Russell Dewhurst, Research Fellow

Russell Dewhurst

Research Fellow

I am a doctoral student at Cardiff University, where I am working on my thesis ‘Subsidiarity in Anglican Canon Law: A Comparative Study’. My interest in canon law began during my time at theological college, but I only started formal study of the discipline in 2007 when I began the LLM Canon Law course at Cardiff. After seventeen years in parish ministry, I remain convinced both that a good knowledge of the church’s law is essential for all those involved in ministry, and that canon law must continue to develop to serve the needs of the church.

I teach on the master’s canon law degree programme at Cardiff, where I am also a fellow of the Centre for Law and Religion. I am a member of the Colloquium of Anglican and Roman Catholic Canon Lawyers, which seeks to contribute to greater ecumenical understanding between Anglicans and Roman Catholics from the perspective of canon law as a form of applied ecclesiology. I am also a member of the recently formed Church Law History Consortium. I recently chaired the revision committee for the second edition of the Principles of Canon Law Common to the Churches of the Anglican Communion, which was launched at the Lambeth Conference in 2022.

As the Communications Officer of the Ecclesiastical Law Society, I organize online lectures and events, and oversee the technological side of the Society’s efforts to enable a wider engagement with the study of canon law. I teach a basic introduction to canon law for final year ordinands at several TEIs (including St Augustine’s) and I am book reviews editor for the Ecclesiastical Law Journal.

I am module tutor for ‘Law and the Public Minister’ for Chichester Diocese in collaboration with St Augustine’s.

My parish home is St Mary’s, West Chiltington, where I am honorary assistant priest. Some of my other interests include ecumenism, patristics, Latin, nineteenth century church history, and birdwatching in Sussex.

Publications

Preface for The Principles of Canon Law Common to the Churches of the Anglican Communion, 2nd edition with Will Adam and Darren Oliver. London: Anglican Consultative Council (2022).

Plato and the ideal city – Down to the Piraeus. Ancient History 40 (2022).

‘Seven whole days’: The Obligation of the Clergy of the Church of England to ‘say daily the Morning and Evening Prayer’ Ecclesiastical Law Journal 24(1) (2022), 14-24.

Law without coercion: exhortation and doctrine in the canon law of the Church of England. Crucible: The Journal of Christian Social Ethics, Oct 2021, 51-4.

The Law of Liturgy – Oversight and Discipline in the Anglican Communion. Acts of the Colloquium of Anglican and Roman Catholic Canon Lawyers. Cardiff: Centre for Law and Religion (2019).

The Purpose of Canon Law in the Anglican Communion, and its Relationship to Theology. Acts of the Colloquium of Anglican and Roman Catholic Canon Lawyers. Cardiff: Centre for Law and Religion (2018).

Episcopal Functions in the Anglican Communion. Acts of the Colloquium of Anglican and Roman Catholic Canon Lawyers. Cardiff: Centre for Law and Religion (2017).

Augustine of Hippo – The link between ancient and medieval. Ancient History 11 (2017).

Binsey: Oxford’s Holy Place – Its saint, village, and people with Lydia Carr and Martin Henig (eds). Oxford: Archaeopress (2014).