Editing Wycliffe Hall, Oxford (section)

==History==
=== Origins ===
For many centuries membership of the [[University of Oxford]] required subscription to the [[39 Articles]] (part of the [[English Reformation]] heritage of the Church of England). The university was officially secularised by the [[Oxford University Act 1854]] and the [[Universities Tests Act 1871]], when it was opened respectively to students and lecturers of all religious creeds or none. Evangelical public meetings were held in 1876, partly in response to this development, where concerns were raised about how "the majority of clergy are professionally ignorant".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Theological Colleges: their hoods and histories|author=Nicholas Groves|year=2004|publisher=The Burgon Society|page=35|isbn=0954411013}}</ref> A committee, including [[Charles Perry (bishop)|Charles Perry]] and [[Sydney Gedge]] MP, was formed to raise funds for two new theological colleges, one at Cambridge and one at Oxford, which would provide supplementary training preparatory to ordination and do so "upon a sound Evangelical and Protestant basis".<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Guardian, 27 June 1877|page=894}}</ref>

[[File:John_Wycliffe_portrait.jpg|thumb|left|[[John Wycliffe]], Master of Balliol College, Oxford, 1360–66]] Funds were gathered rapidly and a founding council was formed for the Oxford college, including [[J. C. Ryle]], [[Robert Payne Smith]], [[Edward Garbett]], and [[Edmund Knox (bishop of Manchester)|Edmund Knox]]. The vision was to maintain the teaching of biblical and evangelical theology at Oxford and to promote "doctrinal truth and vital godliness", training ordinands to be "mighty in scripture...prepared to maintain the pure doctrines of the Reformed Church of England in all their simplicity and fullness".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Theological Halls at Oxford and Cambridge|publisher=Bodleian Library|page=536}}</ref> The new hall was dedicated to [[John Wycliffe]], who was master of [[Balliol College, Oxford]] in the 1360s, and is remembered as the 'morning star' of the Reformation.

Wycliffe is one of more than 20 Anglican theological colleges established in England during the late 19th century – including its "sister college" is [[Ridley Hall, Cambridge]], which opened in 1881. Two evangelical organisations working among Oxford students were founded in the late nineteenth century; the [[Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union]] in 1879 and the [[Oxford Pastorate]] in 1893. Wycliffe had close links with both from their inception. Indeed, of Wycliffe's first 100 students, 83 were Oxford graduates; a link that was bolstered by the second [[Principal (academia)|principal]], Chavasse, who was incumbent of [[Church of St Peter-le-Bailey|St Peter-le-Bailey]], Oxford prior to leading the hall. The hall opened to non-graduates in 1890.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

=== Twentieth century ===
[[File:EC20th_WH_memorial_poster.jpg|thumb|right|Memorial poster from Wycliffe Hall, c. 1910, with portraits of the first four principals and views of 52 and 54 Banbury Road prior to the addition of the front dining hall]]
[[William Henry Griffith Thomas]] was one of Wycliffe Hall's best known principals (serving 1905–1910) and remains a noted theologian. He undertook much of the lecturing in college himself during his tenure<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://churchsociety.org/issues_new/history/griffiththomas/iss_history_griffiththomas_Clark-PortmanWycliffe.asp|title=Church Society - Issues - History - Griffith Thomas - Portman/Wycliffe Hall|website=churchsociety.org|access-date=2018-01-15}}</ref> and is remembered today by a bronze bust in the dining room.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

During the [[World War I|First World War]], Wycliffe Hall housed refugees from [[Serbia]] and trainees from the [[Royal Flying Corps]] who built a practice aeroplane in the dining hall.<ref>Christopher Hibbert (ed.), The Encyclopaedia of Oxford (London: Macmillan, 1988), p.507</ref> At the jubilee of the hall in 1927, the principal led students to Jerusalem for their summer vacation term. Wycliffe Hall staff and students conducted four further pilgrimages to Jerusalem, in 1929, 1931, 1934 and 1937, mostly without incident, though during the 1929 trip students were commissioned as peacekeepers during riots and one student was shot through the shoulder.<ref>Andrew Atherstone, 'Evangelical Pilgrims to the Holy Land: Wycliffe Hall's Encounter with the Eastern Churches 1927-1937', Sobornost 30:2 (2008), pp.37-58</ref> Two further years later, the principal who led these expeditions (F. G. Brown) was elected Protestant Bishop in Jerusalem. Photos from these 1920s expeditions decorate the walls of No. 4 Norham Gardens today. The chapel organ was rebuilt in 1936 and rededicated by the [[Bishop of Leicester]].<ref>'Miscellaneous', Musical Times 77/1116 (February 1936), p.153</ref>

[[Religious liberalism]] influenced Wycliffe Hall in the 1950s and '60s. F. J. Taylor (principal 1956–1962) was editor of the [[Liberal Anglo-Catholicism|liberal-Catholic]] ''Parish and People'' magazine, whilst David Anderson (principal 1962–1969) was a contributor to the Modern Churchmen's Union. The evangelical churches lost confidence in the hall and student numbers fell dramatically.<ref>Andrew Atherstone, Rescued from the Brink: The Collapse and Resurgence of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford in Studies in Church History Volume 44, 2008, p.355–365</ref> An official 1965 report on the hall warned that 'dialogue with the present age...must be founded on and spring from evangelical conviction'.<ref>Central Advisory Committee on Training for the Ministry Inspection Report 1965</ref> Eventually, the Hall Council asked for Anderson's resignation in 1969 and instead sought clearer evangelical leadership, even inviting [[John Stott]] to take up the post.<ref>Timothy Dudley-Smith, John Stott (biography) (2 vols, Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), II pp.72-75</ref> Stott declined, but other well-known evangelicals were found to get the hall back onto a firmer footing, including Peter Southwell, David Holloway, [[Oliver O'Donovan]], and [[Roger T. Beckwith|Roger Beckwith]].{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

The centenary of the hall was celebrated in 1977 with a service of thanksgiving at [[Christ Church, Oxford]], followed by tea in a marquee on the Wycliffe lawn. In 1996 Wycliffe Hall became a [[permanent private hall]] of the University of Oxford, under the leadership of [[Alister McGrath]].{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

===Recent developments===
Two significant new programmes were launched in the early years of the new century; SCIO (Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford) in 2002; and OCCA (the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics) in 2005. SCIO is run in partnership with the [[Council for Christian Colleges and Universities]] (CCCU) whilst OCCA is operated by the [[RZIM]] Zacharias Trust. Both programmes brought dozens of students to the hall each year, which SCIO continues to do, though the hall's relationship with OCCA was discontinued in 2019.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}  
 
Wycliffe became a focus of media attention in 2007 when a significant number of the academic staff left, including the vice-principal and head of pastoral theology. Three former principals wrote to the chair of the Hall Council to protest about the way staff complaints of being bullied were ignored.<ref>Stephen Bates, Theological College's Head is undermining it, says Predecessors, ''The Guardian'', 14 June 2007</ref> The crisis continued as a member of the council also resigned, having no confidence in the Chair of Council, Bishop [[James Jones (bishop)|James Jones]].<ref>Crisis continues at Wycliffe Hall as Council member resigns. The controversy over Oxford theological college Wycliffe Hall has taken another dramatic turn after a council member resigned this week, saying she had serious concerns over the response of the hall to allegations of bullying and intimidation. Daniel Blake, 5 October 2007, ''Christian Today''</ref> The issues became public as members of the academic faculty lodged grievances against the principal, [[Richard Turnbull (theologian)|Richard Turnbull]], for bullying.<ref>Eeva John., Geoff Maughan and David letters, Wenham, #Church of England Newspaper# 28 September 2007</ref> After monitoring by the university, senior academics at Oxford complained that the curriculum was narrow and offered students insufficient intellectual development.<ref>{{cite news|author=Stephen Bates, religious affairs correspondent |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/aug/11/highereducation.religion |title="gives warning to theological college", ''The Guardian'', 11 August 2007 |newspaper=The Guardian|date=11 August 2007 |access-date=31 May 2013}}</ref> That year the bishop and the hall were taken to an employment tribunal and admitted breaking the law. In 2009 the hall was inspected by the Bishops' Inspection: it was commended in some departments but the inspectors expressed "no confidence" in its practical and pastoral theology.<ref>Dave Walker, www.churchtimes.co.uk/blog_post.asp?id</ref><ref>Pat Ashworth, ''Church Times'', 20 March 2009.</ref> Shortly after, the bishop, James Jones, resigned as chair. In May 2012, under a new chair, the Bishop of Chester, the principal was given leave of absence and he stepped down the following month. Late in 2012 the hall began advertising for a new principal who could offer "wide and generous understanding of the major trends in contemporary Anglican evangelicalism, together with high level pastoral skills". In December 2012 it was announced that [[Mike Hill (bishop)|Mike Hill]], Bishop of Bristol, had become chair of the Hall Council.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wycliffehall.org.uk/press-releases/appointment-of-chair-of-council#.UMI476y0PTo |title=Appointment of Chair of Council |publisher=Wycliffe Hall |date=7 December 2012 |access-date=31 May 2013}}</ref> The process of appointment of a new principal stalled in January 2013: the Hall Council considered that five candidates were "of real quality" but that none of them offered "the desired balance of skills and attributes" required.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wycliffehall.org.uk/press-releases/hall-council-statement-appointment-of-principal#.USJ2GvLsw8p |title=Statement from the Hall council on the appointment of the Principal of Wycliffe Hall |access-date=31 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323002549/http://www.wycliffehall.org.uk/press-releases/hall-council-statement-appointment-of-principal |archive-date=23 March 2013 }}</ref>

[[File:WH_service_at_SANO.jpg|thumb|right|[[Michael Lloyd (priest)|Michael Lloyd]] leading a Wycliffe Hall start-of-year service at the hall's parish church]] In April 2013 the hall announced that [[Michael Lloyd (priest)|Michael Lloyd]], Chaplain of [[Queen's College, Oxford]], had been appointed as principal,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wycliffehall.org.uk/press-releases/new-principal |title=Appoints New Principal |publisher=Wycliffe Hall |date=15 April 2013 |access-date=31 May 2013}}</ref> and he took up the position in the middle of the year and has been creatively expanding the hall and looking to increase the numbers of female ordinands.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wycliffehall.org.uk/ministerial-training |title=Female Ordinand Mentoring |publisher=Wycliffe Hall |access-date=27 February 2019}}</ref>

The small cohorts of first-degree undergraduates which Wycliffe accepted from 1997 onwards were phased out in the mid-2010s and, aside from SCIO, the hall now only takes mature students (over 21s).