Gore, Charles

(1853–1932)

   Bishop, Theologian and Order Founder.

   Gore was educated at the University of Oxford. He was ordained in 1875 and in 1883 he became the first Principal of Pusey House. He was a dedicated AngloCatholic, but he brought a degree of liberalism into the movement. In 1889, Lux Mundi, a collection of essays edited by him, caused a sensation. In the preface he argued that changing times ‘required a new point of view’ and that the aim of the book was to ‘put the Catholic faith into its right relationship to modern intellectual and moral problems’. In his own essay on the Holy Spirit and inspiration, he accepted scientific hermeneutical principles. Gore became a Canon of Westminster in 1894, Bishop of Worcester in 1902, the first Bishop of Birmingham in 1905 and Bishop of Oxford in 1911. He was an immensely influential figure within the Church of England, not least for his founding of the Community of the Resurrection (now at Mirfield), an Anglican community dedicated to educational and pastoral work.

   The Community of the Resurrection Diamond Jubilee Book (1952);

   J. Carpenter, Gore: A Study in Liberal Catholic Thought (1960);

   W.R. Inge, ‘Bishop Gore and the Church of England’, in Outspoken Essays (1919).