Dean of Chapel shortlisted for international theological writing award

"All of the shortlisted writers have a deep sense of life as a mysterious gift to be explored. To be named alongside them is wonderful and humbling.”

The Reverend Canon Mark Oakley, Dean of Chapel at St John’s, has been shortlisted for the Michael Ramsey Prize for the 'most promising contemporary theological writing from the global Church'.

Canon Mark Oakley

Canon Oakley’s book The Splash of Words: Believing in poetry has been named along with the authors of five other books including Rachel Mann and Keith Eyeons. The Splash of Words argues that belief in poetry is vital for understanding that God is in the world as poetry is in a poem. It includes 40 poems from contemporary poets, as well as poems from earlier generations. The shortlist was announced by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will be awarding the prizes in August at the Greenbelt Festival.

The prize was established in 2005 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Rowan Williams, in memory of Michael Ramsey, Archbishop from 1961 to 1974. It is awarded every three years, those shortlisted receive £1000, and the winner is awarded £10,000. The judging panel includes The Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, the First Church Estates Commissioner, Loretta Minghella, and humanitarian Terry Waite.

Canon Oakley, came to St John's in 2018 from St Paul’s Cathedral where he was chancellor, he is a Deputy Priest in Ordinary to HM The Queen, and a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King’s College, London. He is also a passionate campaigner for social justice and human rights. His book has been described by Poet Laureate Dame Carol Ann Duffy as ‘beautiful and wise’.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said: “This year’s shortlist spans a remarkable range of subjects — from spirituality, culture and the new sciences, to the impact of the Great War on our faith and rituals. Woven through many of them is an urgent concern for deep issues of justice and reconciliation — from the environment, to refugees, to being church with those who are different from ourselves. This breadth of vision shows the vibrancy of contemporary theology, and the riches that await those who explore it.”

Canon Oakley said: “I am extremely honoured to be shortlisted for the prize named after such a rema​rkable theologian and archbishop.

“Emily Dickinson once said that 'to be alive is so amazing there's hardly any time for anything else', and all the shortlisted writers have a deep sense of life as a mysterious gift to be explored. To be named alongside them is wonderful and humbling.”