Martyn Percy

The Very Revd Professor Martyn Percy
Dean of Christ Church
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Diocese of Oxford
Appointed	4 October 2014
Predecessor	Christopher Lewis
Other post(s)	Principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon (2004–2014)
Orders
Ordination	1990 (deacon) 1991 (priest)
Personal details
Born	Martyn William Percy (1962-07-31) 31 July 1962

Martyn William Percy (born 31 July 1962) is a Church of England priest and academic. He has been the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, since 4 October 2014. He was previously Principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford. Percy is also Professor of Theological Education at King's College London and Professorial Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Hartford Seminary, Connecticut. He is an emeritus canon of Salisbury Cathedral, having previously served as an honorary canon. He has also been an honorary canon, serving later as Canon Theologian, at Sheffield Cathedral.

Early life and education

Percy was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, the University of Bristol (BA), the University of Durham (Cert. Counselling), King's College London (PhD, 1993) and the University of Sheffield (MEd). After a short career in publishing (1984–88), he trained for ordination at Durham. He served as curate at St Andrew’s, Bedford (1990–94), and was then appointed Chaplain and Director of Studies, Christ’s College, Cambridge. In 1997 he was appointed as the Founding Director of the Lincoln Theological Institute - a research and consultancy body specialising in faith and society (initially based at Sheffield University, but is now a research centre within Manchester University). He left in 2004 to become Principal at Cuddesdon.

Cuddesdon

Ripon College Cuddesdon is arguably the best-known Church of England theological college. Ripon College Cuddesdon was formed from an amalgamation in 1975 of Cuddesdon College and Ripon Hall. Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford, had founded Cuddesdon College in 1853 as the Oxford Diocesan Seminary to train graduates from Oxford and Cambridge. Ripon Hall was founded in Ripon (Yorkshire) in 1897, originally as a hostel for theological students and known as Bishop's College. The college is a substantial and attractive campus nestled in the village of Cuddesdon, a few miles outside Oxford. The college recruits from traditions across the Church of England and is broad in its character and ethos. Students take a two or three-year course of study incorporating academic and pastoral training. Students training for ordination can study at Oxford University. The name of the college, which has been incorporated by royal charter, deliberately contains no comma.

Cuddesdon developed significantly from 2004 during Percy's tenure as principal. The college incorporated the Oxford Ministry Course (OMC) in 2006 and the West of England Ministerial Training Course (WEMTC) in 2011, making it the largest provider of Anglican ordination training in the UK. The college partners the Diocese of Oxford in the delivery of Ordained Local Ministry training. In 2011 the college began a partnership with the Church Missionary Society to deliver training for Ordained Pioneer Ministers – the first partnership of this kind that pairs a theological college with a missionary society. In 2005, the Oxford Centre for Ecclesiology and Practical Theology (OxCEPT) was founded, which provides research and consultancy services to the wider church.

Ripon College Cuddesdon became internationally more active during Percy's period as principal. It works closely with the Anglican Church in Hong Kong and continues to have links with Anglican colleges in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The college developed a programme of Christian-Muslim dialogue and related work, including a Visiting Fellowship for Islamic Scholars established at Cuddesdon in partnership with the Dubai-based Al Maktoum Institute.

In 2010 the college launched a £10 million appeal to build a new education centre and chapel, as well as to raise funds for endowing bursaries, fellowships, studentships and research. The new Bishop Edward King Chapel and education centre (Harriet Monsell House) were completed and opened in 2013. The chapel - by architect Niall McLaughlin - has won many national and international awards for its design and building. Harriet Monsell House also included an enclosure for a community of five Anglican sisters who had moved from their base at Begbroke Priory. The sisters work alongside staff and students, supporting in prayer and spirituality, whilst continuing to develop their own ministries of spiritual direction.

Dean of Christ Church

It was announced on 7 May 2014 that Percy would become the 45th Dean of Christ Church – making him (currently) the youngest Head of House in Oxford (excluding heads of Permanent Private Halls and graduate colleges). He was the first Dean to be democratically elected by the Governing Body, and was inducted into the deanship on 4 October 2014. Christ Church, formally titled "The Dean, Chapter and Students of the Cathedral Church of Christ in Oxford of the Foundation of King Henry the Eighth", is the only academic institution in the world which is also a cathedral - being the seat (cathedra) of the Bishop of Oxford. The Visitor of Christ Church is the reigning British sovereign. The Bishop of Oxford is unique among English bishops in not being the visitor of his or her own cathedral. The head of the college is the Dean of Christ Church, who is a cleric appointed by the crown as dean of the cathedral church. There is a senior and a junior censor (formally titled the Censor Moralis Philosophiae and the Censor Naturalis Philosophiae) - the former of whom is responsible for academic matters, the latter for undergraduate discipline. There is a Censor Theologiae who is appointed to act as the dean's deputy for college-related matters, and a sub-dean for cathedral-related affairs.

Christ Church, Oxford was founded in 1525 and refounded in 1546. It is one of Oxford’s largest colleges. The Dean presides over the both college and cathedral, with its notable Cathedral School Choir. The resident Regius Professors of Theology also serve as canons to the cathedral. Christ Church (Latin: Ædes Christi - literally meaning "the House of Christ" and thus sometimes known as "The House"), is a constituent college of the University of Oxford and the cathedral church of the Diocese of Oxford. The Diocese of Oxford is one of the largest in the Church of England, comprising the counties of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. It has a population of over 2 million, with more than 800 churches spread across 600 parishes. In common with other cathedral deans, the Dean of Christ Church is the senior priest of the diocese.

At Christ Church, the dean is primus inter pares ("First among equals") in the overall governance of "The House", with oversight of around 450 full-time undergraduates and 250 postgraduates. Christ Church has more than 60 fellows (known as "students"),as well as other academics (e.g., junior research fellows), as well as the cathedral canons, chaplains, other clergy and around 450 other staff – a mixture of part-time, full-time and volunteers, who serve the college, cathedral and school. Christ Church currently attracts a substantial number of visitors and tourists each year (around half a million). In 2015 a new Visitor and Education Centre was announced, which is to be located between the meadow and the college, in order to help improve the education, facilities and service for visitors.

In the Christ Church Picture Gallery, The House also possesses a notable collection of art. The Christ Church Library contains highly valuable manuscripts and books. Christ Church has an extensive property portfolio, substantial endowment and major land-holdings. Through its charitable work, it supports a range of activities in the arts, public life and social welfare, including Ovalhouse (youth drama in the London Borough of Lambeth), IntoUniversity (an innovative project that helps young local children from deprived backgrounds into higher education) and the Tower Poetry Prize (encouraging young people to write publishable poetry). Through its parochial livings (just under 100 parishes or benefices), Christ Church also supports a substantial number of clergy across the Church of England. The Cathedral Church sits within one of the smallest and most deprived urban areas in the diocese, with some ministry addressing local needs though a variety of initiatives. The dean works closely with a range of boards and bodies (both national and international) to promote the interests and ethos of The House. The dean shares in the collegial guardianship of Christ Church – promoting the ethos and character of a unique educational and spiritual foundation.

Other roles

Percy has also undertaken a number of roles in public life, specialising in media and consumer affairs. He has served as a director and council member of the Advertising Standards Authority (1999–2006) and senior director from 2005-8. He was previously an advisor on the "Faith Zone" for the New Millennium Experience Company and the Millennium Dome in London (1999). From 2006-2008 he was a member of the Theology and Religious Studies Panel for the HEFCE Research Assessment Exercise. He has also served as a member of the Independent Complaints Panel for the Portman Group, the self-regulating body for the alcoholic drinks industry. He was a commissioner for the Direct Marketing Authority (2008-14) and currently serves as an advisor to the British Board of Film Classification. He was the elected chair of Cuddesdon and Denton Parish Council (2008-15). He is currently Patron of St Francis' Children's Society (an Adoption and Fostering Agency with a Roman Catholic foundation), a Governor of Christ Church Cathedral School (of which he is Chair), Westminster School and St. Edward's School (Oxford), a trustee of the Grubb Institute, Gladstone's Library (Harwarden) and the Li Tim-Oi Foundation, and a vice-president of Modern Church.

Writings and research

Percy's publications include Clergy: The Origin of Species (Continuum 2006) and a trilogy focusing on ecclesiology with Ashgate Publishing - Engaging Contemporary Culture: Christianity and the Concrete Church (2005), Shaping the Church: The Promise of Implicit Theology (2010) and The Ecclesial Canopy: Faith, Hope, Charity (2012). His academic writing and research has mostly centred on the study of Christianity in contemporary culture, with interests spanning Anglicanism, theological education, pastoral theology, practical theology and modern ecclesiology (including work on fundamentalism and revivalism). His theology and works in ecclesiology are noted for their engagement with sociology and anthropology. Anglicanism: Confidence, Commitment and Communion (Ashgate, 2013), Thirty-Nine New Articles: An Anglican Landscape of Faith (Canterbury Press, 2013) and The OUP Handbook of Anglican Studies (Oxford University Press, 2015; edited with Mark Chapman and Sathi Clarke) reflect a growing focus in his writings. His continuing interest in Christianity and contemporary culture remains as a focus. Percy's Salt of the Earth: Religious Resilience in a Secular Age (T&T Clark/Sheffield Academic Press, 2002) was recently selected for inclusion in the Bloomsbury Classic Academic reprint series. Percy also publishes devotional writings, with Darkness Yielding (2009, 3rd edition) and The Bright Field (2013) - both from Canterbury Press - being two of his more recent works. He has been a regular contributor to The Guardian, BBC Radio Four and the BBC World Service.

Percy has been a member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford since 2004. He also tutors for the Said Business School and in sociology. In 2002 he co-founded the Society for the Study of Anglicanism with the Revd Tom Hughson SJ (Marquette University), which meets annually at the American Academy of Religion and is now a partnership with Virginia Theological Seminary, with Anglican theologians Rob Slocum and Ian Markham serving as co-chairs.

Personal life

Percy has the distinction of being the only living theologian mentioned and quoted in Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code (chapter 55). Percy was described in the academic journal Theology, by Nigel Rooms, as the British theologian who is closest to being a "missionary anthropologist".

Percy is married to the Revd Dr Emma Percy, who is chaplain and fellow at Trinity College, Oxford. They have two sons, both studying at university. He is a member of the Labour Party, a tee-totaller and a life-long supporter of Everton Football Club. Percy's hobbies include cinema and listening to jazz.