Regius professorship of divinity

The Regius Professorships of Divinity are amongst the oldest professorships at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. A third chair existed for a period at Trinity College, Dublin.

The Oxford and Cambridge chairs were founded by King Henry VIII. The chair at Cambridge originally had a stipend of £40 per year (which is still paid to the incumbent by Trinity College), later increased by James I with the rectory of Somersham, Cambridgeshire.

(Sources: Oxford Historical Register 1200-1900 and supplements; and the Oxford University Calendar)

The Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Dublin was established in 1607 as the "Professor of Theological Controversies". The endowment was increased in 1674 by letters patent of Charles II. The title "Regius Professor" was specified in 1761 by letters patent of George III. The School of Divinity was founded in the late 18th century with the Regius Professor as its head. The School's link to the Church of Ireland was controversial after the Irish Church Act 1869 disestablished the church and the University of Dublin Tests Act 1873 allowed non-Anglican fellows. The debate became dormant after 1911 letters patent altered the School's governance. It reignited in the 1960s, after which vacancies in the School of Divinity went unfilled, including the Regius Professorship in 1982. The School of Divinity was replaced in 1978–81 by a non-denominational School of Hebrew, Biblical and Theological Studies (renamed the Department of Religions and Theology in 2004) although the statutes mandating a School and Regius Professor of Divinity remain unrepealed.

Professors were:

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