The diocese’s Canon Theologian Revd Canon Mark Chapman has been awarded the Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship in the Lambeth Awards 2024.

Mark, who has been Canon Theologian in Truro since 2016, received the award for a lifetime contribution to the history and theology of Anglicanism, the education and formation of Christian ministers, and the ecumenical and synodical work of the Church of England.

Mark said: “I am deeply honoured to have been given this award, which came as a complete surprise. I am one of those lucky people who has always found his job immensely rewarding and stimulating. Over the years I have taught well over a thousand clergy, and I have always found that I have learnt a huge amount from them as I have sought to inspire them with a love for learning and history and a love for God. I have had the privilege of lecturing and teaching across the Anglican Communion and enjoy seeing how the Gospel relates to very different contexts. I have a particular affection for Truro Cathedral and diocese and always look forward to visits to preach and teach.”

The Rt Revd Hugh Nelson, Acting Bishop of Truro, said: “This award is a richly deserved recognition of Mark’s long service as a teacher, theologian and pastor. He has shaped generations of priests through his ministry at Cuddesdon and has been a gift to us in Truro since becoming Canon Theologian. I am delighted that his ministry has been recognised in this way.”

Mark is a scholar priest of outstanding significance and international recognition, to whom generations of students are profoundly indebted. He has served as a tutor at Ripon College Cuddesdon for 32 years, and as Vice-Principal for 22 of them.  Mark has served on the Council for Christian Unity. In addition to his Oxford University chair, he is a visiting professor at Oxford Brookes University and at the University of the Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand.

He is the sole author of 11 books (to date), editor or co-editor of 18 more (both scholarly and popular), and author of hundreds of journal articles and book chapters on doctrine, church history and ecumenism.  He is widely recognised as one of the foremost scholars of Anglican ecclesiology, and his books on Anglicanism are standard texts for students.  His profile across and beyond the Anglican world and the international respect accorded to his scholarly expertise are second to none.  He has played a key part in ecumenical conversations, especially with the German Evangelical Church (EKD) and chaired the Meissen Theological Conference in Hamburg in February 2019.  He has also contributed significantly to working parties and forums of the Church of England, including Living in Love and Faith (the History working group), serving on General Synod from 2010 to 2021.  All the while, he has been held in affection and awe by generations of trainee clergy of diverse academic and ecclesial backgrounds as a teacher who inspires, amuses, encourages and delights.  He has also served, since being ordained, as honorary curate in the local parish and is as loved and esteemed by parishioners in the community as by students in the lecture hall.