Mission Statement

Complex, diverse and expansive, Anglicanism is the third largest Christian tradition in the world, with Anglicans numbering more than 80 million people in dozens of different churches. Durham University’s Michael Ramsey Centre for Anglican Studies promotes pioneering interdisciplinary research into the global Anglican tradition in all its depth and diversity. 

The Centre reflects the foundational and formative role of the Church of England in the history of Durham University, and the legacy of Durham’s scholar-bishops as embodied in the life and ministry of Michael Ramsey, Bishop of Durham and later Archbishop of Canterbury. We are a welcoming and inclusive community of researchers from a broad range of disciplines who are committed to excellent research and deep academic engagement with the theology, life, culture, history, and traditions of worldwide Anglicanism.  

As scholars of Anglicanism, we are constantly striving to develop new approaches to our studies and welcome co-operation with scholars from many academic disciplines and subject areas.

About the Centre

Durham University has a distinguished tradition of Anglican scholarship and scholarship on Anglicanism. The Michael Ramsey Centre for Anglican Studies was formed in 2016 to co-ordinate this specialism and its inter-disciplinary collaborations, with its original members drawn from the departments of Theology and Religion, History, Music, and the School of Government and International Affairs. 

Among the Centre’s principal research strengths are Anglican theology, social and environmental ethics, ecclesiology, history and identity, education and training, the links between Anglicanism, politics and the state, and Anglicanism and conflict in the modern world.  In connection with these themes, members of the Centre undertake a wide range of research, consultancy and public engagement— locally, nationally and globally.  

At the Centre, we support and promote research through a varied annual programme of lectures, seminars, symposia and conferences, most of which are open to the wider public. Please visit our Events page for further information about past and future activities. 

Members of the Centre are particularly proud to have worked with, or be working with, the Anglican Communion Office, Durham Cathedral, the House of Bishops Working Group on Human Sexuality, Living in Love and Faith, the Inter Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order, the Faith and Order Commission of the Church of England, the Church of England’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group, Common Awards, The Scott Holland Trust, and UK armed forces chaplaincy.