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Overview

Jeremy Bonner

Honorary Fellow (1 Sept 2015 - 31 Aug 2027)


Affiliations
Affiliation
Honorary Fellow
(1 Sept 2015 - 31 Aug 2027) in the Department of Theology and Religion

Biography

I have been a church historian for the past quarter of a century, working in fields as diverse as Mormon history, Roman Catholicism in the Vatican II era and Anglicanism in English, North American and African contexts. I am currently engaged upon a study of Kelham Theological College, the motherhouse of the Society of the Sacred Mission, and its impact on the ministry of the Church of England. I have served as a historian expert witness in the United States and have been a lecturer with Lindisfarne College of Theology. Since October 2024 my wife and I have operated a wool shop in Durham City. 

An Altar on the Edge of the World
Kelham Theological College

In October 2025 I was commissioned by the Trustees of the Society of the Sacred Mission to write a history of Kelham Theological College, whose early commitment to the training of Anglican ordinands from working class backgrounds gave it a unique role in Anglican theological formation. For all the singularity of its founder, Herbert Hamilton Kelly, other members of the Kelham community played a significant role in 20th century liturgical renewal and ecumenical dialogue, as the contributions of Gabriel Hebert (before his translation to Australia) and George Every make clear.  

The benefits of such a history are threefold: for the Society of the Sacred Mission, as an academically rigorous yet inspiring account of the motherhouse that gave rise to a generation of Church of England clergy; for scholars of seminary education – Anglican and otherwise – to understand better Kelham pedagogy and its role in the shaping of Anglican ministry; and for the Church of England, as it still struggles adequately to shape parish ministry to the needs of the present day.

Please visit the Herbert Kelly Institute for Anglican Religious Life for further information.

Esteem Indicators

  • 2015 - 2025: Royal Historical Society:

Publications

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