The Reverend

Mike Ovey
Principal of Oak Hill College
ChurchChurch of England
In office2007 to 2017
Other post(s)Lecturer at Moore Theological College, Sydney (1995–1998)
Assistant Curate of All Saints Church, Crowborough (1991–1995)
Orders
Ordination1991 (deacon)
1992 (priest)
Personal details
Born
Michael John Ovey

(1958-12-09)9 December 1958
Isle of Wight, United Kingdom
Died7 January 2017(2017-01-07) (aged 58)
London, England
NationalityBritish
DenominationAnglicanism
SpouseHeather
ChildrenThree
Alma materBalliol College, Oxford
Ridley Hall, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Moore Theological College
King's College, London

Michael John "Mike" Ovey (9 December 1958 – 7 January 2017) was a British Anglican clergyman, academic, and former lawyer. From 2007 until his death, he was Principal of Oak Hill College, a conservative evangelical theological college in London, England.

Early life and education

Ovey was born on 9 December 1958 on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom.[1] He studied at Balliol College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1981.[2] He remained at Balliol College to study for the Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree, a postgraduate degree, which he completed in 1982.[1] He then worked as a lawyer in the Civil Service where he would help draft government legislation.[3]

In 1988, Ovey matriculated into Ridley Hall, Cambridge, an Evangelical Anglican theological college, to train for ordained ministry.[2] During this time, he also studied theology at Trinity College, Cambridge, from which he graduated with a further BA degree in 1991.[1] After three years training, he left Ridley Hall to be ordained in the Church of England.[2]

Ovey continued his studies during his ministry. He graduated with a Master of Theology (MTh) degree from Moore Theological College (accredited by the Australian College of Theology) in 2000.[1][2] He undertook postgraduate research at King's College, London (a constituent college of the University of London), completing his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 2005.[1][4] His doctoral thesis was titled The Eternal Relation between the Father and the Son and Its Handling by Selected Patristic Theologians, with Particular Reference to John's Gospel.[4]

Ordained ministry

Ovey was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1991 and as a priest in 1992.[2] From 1991 to 1995, he served his curacy at All Saints Church, Crowborough in the Diocese of Chichester.[2][3] He then moved to Australia, where he worked as a Junior Lecturer at Moore Theological College, Sydney.[1]

Having returned to England in 1998, Ovey joined the staff of Oak Hill College, a conservative evangelical theological college in London, as the Kingham Hill Research Fellow.[1][2][3] From 2005 to 2007, he was also a lecturer and the College Dean.[1] He was Principal of Oak Hill Theological College from 2007 until his death in 2017.[2]

Views

Ovey identified as a reformed evangelical.[5] He held complementarian beliefs: that men and women are "equal but different".[6] In 2013, he addressed the second Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) that was being held in Nairobi, Kenya.[7][8] Following his death, he was described by Wallace Benn as "the foremost conservative evangelical theologian of his times".[6]

Death

Ovey died suddenly of a heart attack on 7 January 2017; he was aged 58.[9][10] His funeral was held at Enfield Evangelical Free Church on 23 January 2017.[11]

Personal life

In 1987, Ovey married Heather Elizabeth Jefferyes.[1] Together they had three children;[3] one daughter and two sons.[1]

Selected works

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "OVEY, Rev. Dr Michael John". Who's Who 2016. Oxford University Press. November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Michael John Ovey". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d "Mike Ovey". oakhill.ac.uk. Oak Hill College. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  4. ^ a b Ovey, Michael John (2005). "The eternal relation between the Father and the Son and its handling by selected patristic theologians, with particular reference to John's Gospel". E-Thesis Online Service. The British Library. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  5. ^ "About us - organization". Church Society. Retrieved 10 January 2017. Mike is a reformed evangelical and is convinced that this alone is authentic Anglicanism to which the Church of England should be committed.
  6. ^ a b Benn, Wallace (March 2017). "Mike Ovey 1958 –2017". Evangelicals Now. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Mike Ovey - a statement by the General Secretary". gafcon.org. Global Anglican Future Conference. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  8. ^ Ovey, Mike (2013). "The Grace of God OR the World of the West?" (PDF). www.gafcon.org. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Mike Ovey". Oak Hill Blog. Oak Hill College. 8 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  10. ^ Church Society [@@ChurchSociety] (8 January 2017). "Please pray for the family and friends of Mike Ovey, Principal of Oak Hill College, who died suddenly yesterday" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 January 2017 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "Funeral thanksgiving service for Mike Ovey". Oak Hill College. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
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