Christopher Chavasse

Christopher Chavasse
Bishop of Rochester
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Diocese of Rochester
Elected	19 March 1940
Reign ended	30 September 1960
Predecessor	Linton Smith
Successor	David Say
Orders
Consecration	25 April 1940
Personal details
Born	9 November 1884(1884-11-09) Oxford
Died	10 March 1962(1962-03-10) (aged 77)
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglican
Parents	Rt Revd Francis Chavasse & Ethel Maude[1]
Spouse	Beatrice Willbank[1]
Children	3 sons; 1 daughter[1]
Profession	Military Chaplain; Olympic athlete
Alma mater	Trinity College, Oxford

Christopher Maude Chavasse OBE MC ED (9 November 1884 – 10 March 1962)^[2] was a British athlete, soldier, and religious leader. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, served in the First World War, and was later Bishop of Rochester.

Pre-war

Chavasse was the son of Francis Chavasse, Bishop of Liverpool and founder of St Peter's College, Oxford and his wife Ethel Maude.^[1] His twin brother, Noel Godfrey Chavasse,^[3] won the Victoria Cross and bar. Christopher was the elder of the two by 20 minutes. The twins had two other brothers and three sisters.

Both Christopher and Noel Chavasse attended Trinity College, Oxford, competing in both rugby and athletics. They competed on the British team at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London: Christopher came second in his preliminary heat of the 400 metres shortly after Noel came third in his heat of the same event. Neither advanced to the semi-finals.

World War I

Medals of Noel and Christopher Chavasse. Noel's medals are top row. Christopher's medals are bottom row.

All four of the Chavasse brothers (Christopher, Noel, Aidan, and Bernard) served during the First World War. Christopher was a chaplain; Noel and Bernard served as medics. Aidan was wounded and went missing during a raid; the other three brothers each earned the Military Cross. Noel also became one of only three men to receive the Victoria Cross twice, the second posthumously. Christopher was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Military Division. He and Bernard survived the war.

Christopher's other decorations included the 1914 Star with clasp, the British War Medal, the Victory Medal, and the Croix de guerre.

Post-war

After the First World War, Chavasse rose through the ranks of the Church of England. He was nominated Bishop of Rochester on 19 March 1940, consecrated on 25 April the same year, and served in that position until his resignation on 30 September 1960.^[2]

In 1948, a sermon given by Chavasse about Belshazzar's Feast was featured as a religious short film produced by J. Arthur Rank.^[4]

In 1943 Chavasse was chairman of the Archbishops' Commission on Evangelism which published the controversial report Towards the conversion of England.^[5][6][7] In accordance with his hope for mass evangelisation, in 1955 Chavasse supported the Crusade of Billy Graham at Harringay Arena.^[8]

He served as the first Master of St Peter's College, Oxford upon its founding in 1929 by his father.^[9] He also served briefly as an original Trustee of the college upon its incorporation in 1961.^[10]

Chavasse married Beatrice Willbank shortly after the war, in July 1919.^[1] They had three sons: Noel, their eldest son named in honour of his uncle Noel Godfrey Chavasse, Michael and John, and a daughter, Anna.^[1]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} The Peerage – Christopher Maud Chavasse
2. ^ ^{a b} Fryde et al., p. 269.
3. ^ Gummer, S. The Chavasse twins, 1963. 255 pages.
4. ^ "Shot in the Arm". TIME Magazine (Time Inc.). 1948-12-06. http://time-proxy.yaga.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,853572,00.html. Retrieved 2006-07-24. 
5. ^ Towards the conversion of England : being the report of a Commission on Evangelism appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and York pursuant to a resolution of the Church Assembly passed at the Summer Session 1943. (dedicated to the memory of William Temple). Commission on Evangelism Westminster Press and Publications Board of the Church Assembly, 1945. 172 pages.
6. ^ Beeson, Trevor. The Bishops, p.198
7. ^ Edwards, D.L. Leaders of the Church of England, 1828-1944, p.335.
8. ^ Manwaring, R. From Controversy to Co-Existence: Evangelicals in the Church of England 1914-1980, Cambridge University Press, 2002, p.90
9. ^ St Peter's College, Oxford; University Calendar entry, 2003-2004
10. ^ Constitution of The College of St. Peter le Bailey

References

• Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association. 
• De Wael, Herman (2001). "Athletics 1908". Herman's Full Olympians. http://users.skynet.be/hermandw/olymp/ath1908.html. Retrieved 24 July 2006. 
• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (eds.) (1986) [1941]. Handbook of British Chronology (Third edition ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 
• Jones, Ian (2003). "Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse, VC and Bar, MC, RAMC. (1884-1917)". http://www.chavasse.u-net.com/chavasse.html. Retrieved 24 July 2006. 
• Stratford, Stephen. "VC & Bar Recipients". British Military & Criminal History in the period 1900 to 1999.. http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/two_vcs.htm. Retrieved 24 July 2006. 
• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich". http://olympic.w.interia.pl/. Retrieved 24 July 2006.  (Polish)

Church of England titles
Preceded by Linton Smith	Bishop of Rochester 1940–1960	Succeeded by David Say

Persondata
Name	Chavasse, Christopher Maude
Alternative names
Short description	Anglican bishop; OBE and MC; Olympic athlete
Date of birth	9 November 1884
Place of birth	Oxford
Date of death	10 March 1962
Place of death