Former Bishop in Europe awarded honorary Lambeth Degree

 The Rt Revd John Hind, who was Bishop of the Diocese in Europe between 1993 and 2001 has been honoured with the award of Doctor of Divinity from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams in Lambeth Palace (Tuesday 21 July 2009). He is currently Bishop of Chichester.

The Lambeth Degree is a real academic award, although candidates are exempt from both residential and examination requirements and the special awards are made on merit in recognition of the recipients' contribution to religious, academic and public life. The Archbishop of Canterbury's right to grant degrees is derived from the Peter's Pence Act of 1533 which empowered the Archbishop to grant dispensations previously granted by the Pope.  The practice began during the time when attendance at Oxford and Cambridge, the only universities at that time in England, was frequently disrupted by the difficulty of travel or outbreaks of the plague.  The Archbishop was empowered to grant exemption from the residential requirements necessary for a degree.

In his citation for the award of DD Bishop John is commended for making “a significant and distinctive contribution to the Church of England’s ecumenical relations over many years, and to the study of ecclesiology. He served as a member, and later as Chairman, of the Faith and Order Group which advises the House of Bishops and the Council for Christian Unity on matters of ecumenical and theological concern. His involvement in this field has provided continuity and coherence in the different ecumenical conversations including Meissen, Porvoo, Reuilly and the Methodist Covenant. In addition, he has published a number of articles on ecumenism, ecclesiology and Anglicanism.”

Lambeth Degrees can be awarded in Divinity, Law, Arts, Literature, Medicine and Music.