Walter Robert Matthews (22 September 1881 – 4 December 1973) was an

Anglican 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 ...

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 ...

, theologian, and philosopher.

Early life and education

Born on 22 September 1881 in

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, to parents Philip Walter Matthews, a banker, and Sophia Alice Self, he was educated at

Wilson's School Wilson's School is a state boys' grammar school with academy status in the London Borough of Sutton, England. It was founded as Wilson's Grammar School in Camberwell in 1615 by Edward Wilson, making it one of the country's oldest state schoo ...

and trained for the priesthood at

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 ...

Ordained ministry

He was ordained deacon in 1907 and priest in 1908 and was 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 ...

St Mary Abbots St Mary Abbots is a Church (building), church located on Kensington High Street and the corner of Kensington Church Street in London W8. The present church structure was built in 1872 to the designs of Sir George Gilbert Scott, who combined ne ...

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

and St Peter's Regent Square. After that he was a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

in and then a

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 ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at King's College London. From 1918 he was also Dean of the college. In 1931 he became an

Honorary Chaplain to the King An Honorary Chaplain to the King is a member of the clergy within the United Kingdom who, through long and distinguished service, is appointed to minister to the monarch of the United Kingdom. When the reigning monarch is female, Honorary Chaplain ...

and

Dean of Exeter The Dean of Exeter is the head of the Chapter of Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, England. The chapter was established by William Briwere, Bishop of Exeter (1224–44) who set up the offices of dean and chancellor of Exeter Cathedr ...

. Then in 1934 he became

Dean of St Paul's The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also '' ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of th ...

, a post he held for 33 years. At the time of his appointment, he was president-elect of the Modern Churchmen's Union. He was described by his predecessor,

William Ralph Inge William Ralph Inge (; 6 June 1860 – 26 February 1954) was an English author, Anglican priest, professor of divinity at Cambridge, and dean of St Paul's Cathedral. Although as an author he used W. R. Inge, and he was personally known ...

, as something of an "Orthodox Modernist". On 2 June 1940 the term "miracle of Dunkirk" was used for the first time by Matthews in a speech. He was praising the rescue of thousands of British soldiers and their allies from being encircled by the German Army in France. He died on 4 December 1973.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar 1974, p. 5926

Published works

Matthews was an author. Among his works: *
Three Sermons on Human Nature and a Dissertation upon the Nature of Virtue
'. Editor. By

Joseph Butler Joseph Butler (18 May 1692 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 16 June 1752 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English Anglican bishop, Christian theology, theologian, apologist, and philosopher, born in Wantage in the English count ...

. London: G. Bell and Sons. 1914. *
King's College Lectures on Immortality
'. Editor. By J. F. Bethune-Baker; A. Caldecott;

Hastings Rashdall Hastings Rashdall (24 June 1858 – 9 February 1924) was an English philosopher, Theology, theologian, historian, and Anglican priest. He expounded a theory known as Utilitarianism#Ideal utilitarianism, ideal utilitarianism, and he was a maj ...

; Wm. Brown; H. Maurice Relton. London: University of London Press. 1920. * * * ''God in Christian Thought and Experience''. 1930. * * * * ''The Problem of Christ in the Twentieth Century''. 1950. * * *

References

Citations

Works cited

* * * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Walter Robert 1881 births 1973 deaths 20th-century English Anglican priests Academics of King's College London Alumni of the Theological Department of King's College London Anglican philosophers Deans of Exeter Deans of King's College London Deans of St Paul's English Anglican theologians Fellows of King's College London Honorary chaplains to the King Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour People educated at Wilson's School, Wallington