101st Archbishop of Canterbury Named
Diocesan Press Service. May 21, 1974 [74150]
LONDON, England -- The Most Reverend and Right Honorable Donald Coggan, the Archbishop of York, was officially named on May 14 to become the 101st Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England and spiritual leader of the 46.7 million member world-wide Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church in the U.S.
The 64-year-old prelate will succeed Archbishop Michael Ramsey, who will retire on Nov. 15, the day after his 70th birthday, after 13 years in the post.
Dr. Coggan has been Archbishop of York, the second highest Anglican leader, since 1961 when Dr. Ramsey was translated to the post of Archbishop of Canterbury.
The appointment was made by Queen Elizabeth II, the supreme governor of the established Church of England, on the advice of Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Though reports indicate the Prime Minister received the clerical and lay opinion of the standing committee of the General Synod, the archbishop is a government appointee.
Dr. Coggan, who will be 65 years old in October, is a noted ecumenist, Bible scholar, popular preacher, and Anglican evangelical in theology.
Since Archbishop Ramsey's announcement on March 11, of his intended retirement, Dr. Coggan was the apparent favorite of the British people to succeed Dr. Ramsey, according to newspaper surveys, comments of Anglican leaders, and bookmakers. Ladbroke's, a major British bookmaking firm, rated Dr. Coggan as a 3 to 1 choice to receive the appointment.
Details on Dr. Coggan's enthronement will be announced later.
Frederick Donald Coggan -- he has dropped the name Frederick -- was born Oct. 9, 1909, at Highgate, London, and was educated at Merchant Taylors' School; St. John's College, Cambridge; and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. For three years before his ordination to the priesthood in 1935, he was assistant lecturer in Semitic languages and literature at the University of Manchester.
After serving two years as curate at St. Mary's, Islington, London, he became professor of New Testament studies at Wycliffe College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 1944 he returned to Britain as principal of the London College of Divinity, one of the oldest Church of England theological colleges. He held this position for 12 years.
In January, 1956, Dr. Coggan was consecrated the third Bishop of Bradford, in the Province of York, and he was enthroned on February 3 of that year. During his five years at Bradford, one of his chief concerns was a financial drive to raise 250, 000 pounds for the building of new churches and for the recruitment of clergy.
Dr. Coggan, in addition to being a notable preachers, is a recognized leader in the field of Biblical studies, and since 1957, he has been president of the United Bible Societies, which consists of 50 national Bible societies throughout the world. In 1964 he launched the "Feed the Minds of Millions " campaign, which sought to increase the world-wide distribution of Christian literature, especially the Bible.
He has written a number of books on Biblical study and theology, including "A People's Heritage," "The Ministry of the Word," "The Glory of God," "Stewards of Grace," and "Christian Priorities."
Dr. Coggan is well known as a vigorous opponent of apartheid (racial separation) in South Africa. He, along with other bishops, has been a sponsor of a "No Arms for South Africa " campaign. In 1972 he opened the Bishop's Palace in York to an Asian family that had been expelled from Uganda as a result of that country's policy of racial intolerance.
The archbishop is strongly committed to ecumenism. In the late 1960s he, along with Archbishop Ramsey, backed the union of the Church of England and the British Methodist Church, though his own Anglican Church defeated the proposal. A few years ago, he joined with Roman Catholic Archbishop George A. Beck of Liverpool and Free Church leaders in his northern province in organizing a "Call to the North," a continuing cooperative program of evangelism.
He believes the laity should play an important role in the life and ministry of the church, and that business and politics are vital spheres of lay witness. He is also concerned about the role of women in the ministry of the church, and according to his statements, seems to lean toward the ordination of women to the Anglican priesthood.
A few years ago he advocated a more compassionate treatment of homosexuals on the part of the church.
At a press conference following the announcement of his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury, he said that he believes the church's first task "is to see as far as we can that the Church draws its attention more and more from its own problems to the problems of the world. " He said that the British must pay special attention to the "Third World. "
" The country needs to return to the scale of values introduced by Christ, " he said. On permissiveness, he stated, "I believe we shall only have a healthy society when we begin having rules again and there is much to be said for a return to the Ten Commandments. "
Dr. Coggan married Jean Braithwaite Strain, a physician's daughter, in 1935. They are the parents of two daughters, Ruth, who has served as a missionary doctor in Pakistan, and Anne, a teacher. At the press conference following the announcement of his appointment, he said that it is his family life "that stops me going crazy." The family has a great interest in music and at one time he used to play both the piano and the organ. The women in the family also play the piano. For recreation, he enjoys motoring and gardening.
A well-known preacher in the United States, Archbishop Coggan gave a series of Lenten sermons at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York City last March and lectured at several Eastern seminaries. In the past few years he has given several series of lectures in the Diocese of Southern Virginia.
Dr. Coggan's appointment as the next Archbishop of Canterbury has been well received by church leaders in England and the U.S.
Presiding Bishop John E. Hines of the Episcopal Church has hailed Dr. Coggan as a "worthy successor" to Archbishop Ramsey. Bishop Hines said:
"Canterbury has a worthy successor in the Most Reverend and Right Honorable Donald Coggan. A competent scholar, with social vision, the Anglican Communion will benefit from his wide experience and his ecumenical interests. His translation to Canterbury recalls other similar and historic translations from which the whole Church has benefitted."
Cardinal John Heenan, Archbishop of Westminster and England's Roman Catholic primate, said, "His appointment will be received with great joy by Catholics in England." Dr. Coggan, he said, has "proved himself a real force for Christian unity."
The secretary of the British Methodist Church, Dr. Kenneth Greet, also welcomed the appointment, saying, "Dr. Coggan is almost as well known to Methodists as the distinguished leader whom he will follow." He added, "Methodists will join their prayers with those of the Anglican Communion that Dr. Coggan may be blessed during the months of preparation for the great tasks that lie ahead for him."
In New York City, Dr. Laton Holmgren, general secretary of the American Bible Society, who said he had "been closely associated with the archbishop for more than 15 years in the promotion of the Bible cause," said that the archbishop's "keen interest in the use of the Scriptures in the total work and witness of the church has provided the United Bible Societies with inspiring leadership. "
( NOTE: A photograph of Dr. Coggan -- code # 150 -- is enclosed. Credit must read: "Religious News Service Photo. ").
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