Martyn Percy

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[3] and was previously Principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford.

Not to be confused with Martin Percy.

The Very Reverend Martyn Percy
Percy in 2017
Born	Martyn William Percy (1962-07-31) 31 July 1962
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour Party
Spouse(s)	Emma Percy ( m. 1989)
Ecclesiastical career
Religion	Christianity (Anglican)
Church	Church of England
Ordained	1990 (deacon) 1991 (priest)
Offices held	Dean of Christ Church (since 2014)
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Bristol King's College, London University of Sheffield
Thesis	"Signs, Wonders and Church Growth"[1] (1993)
Doctoral advisor	Peter B. Clarke[2] Christoph Schwöbel[2]
Academic work
Discipline	Theology
Sub-discipline	Ecclesiology pastoral theology practical theology
Institutions	Christ's College, Cambridge Ripon College Cuddesdon Christ Church, Oxford

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.

Percy's theological outlook is rooted in his long-standing commitment to middle-way Anglicanism. His writings fall into three distinct-but-related groups: ecclesiology; contemporary Christianity, religious movements and sociological trends; and anthropological interpretations of denominations and congregations; and spiritual devotional writings.[4] He has also written extensively about theological education, as well as contextual, pastoral and practical theology.

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."[5]

Early life and education

Percy was born on 31 July 1962.[6] 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).[7] After a short career in publishing (1984–1988), he trained for ordination at Durham.

Ordained ministry

Percy was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1990 and as a priest in 1991.[8] 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.

Cuddesdon

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,[9] 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.

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.[10][11][12] 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.

Deanery of Christ Church

Percy speaking at Christ Church in 2016

It was announced on 7 May 2014 that Percy would become the 45th Dean of Christ Church in Oxford.[13] He was the first dean to be democratically elected by the governing body, and was instituted to the deanery on 4 October 2014.[14] 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 is also the patron of St Francis' Children's Society (an Adoption and Fostering Agency with a Roman Catholic foundation), a governor of Christ Church Cathedral School, Westminster School and St Edward's School, Oxford, a trustee of the Grubb Institute, Gladstone's Library (Harwarden) and the Li Tim-Oi Foundation.

2018–2019 tribunal

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.[15] 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.[16][17]

Supporters of the dean have criticised Christ Church's complaints process, as no investigation or disciplinary hearing was necessary prior to his suspension from office. Angela Tilby, a canon emeritus of Christ Church, wrote in the Church Times that Percy faced hostility for desiring to make the institution "more inclusive, more open to the outside world, and, perhaps, more aware of its wealth and vested interests".[18] Paul Bayes (Bishop of Liverpool) and Alan Wilson (Bishop of Buckingham) have also conveyed public messages of support.[17]

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.[19] This was the first official statement regarding the nature of the tribunal.

Reinstatement

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.[20] 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.[21] The College's legal fees are not known. [22] The governing body has not read the whole text of the judgement provided by Sir Andrew. [23]

Over the course of the nine-month investigation and to date, supporters of Percy have raised over £100,000 to cover the cost of legal fees.[24]

Other roles

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.

Theology

Percy recording theological reflections in 2015

Percy's theology is generally considered to represent the liberal tradition in the Church of England.[25][26][27] 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.[28] 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."[29][30] 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.

Percy has adopted a progressive outlook on a number of social issues, such as LGBTQ rights and the ordination of women.[31][32] 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.[33] 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."[34]

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[35] 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 been a regular contributor to The Guardian, BBC Radio Four, and the BBC World Service.

Views

Anglican unity

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.[36] 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."[37] 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."[38]

Church leadership

Percy has been critical of Justin Welby's leadership as Archbishop of Canterbury, in particular his "managerial" style.[39] Percy described Welby's plans to send senior clergy on leadership courses, contained in the 2014 report of the Lord Green Steering Group,[40] as showing a poor judgment of the church's priorities and lacking in theological understanding.[41] 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."[42]

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."[43] 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.[44]

LGBTQ rights

Percy preaching at the George Fox Evangelical Seminary in 2013

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;[39] 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:[45]

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.[46]

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),[47] in calling on archbishops Welby and Sentamu to acknowledge the failings of the Anglican Communion in its treatment of LGBTQ people.[48] 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."[49]

Politics

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.[50] 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."[51]

Safeguarding

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.[52] 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.[53][54]

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.[55]

Women bishops

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".[56]

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.[57] North later withdrew his acceptance of the nomination, citing "personal attacks".[58] 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.[59]

Personal life

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.' "[60]

Percy is married to Emma Percy, who is chaplain and fellow at Trinity College, Oxford, and together they have two sons. He is a member of the Labour Party, a teetotaler and a lifelong supporter of Everton Football Club. His hobbies include running, playing squash, cinema, and listening to jazz.

Published works

Title	Publisher	Year	ISBN	Notes
The SPCK Handbook of the Study of Ministry	SPCK	2019	ISBN 9780281081363	Edited with Ian Markham, Emma Percy and Francesca Po
Reasonable Radical?: Reading the Writings of Martyn Percy	Pickwick Publications	2018	ISBN 9781532617836	Edited by Ian Markham and Joshua Daniel
Untamed Gospel: Poems, Prose and Protests	Canterbury Press	2017	ISBN 9781848259904	Co-authored with Nigel Biggar, Jamie Coates, Jim Cotter, Sarah Foot, Carol Harrison, Sylvia Sands and Graham Ward
Clergy, Culture and Ministry The dynamics of Roles and Relations in Church and Society	SCM Press	2017	ISBN 9780334056188	Editor
The Future Shapes of Anglicanism: Currents, Contours, Charts	Routledge	2017	ISBN 9781472477170
The Oxford Handbook of Anglican Studies	Oxford University Press	2015	ISBN 9780199218561	Edited with Mark Chapman and Sathianathan Clarke
Curacies and How to Survive Them	SPCK	2015	ISBN 9780281073436	Co-authored with Matthew Caminer and Beaumont Stevenson
The Wisdom of the Spirit: Gospel, Church and Culture	Routledge	2014	ISBN 9781472435651	Edited with Pete Ward
The Bright Field: Meditations and Reflections for Ordinary Time	Canterbury Press	2014	ISBN 9781848256125	Editor
Anglicanism: Confidence, Commitment and Communion	Routledge	2013	ISBN 9781409470366
Thirty Nine New Articles: An Anglican Landscape of Faith	Canterbury Press	2013	ISBN 9781848255258
The Ecclesial Canopy: Faith, Hope, Charity (Explorations in Practical, Pastoral and Empirical Theology)	Routledge	2012	ISBN 9781409441205
A Point of Balance: The Weight and Measure of Anglicanism	Canterbury Press	2011	ISBN 9780819228444	Edited with Robert Slocum
Shaping the Church: The Promise of Implicit Theology	Routledge	2010	ISBN 9780754666059
Apostolic Women, Apostolic Authority	Canterbury Press	2010	ISBN 9780819224507	Edited with Christina Rees
Christ and Culture: Communion After Lambeth	Canterbury Press	2010	ISBN 9780819227980	Editor
Evaluating Fresh Expressions	Canterbury Press	2008	ISBN 9781853118166	Edited with Louise Nelstrop
Darkness Yielding: Liturgies, Prayers and Reflections for Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week and Easter	Canterbury Press	2007	ISBN 9781853118449	Co-authored with Jim Cotter, Sylvia Sands, William Hubert Vanstone and Rowan Williams
Clergy: The Origin of Species	Continuum International	2006	ISBN 9780826482877
Why Liberal Churches are Growing	T&T Clark	2006	ISBN 9780567081636	Edited with Ian Markham
Engaging with Contemporary Culture: Christianity, Theology and the Concrete Church	Routledge	2005	ISBN 9780754632597
The Character of Wisdom: Essays in Honour of Wesley Carr	Routledge	2004	ISBN 0754634183	Edited with Stephen Lowe
Fundamentalism, Church and Society	SPCK	2002	ISBN 0281051887	Edited with Ian Jones
The Salt of the Earth: Religious Resilience in a Secular Age	Continuum International	2001	ISBN 9781841270654	Re-published in Bloomsbury Academic Collection (2016)
Restoring the Image: Essays in Honour of David Martin	Sheffield Academic Press	2001	ISBN 1841270644	Edited with Andrew Walker
Previous Convictions: Conversion in the Present Day	SPCK	2000	ISBN 0281051801	Editor
Managing the Church? Order and Organisation in a Secular Age	Sheffield Academic Press	2000	ISBN 1841270628	Edited with Gillian Evans
Calling Time: Religion and Change at the Turn of the Millennium	Sheffield Academic Press	2000	ISBN 1841270636	Editor; re-published in Bloomsbury Academic Collection (2016)
Intimate Affairs: Sexuality and Spirituality in Perspective	Darton, Longman & Todd	1997	ISBN 0232522073	Editor
Power and the Church: Ecclesiology in an Age of Transition	Cassell	1997	ISBN 9781441113580
Words, Wonders and Power: Understanding Contemporary Christian Fundamentalism and Revivalism	SPCK	1996	ISBN 9780281048557

Key essays in edited books

Title	Publisher	Year	ISBN	Notes
‘Religion, Mobilisation and Power’ in The International Encyclopaedia of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Vol. 19	Elsevier	2001	ISBN 9780080430768
‘Falling Far Short: Taking Sin Seriously’ in Reinhold Niebuhr and Contemporary Politics	Oxford University Press	2010	ISBN 9780199571833	Edited by Richard Harries and Stephen Platten
‘The Future of Religion’ in the Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare	Oxford University Press	2012	ISBN 9780199571390	Co-authored with Grace Davie, Edited by Mark R Cobb, Christina M Puchalski, and Bruce Rumbold
‘Jazz and Anglican Spirituality’ in Christian Congregational Music: Performance, Identity, Experience	Routledge	2013	ISBN 9781409466024	Edited by Monique Ingalls, Carolyn Landau & Tom Wagner
‘The Anatomy of Fundamentalism’ in Fundamentalisms: Threats and Ideologies in the Modern World	I.B.Tauris	2015	ISBN 9781780769509	Edited by James Dunn
‘Protestantism’ in The Handbook of Christian Movements	Brill	2015	ISBN 9789004265394	Edited by Stephan Hunt
‘Class, Ethnicity and Education: Leadership, Congregations and the Sociology of Anglicanism’ in The Oxford History of Anglicanism, Volume IV: Global Western Anglicanism, c. 1910-present	Oxford University Press	2017	ISBN 9780199641406	Edited by Jeremy Morris
’The Household of Faith: Anglican Obliquity and the Lambeth Conference’ in The Lambeth Conference and the Anglican Communion	Bloomsbury	2017	ISBN 9780567662316	Edited by Paul Avis and Benjamin Guyer
‘Mood, Identity and Character in Anglican Congregations’ in Theologically-Engaged Anthropology	Oxford University Press	2018	ISBN 9780198797852	Edited by J.Derrick Lemons
‘A Critical Theology of Megachurches’ in Handbook of Megachurches	Brill	2019	ISBN 9789004399884	Edited by Stephen Hunt
‘Christmas in the Anglican Tradition’ in The Oxford Handbook of Christmas	Oxford University Press	2020	ISBN forthcoming	Edited by Timothy Larsen

See also

• Oxford Centre for Ecclesiology and Practical Theology

References

1. Percy, Martyn William (1993). "Signs, Wonders and Church Growth": The Theme of Power in Contemporary Christian Fundamentalism with Special Reference to the Works of John Wimber (PhD thesis). London: King's College, London. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
2. Percy, Martyn William (1993). "Signs, Wonders and Church Growth": The Theme of Power in Contemporary Christian Fundamentalism with Special Reference to the Works of John Wimber (PhD thesis). London: King's College, London. p. 5. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
3. "New Dean installed at Christ Church". Diocese of Oxford. 6 October 2014.
4. Simon Coleman (2016). Abby Day (ed.). "Locating the Church". Contemporary Issues in the Worldwide Communion. Routledge. pp. 213–228.
5. Peter Cornwell (25 October 2013). "Quiet, please". Times Literary Supplement. p. 29.
6. "Percy, Martyn William". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2019 (1 December 2018 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 27 January 2019. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
7. "Percy's rocky road to enlightenment". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
8. "Martyn William Percy". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
9. "Our History | Ripon College Cuddesdon". www.rcc.ac.uk. Ripon College.
10. "College chapel shortlisted for top architecture award". Oxford Mail. 20 July 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
11. Mark, Laura (10 February 2015). "Four Stirling Prize finalists make Mies van der Rohe shortlist". Architects Journal. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
12. Townsend, Lucy (16 September 2013). "Stirling Prize: Bishop Edward King Chapel". BBC News Magazine. BBC.
13. "Deanery of Christ Church, Oxford: Reverend Canon Professor Martyn Percy". Government of the United Kingdom. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
14. "Christ Church Cathedral e-newsletter" (Autumn 2014). 2014. Archived from the original (swf) on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
15. "Martyn Percy, dean of Christ Church, comes to grief in heart of stuffy Oxbridge". Sunday Times. 4 November 2018.
16. Madeleine Davies (5 November 2018). "Dean of Oxford, Martyn Percy, faces removal from office". Church Times.
17. Harriet Sherwood (17 November 2018). "Reformist dean at Oxford 'medieval fiefdom' is being bullied, supporters claim". The Guardian.
18. Angela Tilby (16 November 2018). "A reforming dean may be unpopular". Church Times.
19. Rosemary Bennett and Kaya Burgess (29 January 2019). "Dean's 'immoral conduct' was a pay row, admits Christ Church college, Oxford". The Times.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
20. "Tribunal outcome: Christ Church statement".}
21. Harriet Sherwood (22 August 2019). "Suspended dean of Oxford college to be reinstated". The Guardian.
22. "Christ Church employment tribunal on hold until autumn 2021 at the earliest". Church Times. 21 February 2020.
23. Andrew Billen, Rosemary Bennett (3 March 2020). "Christ Church Oxford tries to silence defence of dean". The Guardian.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
24. " "Dean of Christ Church can return to work after tribunal dismisses complaint". Church Times. 21 August 2019.
25. Mark Vasey-Saunders (2015). The Scandal of Evangelicals and Homosexuality: English Evangelical Texts, 1960–2010. Routledge.
26. Walton, Andy (11 February 2016). "Evangelical college stands by decision to invite liberal professor to preach". Christian Today. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
27. Percy, Martyn (February 2010). "Why Liberal Churches are Growing?" (PDF). Affirming Liberalism. The prayer then, for all liberals in the third Millennium, is that we will continue to recover and rediscover the graciously liberal God
28. Martyn Percy (2013). Anglicanism: Confidence, Commitment and Communion. Routledge.
29. Martyn Percy (2013). Thirty-Nine New Articles: An Anglican Landscape of Faith. Canterbury Press.
30. Gavin D'Costa (June 2008). "Engaging with Contemporary Culture". International Journal of Public Theology. 2 (3): 162.
31. Mark Vasey-Saunders (2015). The Scandal of Evangelicals and Homosexuality: English Evangelical Texts, 1960–2010. Routledge.
32. Walton, Andy (11 February 2016). "Evangelical college stands by decision to invite liberal professor to preach". Christian Today. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
33. Martyn Percy (1997). Power and the Church: Ecclesiology in an Age of Transition. Cassell.
34. Nigel Rooms (2012). "Deep listening: A call for missionary anthropology". Theology. Sage Publications. 115 (2): 99–108. doi:10.1177/0040571X11430896.
35. "Who we are". Modern Church. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
36. Martyn Percy (4 November 2006). "Face to faith". The Guardian.
37. Martyn Percy (11 October 2003). "Breaking up is hard to do". The Guardian.
38. Martyn Percy (12 July 2003). "Call off the canon fire". The Guardian.
39. Martyn Percy (2017). The Future of Shapes of Anglicanism: Currents, Contours, Charts. Routledge Publishing.
40. "Talent Management for Future Leaders and Leadership Development for Bishops and Deans: A New Approach" (PDF). Church of England. September 2014.
41. Barney Thompson (17 December 2014). "Church of England management courses overlook God, say critics". Financial Times.
42. Mark Greaves. "God's management consultants: the Church of England turns to bankers for salvation". The Spectatordate=18 July 2015.
43. Harriet Sherwood (13 August 2016). "Top cleric says Church of England risks becoming a 'suburban sect'". The Guardian.
44. "95 New Theses". ArchbishopCranmer. 3 January 2017.
45. Nick Duffy (20 December 2015). "Archbishop of Canterbury 'should apologise' for Church homophobia". PinkNews.
46. Martyn Percy (15 December 2015). "Sex, Sense and Non-Sense for Anglicans". Modern Church. p. 4.
47. "Published Signatories". Open Letter to Archbishops – Jan 2016. 7 January 2016.
48. "'Repent' call to Church over gay Christian treatment". BBC News. 10 January 2016.
49. Harriet Sherwood; Rowena Mason (15 January 2016). "Chris Bryant quits Church of England over its views on homosexuality". The Guardian.
50. Greg Garrett (7 July 2016). "Brexit Reminds Us: We Need "Liberal Values"". HuffPost.
51. Kieran Bohan (30 June 2016). "After Brexit – Can we find a broad and middle way? Senior cleric calls for new social-progressive political party". Modern Church.
52. Martyn Percy (November 2017). "The Bell Case and the Wider Culture of the Church of England". George Bell Group.
53. Lord Carlile of Berriew (15 December 2017). "Bishop George Bell, The Independent Review" (PDF). Church of England.
54. Martyn Percy (19 December 2017). "Why the Church's response to the George Bell inquiry is so shocking". Christian Today.
55. "Church of England 'no longer competent' to manage safeguarding, says senior cleric". Modern Church. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
56. Martyn Percy (21 November 2012). "Women bishops: a failure of leadership". The Daily Telegraph.
57. Kieran Bohan (24 February 2017). "Oxford theologian invites bishop-designate of Sheffield to decline nomination". Modern Church.
58. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/09/bishop-turns-down-promotion-after-protests-over-stance-on-women
59. "Sunday programme, 12 March 2017". BBC Radio Four website. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
60. "How the Church is deciphering The Code". Church Times. 2 November 2006.

External links

• Martyn Percy on Twitter
• Christ Church official website
• Percy's speech at the 'Religion Debate' on YouTube, hosted by the Oxford Union on 28 April 2016 (in opposition to the motion, This House Believes Religion Remains the Opiate of the Masses)
• Patron of Educational Wealth Fund (2018)

Church of England titles
Preceded by Christopher Lewis	Dean of Christ Church 2014–present	Incumbent
Academic offices
Preceded by John Clarke	Principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon 2004–2014	Succeeded by Humphrey Southern