Hugh Montefiore

Memorial to Hugh William Montefiore in St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham

Hugh William Montefiore (born Hugh William Sebag-Montefiore; London, 12 May 1920 – 13 May 2005) was Bishop of Kingston from 1970 to 1978 and Bishop of Birmingham from 1977 to 1987.

Early life and family

He was a member of a famous Jewish family. His parents were Charles Sebag-Montefiore[1] (great-great-nephew of Sir Moses Montefiore) and wife Muriel Alice Ruth de Pass.[2]

On 1 December 1945 he married Elisabeth Mary MacDonald Paton (13 October 1919 - 14 November 1999), sister of Sir William D. M. Paton, and daughter of the Rev. William Paton and his wife Grace Mackenzie. The couple had three daughters: Teresa Ruth Montefiore (27 January 1947), Janet Elizabeth ("Jan") Montefiore (14 November 1948), wife of Patrick Cockburn, and Catherine Grace Montefiore (4 May 1952).[2]

Career

He was educated at Rugby School, where he underwent a sudden conversion to Anglican Christianity. He then served in World War II and gained the rank of Captain in the service of the Royal Artillery, in the Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry. Afterwards he graduated from St John's College, Oxford, with a Master of Arts (MA) in 1947, legally changing his name by Deed Poll on 7 January of that year, and from Westcott House, Cambridge.[2]

He was ordained as a Deacon in 1949 and became the Dean of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he was a University Lecturer in Divinity. He graduated also from St John's College, Oxford University, in 1963 with a Bachelor of Divinity (BD).[2]

He was Vicar of the Great St Mary's, Cambridge, from 1963 to 1970, Bishop of Kingston-upon-Thames from 1970 to 1978 — he was consecrated at Southwark Cathedral on Michaelmas day (29 September) 1970[3] — and Bishop of Birmingham from 1977 to 1987.

Montefiore was the author of more than 20 books, including The Probability of God (1985), Christianity and Politics (1990), Credible Christianity (1993), On Being a Jewish Christian (1998) and The Paranormal: A Bishop Investigates (2002).

He was a Friends of the Earth trustee for two decades, but was forced to resign in 2004 after expressing support for nuclear power as a means to achieve climate change mitigation.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Lieutenant Charles Edward Sebag-Montefiore "Royal Horse Artillery Lt Sebag-Montefiore (1884 - 1960) received his commission in April 1918." from the collections of the Imperial War Museum.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 507.
  3. ↑ "3 consecrations at Michaelmas (Archived; subscription only)". Church Times (#5616). 2 October 1970. p. 5. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 14 April 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  4. ↑ Hugh Montefiore (22 October 2004). "We need nuclear power to save the planet from looming catastrophe". The Independent. Retrieved 5 June 2012. Note: an expanded version of the same essay was printed the next day in The Tablet under the title "Why the planet needs nuclear energy".

External links

Church of England titles
Preceded by
William Gilpin		 Bishop of Kingston
1970–1978 		Succeeded by
Keith Sutton
Preceded by
Laurence Brown		 Bishop of Birmingham
1977–1987 		Succeeded by
Mark Santer