William Hugh Clifford Frend

William Hugh Clifford Frend (11 January 1916 – 1 August 2005) was an English ecclesiastical historian, archaeologist and Anglican priest.

Academic career

• Haileybury College (scholar)
• Keble College, Oxford (scholar, BA First class in Modern History 1937, MA 1951, DPhil with thesis on Donatists 1940, DD 1966)
• Craven Scholarship to study in Berlin (with Hans Lietzmann) and North Africa
• Research fellowship at University of Nottingham
• Associate Director, Egypt Exploration Society, Q'asr Ibrim, Nubia 1963–64
• Bye Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (BD 1964)
• Fellow and University lecturer in Divinity. During this time the Prince of Wales, then reading archaeology and anthropology at Trinity, was one of his students.
• Professor of Ecclesiastical History, and Dean of the Faculty of Divinity, in the University of Glasgow 1969–84 (Emeritus 1984–2005)
• Chairman, Association of University Teachers 1976–78
• Frend once stood for local government as Liberal Party candidate in Cambridge
• In the 1980s he worked at Carthage with a team from the University of Michigan
• In retirement was again elected Bye Fellow of Caius and in his last years wrote a new book about the early life of Augustine

Military career

• Assistant Principal, War Office 1940
• Seconded to Cabinet Office and served on Committees for Allied Supplies and the Free French
• Liaison officer, Psychological Warfare Branch, Tunis
• Service in Austria for 18 months
• Italy
• Commissioned officer, Queen's Royal Regiment 1947–67

Ministry

Frend inclined towards the Low Church tradition. He was a sometimes reluctant liberal who cautiously supported the ordination of women but criticised Bishop Jenkins of Durham over his non-traditional ideas about Christmas. He was considered a good and humble pastor and an enlightening, if theologically uncoventional, preacher.

• Reader 1956–82
• Ordained deacon in the Scottish Episcopal Church 1982
• Non Stipendiary Minister, Aberfoyle 1982–84
• Ordained priest in the Scottish Episcopal Church 1983
• Priest-in-charge, Barnwell with Thurning and Luddington 1984–90
• Permission to officiate in the Diocese of Ely 1990–2005
• Until his death, he continued to take two services every month

Public recognition

• Złoty Krzyż Zasługi z Mieczami (Gold Cross of Merit with Swords), Government of the Polish Republic in Exile
• Territorial Efficiency Decoration 1959
• Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London 1952
• Fellow of the Royal Historical Society 1954
• D.D. honoris causa, University of Edinburgh 1974
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1979
• Fellow of the British Academy 1983
• He set up and financed the Frend Medal, awarded by the Society of Antiquaries for archaeology, history and topography of the early Christian Church.^[1] Recipients include Harold McCarter Taylor and Charles Thomas (1981),^[2] Philip Rahtz (2003), Günter P Gehring (2000)^[3] Birthe Kjølbye-Biddle (1986),^[4] Nancy Gauthier (2002),^[5] and Samuel Turner 2004.^[6]

Family

Frend was married to Mary Grace (née Crook; 1951–2002). They had one son, Simon, and one daughter, Sally. His father was a priest of High Church persuasion.

Major works

• The Donatist Church (1952)
• Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church (1965)
• The Rise of the Monophysite Movement (1972)
• The Rise of Christianity (1984)

See also

• Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Glasgow
• List of Professorships at the University of Glasgow
• Trinity College, Glasgow

References

1. "Society of Antiquaries of London – Volume 83, 2003". sal.org.uk. 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011. archaeology, history and topography of the early Christian Church
2. "Society of Antiquaries of London – Harold McCarter Taylor, C.B.E., T.D., M.A., MSc, PhD". sal.org.uk. 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011. Charles Thomas
3. "Society of Antiquaries of London – Volume 80, 2000 work=sal.org.uk". 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011. Günter P Gehring
4. "Society of Antiquaries of London – Birthe Kjølbye-Biddle". sal.org.uk. 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011. 1986
5. "Society of Antiquaries of London – Volume 82, 2002". sal.org.uk. 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011. Nancy Gauthier
6. "Society of Antiquaries of London – Salon 87 – 25 April 2004". sal.org.uk. 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011. Samuel Turner

External links

• Church Times obituary
• Telegraph obituary
• The Times obituary