Martyn Percy

In January 2019, the censor theologiae (acting chairman of governing body of Christ Church) sent a letter to college alumni, revealing that Percy's suspension was triggered by a pay dispute. This was the first official statement regarding the nature of the tribunal.

On 21 August 2019, the cathedral chapter and the college's governing body announced that the tribunal had concluded that the charges brought against Percy were all dismissed. However, the tribunal made one minor finding that there had been a single unintentional breach of his fiduciary duty. The outcome of the investigation was welcomed by the Bishop of Oxford. The process was presided over by Andrew Smith, a High Court judge, and is estimated to have cost the college at least £500,000. The College's legal fees are not known. The governing body has not read the whole text of the judgement provided by Sir Andrew.

Percy has adopted a progressive outlook on a number of social issues, such as LGBTQ rights and the ordination of women. However his writings affirm orthodox Christian positions on the incarnation, atonement, resurrection and ascension; he has consistently defended the historicity of Jesus’ healing and nature miracles. Noted for his work on fundamentalism and revivalism, for which he engages with sociology and anthropology, he was described in the academic journal Theology, by Nigel Rooms, as the British theologian who is the closest to being a "missionary anthropologist."

Percy teaches in the Faculty of Theology and Religion, and is a fellow of the Said Business School, University of Oxford. He is also Professor of Theological Education at King's College London and has served as Professorial Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London. He also serves as a visiting professor of the Institute for the Study of Values at the University of Winchester, is a founding fellow of the Center for Theologically Engaged Anthropology at the University of Georgia, and has also served as an adjunct professor at Hartford Seminary, Connecticut. He is an emeritus canon of Salisbury Cathedral, having previously served as an honorary canon. He has also been an honorary canon, serving later as Canon Theologian, at Sheffield Cathedral. He became a fellow of King's College London in 2018.

In November 2018, Percy was suspended from office, following a formal complaint which had been made against him, and an independently-chaired internal tribunal was established. These reports also claimed that Percy was the victim of a "bullying campaign" by university dons who opposed his reformist agenda. In response to press reports, the Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft, stated his concern at the allegations of bullying and that he had been monitoring the situation closely.

Percy's theology is generally considered to represent the liberal tradition in the Church of England. However, his viewpoints typically argue for the "middle ground" between evangelical and catholic positions, with appeals to Anglican comprehensiveness, and the tradition of respecting theological differences. Percy's main interlocutors in his writings comprise a trinity of American theologians: Daniel W. Hardy, Urban T. Holmes III, and James F. Hopewell. Percy is a proponent of "generous orthodoxy", and argues for a theological approach that copes with "serious forms of dispute and threat[s] of schism." In 2018, a group of scholars from the fields of sociology, anthropology, musicology, theology and ecclesiology published a book (edited by Ian Markham and Joshua Daniels) on Percy's work to date, based on an earlier symposium engaging with Percy's writings, held at Virginia Theological Seminary (Washington DC) in 2016. The subsequent Reasonable Radical? Reading the Writings of Martyn Percy offers a broad guide to the compass of Percy's work.

In March 2018, Percy called for the church to develop an independent self-regulating authority to handle safeguarding issues, arguing that the churches can only be ultimately trusted as public bodies if they voluntarily relinquish some control over their own policies and practices.

In February 2017, he suggested that Bishop Philip North either decline his nomination as Bishop of Sheffield or renounce the views of The Society, a conservative body which does not recognise or receive the ministry of ordained women, or men ordained by women bishops. North later withdrew his acceptance of the nomination, citing "personal attacks". In a radio discussion of North's decision, Percy refuted the accusation that his position demonstrated a form of "liberal intolerance". He reasoned that resistance to discrimination is not equivalent to intolerance.

In August 2016, Percy renewed his criticism of Welby, describing the direction he was leading the Church of England as being "driven by mission-minded middle managers" that alienated congregations and the wider British public. He also raised further concerns about plans to divert funding away from traditional rural parishes and towards evangelical inner-city churches, warning that "it will take more to save the Church of England than a blend of the latest management theory." Percy has also commented on an emerging theological anaemia among bishops in the Church of England, and highlighted the weaknesses and risks this poses for Anglican polity.

Just days before the commencement of the January 2016 Anglican Communion Primates' Meeting, Percy joined with over 100 other senior Anglicans, including Alan Wilson (Bishop of Buckingham) and David Ison (Dean of St Paul's), in calling on archbishops Welby and Sentamu to acknowledge the failings of the Anglican Communion in its treatment of LGBTQ people. Following the decision of the primates to penalise the US Episcopal Church, for voting to redefine marriage at its 2015 General Convention, Percy expressed his disappointment. He went on to say that the meeting's statement regarding this action, "had nothing to say about LGBT Christians, and that's a lost opportunity."

In the wake of the United Kingdom EU membership referendum in June 2016, Percy has argued that a national "failure of liberal values" was made evident by the result. He has also suggested the need for a more "broad church" approach to British party politics, potentially in the form of a new centre-left party that is "authentically rooted in modern, progressive socialism, and equally true to modern, progressive, democratic liberal values."

In an essay published in December 2015, Percy outlined his views on homosexuality, questioning the teaching that it is sinful and unnatural. Regarding the controversy surrounding the issue in the worldwide Anglican Communion, he noted that the church's position has alienated an increasingly progressive country, particularly the younger generation of Christians in Britain; he also called on Justin Welby to formally apologise for the church's role in introducing homophobic teachings to cultures across the British Empire, during the 19th century:

Since 2015, Percy has been actively involved in the campaign to restore the reputation of Bishop George Bell, following the Church of England's decision to compensate a woman who claimed to have been sexually abused by Bell. He is a member of the George Bell Group and has published a number of key articles questioning the competence of those who have presumed Bell to be a perpetrator of abuse. A subsequent independent report by Lord Carlile of Berriew found that there was no basis in law for presuming that the allegations made against Bell could have been sustained.

It was announced on 7 May 2014 that Percy would become the 45th Dean of Christ Church in Oxford. He was the first dean to be democratically elected by the governing body, and was instituted to the deanery on 4 October 2014. Christ Church is the only academic institution in the world which is also a cathedral – being the seat of the Bishop of Oxford. In common with other cathedral deans, Percy, as Dean of Christ Church, is the senior priest of the Diocese of Oxford.

Percy has been critical of Justin Welby's leadership as Archbishop of Canterbury, in particular his "managerial" style. Percy described Welby's plans to send senior clergy on leadership courses, contained in the 2014 report of the Lord Green Steering Group, as showing a poor judgment of the church's priorities and lacking in theological understanding. He went on to say that Welby's targets for efficiency and growth were not reflective of the Christian mission, given that Jesus "didn't spend a lot of time going on about success."

In 2013, The Times Literary Supplement praised Percy for his work towards unity within the Anglican Communion and Church of England, describing him as displaying a "peaceable, polite and restrained" approach whilst "making peace between competing communities of conviction."

During Percy's tenure, the multi-award-winning Bishop Edward King Chapel (which was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize in 2013) and a new education centre (Harriet Monsell House) were built. The college also became the first to incorporate a community of Anglican religious sisters, and to work alongside staff and students offering support in prayer and spirituality, whilst continuing to develop their own ministries of spiritual direction.

In 41 of the 53 countries within the British Commonwealth, homosexual conduct is still regarded as a serious crime. This categorisation and legal stigmatisation of homosexuality was largely 'made in England' in the nineteenth century, and imposed on cultures and emerging countries and that had not been, hitherto, homophobic. This is one of England's less wholesome exports. The Archbishop of Canterbury could begin the Primates' meeting by accepting responsibility for the part the Church of England has played in perpetrating this discrimination and the subsequent injustices – and publicly repenting of them.

Following the General Synod's narrow rejection of a motion to legalise the ordination of women as bishops in November 2012, Percy wrote in The Daily Telegraph, criticising church leaders for failing to create sufficient consensus about the issue. He described the view of opponents to the motion as maintaining a "conceit of modern times" by their fundamentalist rejection of diversity. He also voiced the need for the church to be "transformed by the renewal of our minds" in its approach to the inclusion of women in the Anglican Communion, by moving towards a "new future".

Percy has the distinction of being the only living theologian mentioned and quoted in Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code (chapter 55), where Sir Leigh Teabing (played by Ian McKellen in the 2006 film adaptation) says, "Everything you need to know about the Bible can be summed up by the great canon doctor Martyn Percy: 'The Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven.' "

Ripon College Cuddesdon developed significantly from 2004, during Percy's tenure as principal: it incorporated the Oxford Ministry Course (OMC) in 2006, and the West of England Ministerial Training Course (WEMTC) in 2011, making it the largest provider of Anglican ordination training in the UK. The college became internationally more active during Percy's period as principal: it works closely with the Anglican Church in Hong Kong and continues to have links with Anglican colleges in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. During Percy's time at Cuddesdon, the college moved from a distinctively liberal catholic ethos and progressively to the broader centre ground of Anglicanism, welcoming ordinands from across the ecclesial spectrum, thereby reclaiming the "non-party" ethos that Bishop Samuel Wilberforce had founded the college with in 1854.

Percy has spoken and written about the threat of schism in the Anglican Communion, arguing that churches should embrace the diversity of belief that exists, rather than allowing such divisions to result in separation. In anticipation of the October 2003 Anglican Communion Primates' Meeting, which took place in the wake of the ordination of Gene Robinson as Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, the Communion's first openly gay bishop, he wrote of the need for a "slight loosening of the ties", to avoid a divorce. Illustrating this, he described Anglicanism as an "archipelago – a connection of provincial islands that shares doctrinal, liturgical and cultural aspects", as opposed to being "one vast, catholic continent." He made similar remarks following Jeffrey John's withdrawal as Bishop of Reading, in July 2003, suggesting that the debate on gay rights should instead be shifted towards reflecting on the "more central gospel themes."

In 2002, Percy co-founded the Society for the Study of Anglicanism with Tom Hughson, which meets annually at the American Academy of Religion and is now in a full partnership with Virginia Theological Seminary. Percy has served as chair of committee (the oversight body) for Cliff College – a Methodist bible college in the evangelical-charismatic tradition – and also works with a number of other evangelical groups. He is a vice-president of Modern Church and has been a member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford since 2004. From 2014 he has also taught for the Said Business School and for the Department of Sociology at the University of Oxford.

Percy has also undertaken a number of roles in public life, specialising in media and consumer affairs. He has served as a director and council member of the Advertising Standards Authority (1999–2006). He was previously an advisor on the "Faith Zone" for the New Millennium Experience Company and the Millennium Dome in London (1999). From 2006 to 2008, he was a member of the Theology and Religious Studies Panel for the HEFCE Research Assessment Exercise. He has also served as a member of the Independent Complaints Panel for the Portman Group, the self-regulating body for the alcoholic drinks industry. He has served as commissioner for the Direct Marketing Authority (2008–2014), and currently serves as an advisor to the British Board of Film Classification. He was the elected chair of the Cuddesdon and Denton Parish Council from 2007 to 2014.

Percy was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1990 and as a priest in 1991. He served as a curate at St Andrew's, Bedford (1990–1994), and was then appointed chaplain and director of studies at Christ's College, Cambridge. In 1997 he was appointed as the founding director of the Lincoln Theological Institute – a research and consultancy body specialising in faith and society (initially based at Sheffield University, but is now a research centre within Manchester University). He left in 2004 to become principal at Cuddesdon.

Martyn William Percy (born 31 July 1962) is a British Anglican priest and theologian. He has been the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, since October 2014 and was previously Principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford.

Percy was born on 31 July 1962. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, the University of Bristol (BA), the University of Durham (Cert. Counselling), King's College London (PhD, 1993) and the University of Sheffield (MEd). After a short career in publishing (1984–1988), he trained for ordination at Durham.