Kirk was born in Sheffield on 21 February 1886 and was the son of Frank Herbert Kirk who, in turn, was the son of John Kirk (died 1875), a Methodist minister. He was educated at Sheffield Royal Grammar School and St John's College, Oxford,[1] obtaining a double first in classics. He was accepted for graduate study at Keble College, but moved to London instead to work with the Student Christian Movement (SCM). The group was beginning a ministry to the large numbers of Indian students that were coming to England to study. During his time in London he also opened a residential hall for students of University College, London known as Ealing Hall, served as an assistant to the Department of Philosophy there and held a number of executive positions with SCM. He began the process to become ordained as an Anglican priest and was ordained a deacon on 21 December 1912 and moved to a church near Sheffield to begin a curacy, intending to go back to Keble College to finish his graduate study. When World War I broke out, however, that proved impossible. Instead, he spent 1915–1919 with the British Army as a chaplain in France and Flanders.
Kirk was able to return to Oxford in 1919, as a Prize Fellow at Magdalen College and tutor at Keble College. He began working on his first book of moral theology, Some Principles of Moral Theology, published in 1920. He adopted the method of casuistry, where general ethical principles are applied to the practical situations in which moral decisions are made. He revived the study of Christian ethics using casuistry, drawing on the work of Caroline divine Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667). In 1922 he was appointed Fellow and Chaplain of Trinity College and awarded a Bachelor of Divinity degree followed by a Doctor of Divinity degree in 1926. In 1927 he was named Reader in Moral Theology and in 1933 was made the Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology. His scholarly reputation rests on the books of moral theology that he wrote during the 1920s and 1930s, especially Conscience and Its Problems and The Vision of God: The Christian Doctrine of the Summum Bonum. In many ways he revived the study of moral theology in the Church of England and is considered one of the leading moral theologians of the 20th century.
Bishop of Oxford
Kirk was consecrated a bishop on St Andrew's Day 1937 (30 November), by Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury, at St Paul's Cathedral;[2] he was enthroned as Bishop of Oxford at Christ Church Cathedral on 9 December 1937. He began his episcopacy by re-organizing the large, rural diocese and moving the episcopal offices to the city of Oxford. Kirk issued a temporary seal as the function of Chancellor of the Garter was dissociated from the See of Oxford in the wake of the Abdication Crisis. In piety as well as scholarship, Kirk followed in the tradition of the Oxford Movement, emphasizing the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church and apostolic succession. As a result, at the time of the independence of the Anglican Church in India from the Church of England, Kirk was a leader of the Anglo-Catholic party at Lambeth in 1948 that warned the Church from compromising its catholicity by adopting intercommunion too quickly, when not all of the clergy of the United Church of South India would have received episcopal ordination. He worked with the Archbishops of Canterbury, William Temple and his successor Geoffrey Fisher, and with George Bell, Bishop of Chichester, however, in devising a compromise solution, and in May, 1950 a resolution was passed in the English Convocation allowing for limited intercommunion. Kirk died on 8 June 1954, before the resolution was passed in July, 1955, formally inaugurating the communion of the two churches.
The title of his last published work, Beauty and Bands, is that of a sermon he gave at the episcopal consecration of Glyn Simon in Brecon Cathedral.
Personal life
In 1921 Kirk married Beatrice Caynton Yonge Radcliffe; they had three daughters and two sons. Their elder son was Sir Peter Michael Kirk (1928–1977), a Conservative politician. Beatrice died in 1934. One of their daughters, Patricia, married Eric Waldram Kemp, Chaplain of Exeter College, Oxford and later Bishop of Chichester, and author of The Life and Letters of Kenneth Escott Kirk, Bishop of Oxford, 1937–1954 (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1959).
Essays on the Trinity and the Incarnation (contributor) (1928)
Marriage and Divorce (1933)
The Fourth River (1935)
The Study of Theology (editor and contributor) (1939)
The Apostolic Ministry (editor and contributor) (1946)
The Church Dedications of the Oxford Diocese (1946)
Beauty and Bands (collection of articles and sermons) (1955)
References
^"Obituary in KES Magazine, SUMMER, 1954". Oldedwardians.org.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
^"Consecration of three bishops". Church Times. No. 3906. 3 December 1937. p. 622. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 17 April 2021 – via UK Press Online archives.
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Kenneth Kirk news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Kenneth Escott Kirk 1886 1954 also known as K E Kirk was an English Anglican bishop He was the Bishop of Oxford in the Church of England from 1937 to 1954 He was also an influential moral theologian serving for five years as Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Oxford The Right ReverendKenneth KirkBishop of OxfordChurchChurch of EnglandDioceseOxfordIn office9 December 1937 8 June 1954PredecessorThomas StrongSuccessorHarry CarpenterOther post s Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology University of Oxford 1933 1938 OrdersOrdination21 December 1912 deacon 1913 priest Consecrationc 1937Personal detailsBornKenneth Escott Kirk 1886 02 21 21 February 1886Sheffield Yorkshire EnglandDied8 June 1954 1954 06 08 aged 68 DenominationAnglicanismAlma materSt John s College Oxford Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Bishop of Oxford 3 Personal life 4 Major works 5 Other works 6 ReferencesEarly life and education EditKirk was born in Sheffield on 21 February 1886 and was the son of Frank Herbert Kirk who in turn was the son of John Kirk died 1875 a Methodist minister He was educated at Sheffield Royal Grammar School and St John s College Oxford 1 obtaining a double first in classics He was accepted for graduate study at Keble College but moved to London instead to work with the Student Christian Movement SCM The group was beginning a ministry to the large numbers of Indian students that were coming to England to study During his time in London he also opened a residential hall for students of University College London known as Ealing Hall served as an assistant to the Department of Philosophy there and held a number of executive positions with SCM He began the process to become ordained as an Anglican priest and was ordained a deacon on 21 December 1912 and moved to a church near Sheffield to begin a curacy intending to go back to Keble College to finish his graduate study When World War I broke out however that proved impossible Instead he spent 1915 1919 with the British Army as a chaplain in France and Flanders Kirk was able to return to Oxford in 1919 as a Prize Fellow at Magdalen College and tutor at Keble College He began working on his first book of moral theology Some Principles of Moral Theology published in 1920 He adopted the method of casuistry where general ethical principles are applied to the practical situations in which moral decisions are made He revived the study of Christian ethics using casuistry drawing on the work of Caroline divine Jeremy Taylor 1613 1667 In 1922 he was appointed Fellow and Chaplain of Trinity College and awarded a Bachelor of Divinity degree followed by a Doctor of Divinity degree in 1926 In 1927 he was named Reader in Moral Theology and in 1933 was made the Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology His scholarly reputation rests on the books of moral theology that he wrote during the 1920s and 1930s especially Conscience and Its Problems and The Vision of God The Christian Doctrine of the Summum Bonum In many ways he revived the study of moral theology in the Church of England and is considered one of the leading moral theologians of the 20th century Bishop of Oxford EditKirk was consecrated a bishop on St Andrew s Day 1937 30 November by Cosmo Lang Archbishop of Canterbury at St Paul s Cathedral 2 he was enthroned as Bishop of Oxford at Christ Church Cathedral on 9 December 1937 He began his episcopacy by re organizing the large rural diocese and moving the episcopal offices to the city of Oxford Kirk issued a temporary seal as the function of Chancellor of the Garter was dissociated from the See of Oxford in the wake of the Abdication Crisis In piety as well as scholarship Kirk followed in the tradition of the Oxford Movement emphasizing the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church and apostolic succession As a result at the time of the independence of the Anglican Church in India from the Church of England Kirk was a leader of the Anglo Catholic party at Lambeth in 1948 that warned the Church from compromising its catholicity by adopting intercommunion too quickly when not all of the clergy of the United Church of South India would have received episcopal ordination He worked with the Archbishops of Canterbury William Temple and his successor Geoffrey Fisher and with George Bell Bishop of Chichester however in devising a compromise solution and in May 1950 a resolution was passed in the English Convocation allowing for limited intercommunion Kirk died on 8 June 1954 before the resolution was passed in July 1955 formally inaugurating the communion of the two churches The title of his last published work Beauty and Bands is that of a sermon he gave at the episcopal consecration of Glyn Simon in Brecon Cathedral Personal life EditIn 1921 Kirk married Beatrice Caynton Yonge Radcliffe they had three daughters and two sons Their elder son was Sir Peter Michael Kirk 1928 1977 a Conservative politician Beatrice died in 1934 One of their daughters Patricia married Eric Waldram Kemp Chaplain of Exeter College Oxford and later Bishop of Chichester and author of The Life and Letters of Kenneth Escott Kirk Bishop of Oxford 1937 1954 London Hodder amp Stoughton 1959 Major works EditA Study of Silent Minds 1918 Some Principles of Moral Theology 1920 Ignorance Faith and Conformity 1925 Conscience and Its Problems 1927 The Vision of God The Bampton Lectures of 1928 1931 The Threshold of Ethics 1933 Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans 1937 The Story of the Woodard Schools 1937 Other works EditThe Church in the Furnace contributor 1917 Essays Catholic and Critical contributor 1926 Essays on the Trinity and the Incarnation contributor 1928 Marriage and Divorce 1933 The Fourth River 1935 The Study of Theology editor and contributor 1939 The Apostolic Ministry editor and contributor 1946 The Church Dedications of the Oxford Diocese 1946 Beauty and Bands collection of articles and sermons 1955 References Edit Obituary in KES Magazine SUMMER 1954 Oldedwardians org uk Retrieved 14 March 2010 Consecration of three bishops Church Times No 3906 3 December 1937 p 622 ISSN 0009 658X Retrieved 17 April 2021 via UK Press Online archives Church of England titlesPreceded byThomas Strong Bishop of Oxford1937 1954 Succeeded byHarry Carpenter Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kenneth Kirk amp oldid 1036301694, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
