Henry Martyn House: our Centre for World Christianity
A house next to the college (right, in main photo) has been set aside for church leaders and theologians from around the world who, as World Church Fellows or shorter-term visitors, are invited to join in our life at Trinity and share with us their vision, their experiences of the church, their research and any specialist academic expertise that they have. At the same time their stay with us will give them the opportunity for rest and reflection.
We have finished the first phase of refurbishment, so that we can provide three study bedrooms with their own bathrooms as well as a communal kitchen and conference room. Revd Dr John Corrie, our Tutor in Mission, led the college community in prayers to dedicate the use of the building to God (third small photo from top).
Henry Martyn House takes its name from the pioneer missionary and translator (see below). It was purchased in 2009 with the help of donations. It was officially named in June 2009, during our summer celebration for alumni and friends, in the presence of Lord Carey (Principal of Trinity College 1982-87) and Mrs Mary Bateman-Wang (both in the photo, top right, with George Kovoor), whose father, former Clifton Theological College student Revd Canon Martyn Bateman, who died in October 2011, was one of those who helped us to buy the house.
If you are interested in coming to stay in Henry Martyn House, please see further details.
Round-table discussions on mission
From time to time we hold round-table discussions between those staying at Henry Martyn House as World Church Fellows (see below) or as short-term visitors. Summaries of round-table discussions held at Henry Martyn House.
World Church Fellows and other residents
One of our current World Church Fellows is Dr Howard A. Snyder, a well-known missiologist from the USA. He and his wife Janice are with us for the first term of the academic year. Dr Snyder is leading three Study Days on 15 October (Salvation, Creation, Mission), 6 November (Models of the Kingdom) and 26 November (The Radical Wesley).
Our first two World Church Fellows were the Ven. Eddie Ong, Archdeacon of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia, and the Ven. Geoffrey Molokwu, Principal of Trinity Theological College, Umuahia, Nigeria. (They are both in the small photo second from top.) Since then we have had a variety of visitors. In February 2012 we welcomed Revd Canon Dr Brett Cane (bottom photo), who is with us for 18 months and is acting as Context Supervisor for the J18 context.
Henry Martyn: mission and scholarship
Henry Martyn has left an outstanding example of missionary zeal and scholarship which makes him a fitting model for us at Trinity. During his short life he witnessed boldly to his faith in India and Persia (Iran) and gave himself selflessly to translating Christian writings.He was born in 1781 and studied at Cambridge University where he excelled at mathematics and was elected a Fellow of St John's College. After becoming a Christian in Cambridge in 1800, he was inspired to go to India as a missionary after hearing Revd Charles Simeon of Holy Trinity Church speaking of the huge influence of one missionary to that country, William Carey. The following year Martyn was ordained and became Charles Simeon's curate.
He arrived in India in 1806 as a chaplain to the East India Company and used his linguistic skills to translate a number of Christian writings into Urdu, Hindi and Arabic. These included the New Testament in Hindi and Persian, the psalter in Persian, the Book of Common Prayer in Hindi, and a revision of the Arabic New Testament. On a visit to Persia, where he hoped to be involved in further translation work, he fell ill and died in October 1812, aged only 31.
