Arthur Michael Ramsey Baron Ramsey of Canterbury

Arthur Michael Ramsey Ramsey of Canterbury, Baron 1904-88, archbishop of Canterbury (1961-74), b. Cambridge, England. He was educated at Repton School; Magdalene College, Cambridge; and Cuddesdon Theological College. After his ordination in 1928 he held various teaching posts. In 1940 he was appointed canon of Durham Cathedral and professor of divinity at the Univ. of Durham, and in 1950 he became regius professor of divinity at Cambridge. In 1952 he was consecrated bishop of Durham and from 1956 to 1961 was archbishop of York. In June, 1961, he succeeded Geoffrey Francis Fisher as archbishop of Canterbury. Although a member of the High-Church group, Ramsey pressed for increased autonomy for the Church of England and was active in the ecumenical movement. He retired as archbishop in 1974 and was succeeded by Donald Coggan; he was subsequently created a life peer. A noted scholar, his works include The Gospel and the Catholic Church (1931), The Resurrection of Christ (1945), F. D. Maurice and the Conflict of Modern Theology (1951), and From Gore to Temple (1960).

Bibliography: See biography by J. B. Simpson (1962).

Ramsey, Arthur Michael (1904–88), Abp. of Canterbury 1961–74. He held professorial chairs at Durham and Cambridge before he became Bp. of Durham in 1952. He was translated to York in 1956. While at Canterbury, he travelled widely to visit provinces of the Anglican Communion and to promote relations with the Orthodox and the RC Churches. At home he presided over the introduction of synodical government in the C of E, gaining for the Church substantial control over its liturgy in the Worship and Doctrine Measure 1974. As a theologian he was a representative of the Biblical Theology movement, but he is chiefly remembered for his writings on spirituality. He taught that contemplative prayer was something to which all Christians could aspire.

Ramsey, Michael (1904–88). Archbishop of Canterbury. Ramsey was born in Cambridge, the son of a congregationalist minister, and was educated at Repton, where the headmaster was Geoffrey Fisher, the man he ultimately succeeded as archbishop. In 1928 he was ordained as a curate in Liverpool, but returned to academic life (1930) when he joined the staff of Bishop's Hostel, Lincoln, training men for the ordained ministry. At the age of 35 he became divinity professor at Durham, and after the war returned to Cambridge as regius professor of divinity. In 1952 he was consecrated as bishop of Durham, becoming archbishop of York in 1956 and finally of Canterbury in 1961. Ramsey was an enthusiastic ecumenist, whose personal relationship with Pope Paul VI was close.