Mike Ovey | |
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Principal of Oak Hill College | |
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Church | Church of England |
In office | 2007 to 2017 |
Other post(s) | Lecturer at Moore Theological College, Sydney (1995–1998) Assistant Curate of All Saints Church, Crowborough (1991–1995) |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1991 (deacon) 1992 (priest) |
Personal details | |
Born | Michael John Ovey 9 December 1958 Isle of Wight, United Kingdom |
Died | 7 January 2017 London, England | (aged 58)
Nationality | British |
Denomination | Anglicanism |
Spouse | Heather |
Children | Three |
Alma mater | Balliol 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
- Jeffery, Steve; Ovey, Michael; Sach, Andrew (2007). Pierced for our transgressions: rediscovering the glory of penal substitution. Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press. ISBN 978-1844741786.
- Ovey, Michael; Strange, Daniel (2015). Confident: Why we can trust the Bible. Fearn: Christian Focus Publications. ISBN 978-1781915547.
- Ovey, Michael (2016). Your Will Be Done: Exploring Eternal Subordination, Divine Monarchy and Divine Humility. London: The Latimer Trust. ISBN 978-1906327408.
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Michael John Ovey". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Mike Ovey". oakhill.ac.uk. Oak Hill College. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b Benn, Wallace (March 2017). "Mike Ovey 1958 –2017". Evangelicals Now. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ "Mike Ovey - a statement by the General Secretary". gafcon.org. Global Anglican Future Conference. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ Ovey, Mike (2013). "The Grace of God OR the World of the West?" (PDF). www.gafcon.org. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ "Mike Ovey". Oak Hill Blog. Oak Hill College. 8 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Funeral thanksgiving service for Mike Ovey". Oak Hill College. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.