anglican theologians Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the University of Liverpool Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 20th-century American Episcopal priests 20th-century Anglican theologians 21st-century Anglican theologians