I had the pleasure of singing at Maurice Cowling's memorial service on Saturday, and I was rather surprised to see that despite the fact he was a deeply entertaining figure, he doesn't seem to have got much coverage on SHWI or here. So, to redress the balance somewhat...
(Taken from the Guardian, August 23 2005)
Former archbishop of Canterbury dies
Peter Dunn, religious affairs correspondent
Tuesday August 23, 2005
The Guardian
Lord Cowling, the former archbishop of Canterbury, died on Wednesday at the age of 78, the Church of England announced yesterday.
He received a life peerage three years after his resignation in 1995. He was a Cambridge-educated theologian and academic, seen by many during his controversial ten years at Canterbury as a deeply reactionary figure, out of touch with the modern church and a prime cause of the disestablishment and widespread reforms that followed his tenure.
The present archbishop, Jeffrey John, said from New Zealand where he is on a visit: "Dr Maurice Cowling's death brings to an end an illustrious ministry as a distinguished scholar, devoted pastor and dedicated archbishop."
The former Prime Minister Michael Portillo, who had been taught by Cowling while he was at Cambridge remarked: "Maurice Cowling was an inspirational tutor and had a profound influence on me. He will be missed"
Apart from a brief period as a curate in 1950s Nuneaton, Lord Cowling was always an academic, spending most of the late 1950s and early 1960s as a fellow in Cambridge before becoming the Dean of Peterhouse in 1965. He was appointed bishop of Ely in 1976, and became archbishop of Canterbury in 1982.
In Monica Furlong's book, "C of E, The State It's In", Derek Pattinson,
formerly the church's chief civil servant, described Lord Cowling as a highly intelligent and opinionated men who delighted in plotting and causing controversy: "His was the world of the High table debate and he caused utter terror in his colleagues... he was a good preacher, a deeply honest man and he carried off public occasions well."
Life
Cowling was born in south London to a lower-middle class family, and narrowly escaped a bomb that destroyed his house in 1939. He won a scholarship to Jesus college Cambridge in 1943, though his education was interrupted the following year when he was called up to the Queen's Royal Regiment.
Cowling served in India in the post-war period and was transferred to Egypt in 1947, where he experienced a spiritual awakening in a Cairo brothel and decided that he would put himself forward for ordination. He returned to
Cambridge the following year and achieved a double first in History before embarking on his entry into the church.
He was ordained in 1950 and spent some years as a curate in Nuneaton, before an article he penned about the philosopher John Stuart Mill led to his offer of a research fellowship at Peterhouse. Cowling's time as an academic was distinguished by his right-wing polemical style, showcased in books such as "The importance of Political Science" (1959) and "The importance of Lloyd George" (1962). He campaigned against plans within Cambridge to introduce a course in sociology, which he regarded as a vehicle for liberal dogma, and became a scourge of the "vile and beastly" left-wing academics of colleges such as King's.
In 1965 he was elected Dean at the instigation of the Master Herbert
Butterfield, who shared his right-wing beliefs and greatly respected Cowling's intelligence. From this position Cowling quickly came to dominate the College, and was instrumental in the controversial 1975 invitation Peterhouse gave to Enoch Powell to become Master- a request that enraged the left-wing press and one that Powell eventually turned down to remain in Parliament.
The following year Cowling was appointed Bishop of Ely, a move almost certainly influenced by the publication of his masterwork "Religion and Public Doctrine in Modern England" (1975). His tenure at Ely was a relatively uneventful one, as Cowling spent much of his time using his position as Bishop to influence events at Peterhouse, ensuring the election of Hugh Trevor-Roper as Master in 1981 and generally "spreading my evil influence" as he put it.
After the sudden death of Clement Parker in 1982 Margaret Thatcher pressed hard for Cowling's appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury, admiring his outspoken conservative views and seeing in him an important ally. For his part Cowling found Thatcherism vaguely distasteful, but necessary and in the nation's best interests- while he deplored the government's "mad-monk
Hayekianism which ignored the constraints of practicality", he nonetheless believed that "there was a public sentiment to respond to and she and others had a bag of tricks and a set of policies to respond".
Despite this cautious approach, Cowling's tenure as Archbishop would lead to accusations that he had politicised the office, the impression that the Church of England was the "Tory party at prayer" becoming stronger then ever. Cowling's outspoken views offended the left and moderate Anglicans alike, and acts like his infamously blood-curdling sermon on the eve of the Falklands conflict and his condemnation of canons who criticised the government's social policies in 1986 further made him the bete noire of the left.
Finally in 1987 Cowling went too far, outraging his critics by making remarks in an interview with the Times that seemed to call on Anglicans to vote Tory, remarking that Margaret Thatcher represented "by instinct the hopes and fears of Conservatives" and going on to say that conservatism was attractive because of its "combination of unashamed materialism and disbelieving scepticism about the power of political parties to give effect to Utopia, something only God can bestow".
Having utterly alienated the liberal section of the church by his outright opposition to the ordination of women and outraged the left by his right-wing views, the six years after 1987 were torrid ones for the Church of England, as elements of the clergy attempted to oust Cowling from his position and the Archbishop responded with his customary savagely humourous put-downs and insults.
Cowling's eventual downfall came in 1992, as the Major government's narrow defeat at the hands of Labour put into power a party led by a Welshman convinced that only through disestablishment could the Anglican church be prevented from political interventions. After fighting the government for
almost a year, Cowling eventually recognised that the Church Bill's passing was inevitable and resigned before it could introduced, remarking that if the British people were happy to be swayed by the "rancid solemnities" of the Labour government ("an intellectual mafia of ex-communists") then it would be to their detriment.
After his resignation Cowling was rarely out of the public eye, famously penning a triumphant editorial in the Daily Telegraph when the ERM fiasco fatally compromised the Kinnock government. The subsequent election of the Conservatives led by his Peterhouse tutee Michael Portillo in 1995 delighted him, although he was later to criticise the government for its insufficiently anti-European stance. His last public intervention came in 2002, when he launched a vitriolic attack on the Labour government in general and Gordon Brown in particular, who he lambasted as a "dour practitioner of the dark arts".
Maurice Cowling never married.
(Taken from the Guardian, August 23 2005)
Former archbishop of Canterbury dies
Peter Dunn, religious affairs correspondent
Tuesday August 23, 2005
The Guardian
Lord Cowling, the former archbishop of Canterbury, died on Wednesday at the age of 78, the Church of England announced yesterday.
He received a life peerage three years after his resignation in 1995. He was a Cambridge-educated theologian and academic, seen by many during his controversial ten years at Canterbury as a deeply reactionary figure, out of touch with the modern church and a prime cause of the disestablishment and widespread reforms that followed his tenure.
The present archbishop, Jeffrey John, said from New Zealand where he is on a visit: "Dr Maurice Cowling's death brings to an end an illustrious ministry as a distinguished scholar, devoted pastor and dedicated archbishop."
The former Prime Minister Michael Portillo, who had been taught by Cowling while he was at Cambridge remarked: "Maurice Cowling was an inspirational tutor and had a profound influence on me. He will be missed"
Apart from a brief period as a curate in 1950s Nuneaton, Lord Cowling was always an academic, spending most of the late 1950s and early 1960s as a fellow in Cambridge before becoming the Dean of Peterhouse in 1965. He was appointed bishop of Ely in 1976, and became archbishop of Canterbury in 1982.
In Monica Furlong's book, "C of E, The State It's In", Derek Pattinson,
formerly the church's chief civil servant, described Lord Cowling as a highly intelligent and opinionated men who delighted in plotting and causing controversy: "His was the world of the High table debate and he caused utter terror in his colleagues... he was a good preacher, a deeply honest man and he carried off public occasions well."
Life
Cowling was born in south London to a lower-middle class family, and narrowly escaped a bomb that destroyed his house in 1939. He won a scholarship to Jesus college Cambridge in 1943, though his education was interrupted the following year when he was called up to the Queen's Royal Regiment.
Cowling served in India in the post-war period and was transferred to Egypt in 1947, where he experienced a spiritual awakening in a Cairo brothel and decided that he would put himself forward for ordination. He returned to
Cambridge the following year and achieved a double first in History before embarking on his entry into the church.
He was ordained in 1950 and spent some years as a curate in Nuneaton, before an article he penned about the philosopher John Stuart Mill led to his offer of a research fellowship at Peterhouse. Cowling's time as an academic was distinguished by his right-wing polemical style, showcased in books such as "The importance of Political Science" (1959) and "The importance of Lloyd George" (1962). He campaigned against plans within Cambridge to introduce a course in sociology, which he regarded as a vehicle for liberal dogma, and became a scourge of the "vile and beastly" left-wing academics of colleges such as King's.
In 1965 he was elected Dean at the instigation of the Master Herbert
Butterfield, who shared his right-wing beliefs and greatly respected Cowling's intelligence. From this position Cowling quickly came to dominate the College, and was instrumental in the controversial 1975 invitation Peterhouse gave to Enoch Powell to become Master- a request that enraged the left-wing press and one that Powell eventually turned down to remain in Parliament.
The following year Cowling was appointed Bishop of Ely, a move almost certainly influenced by the publication of his masterwork "Religion and Public Doctrine in Modern England" (1975). His tenure at Ely was a relatively uneventful one, as Cowling spent much of his time using his position as Bishop to influence events at Peterhouse, ensuring the election of Hugh Trevor-Roper as Master in 1981 and generally "spreading my evil influence" as he put it.
After the sudden death of Clement Parker in 1982 Margaret Thatcher pressed hard for Cowling's appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury, admiring his outspoken conservative views and seeing in him an important ally. For his part Cowling found Thatcherism vaguely distasteful, but necessary and in the nation's best interests- while he deplored the government's "mad-monk
Hayekianism which ignored the constraints of practicality", he nonetheless believed that "there was a public sentiment to respond to and she and others had a bag of tricks and a set of policies to respond".
Despite this cautious approach, Cowling's tenure as Archbishop would lead to accusations that he had politicised the office, the impression that the Church of England was the "Tory party at prayer" becoming stronger then ever. Cowling's outspoken views offended the left and moderate Anglicans alike, and acts like his infamously blood-curdling sermon on the eve of the Falklands conflict and his condemnation of canons who criticised the government's social policies in 1986 further made him the bete noire of the left.
Finally in 1987 Cowling went too far, outraging his critics by making remarks in an interview with the Times that seemed to call on Anglicans to vote Tory, remarking that Margaret Thatcher represented "by instinct the hopes and fears of Conservatives" and going on to say that conservatism was attractive because of its "combination of unashamed materialism and disbelieving scepticism about the power of political parties to give effect to Utopia, something only God can bestow".
Having utterly alienated the liberal section of the church by his outright opposition to the ordination of women and outraged the left by his right-wing views, the six years after 1987 were torrid ones for the Church of England, as elements of the clergy attempted to oust Cowling from his position and the Archbishop responded with his customary savagely humourous put-downs and insults.
Cowling's eventual downfall came in 1992, as the Major government's narrow defeat at the hands of Labour put into power a party led by a Welshman convinced that only through disestablishment could the Anglican church be prevented from political interventions. After fighting the government for
almost a year, Cowling eventually recognised that the Church Bill's passing was inevitable and resigned before it could introduced, remarking that if the British people were happy to be swayed by the "rancid solemnities" of the Labour government ("an intellectual mafia of ex-communists") then it would be to their detriment.
After his resignation Cowling was rarely out of the public eye, famously penning a triumphant editorial in the Daily Telegraph when the ERM fiasco fatally compromised the Kinnock government. The subsequent election of the Conservatives led by his Peterhouse tutee Michael Portillo in 1995 delighted him, although he was later to criticise the government for its insufficiently anti-European stance. His last public intervention came in 2002, when he launched a vitriolic attack on the Labour government in general and Gordon Brown in particular, who he lambasted as a "dour practitioner of the dark arts".
Maurice Cowling never married.
