Lambeth awards for Swindell & Speck

TWO PRIESTS FROM THE DIOCESE OF WINCHESTER have been recognised by The Archbishop of Canterbury, as part of the 2012 Lambeth Degree award ceremony at Lambeth Palace.

Dr Rowan Williams awarded degrees to The Reverend Prebendary Peter Speck (former Former Health Care Chaplain, Hon. Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London & Visiting Fellow, Southampton University) in recognition of his distinguished vocation as a hospital chaplain and a university teacher and his significant contribution within the field of hospice and palliative care, and to The Reverend Dr Anthony Swindell (Rector of St Saviour's, Jersey) for scholarship and research in the field of Biblical Reception Studies and his particular contribution to theological reflection and debate.

In addition, Dr Francis Jackson, Mrs Clare Amos, Dr Martin Neary, The Reverend Beatrice Brandon, , The Rt Reverend Dr Peter Carnley and Mr Clifford Longley were also awarded degrees.

In his welcome address, the Archbishop described the degree ceremony as an ‘important occasion in my year, when I recognise and honour those who have made significant contributions to the life of the Church and also, in some cases, to the wider community over many years.’

Merit and recognition

The Lambeth Degree is a real academic award. The candidates are exempt from both residential and examination requirements and the awards are made, on merit, in recognition of their particular contributions to religious, academic and public life.

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s right to grant degrees of the realm 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 when attendance at Oxfordand 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.

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

The Revd Dr Anthony Swindell, whose essay 'Job in English, Welsh and Irish Literature' also appeared in a new volume entitled 'Job of Uz' this month, said that he was delighted with the award:
"I am very grateful for the conferment of this degree," he said;
"Also, it is very encouraging to have Reception Studies affirmed in this way."