Ronald Hall

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The Right Reverend
Ronald Owen Hall
CMG MC & Bar
Province Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui
Diocese Victoria (1932-51)
Hong Kong and Macau
Installed 30 December 1932
Predecessor Charles Ridley Duppuy
(Diocese of Victoria)
Successor Gilbert Baker
(Diocese of Hong Kong and Macau)
Orders
Ordination 1925
Consecration 1932
Personal details
Born 22 July 1895
Newcastle
Died 22 April 1975
Lewknor, Oxfordshire
Buried St Margaret's Lewknor, Oxfordshire[1]
Nationality British

Ronald Owen Hall, CMG MC & Bar, known in Chinese as 何明華 (Mandarin Chinese: He Minghua; Cantonese: Ho Ming Wah) was an Anglican missionary bishop in Hong Kong and China in the mid 20th century. As an emergency measure during the Second World War, with China under Japanese occupation, he ordained Li Tim-Oi as the first woman priest in the Anglican Communion

Hall had just finished his schooling when the First World War broke out, during which he served as an infantry and staff officer. He was decorated with the Military Cross and Bar, and rose to the rank of major. After the war he took a shortened degree course at the University of Oxford, and made his first visit to China for a student Christian conference in 1922. After a period as a parish priest in his native Newcastle, he became Bishop of Victoria, Hong Kong in 1932, remaining in Hong Kong until his retirement in 1966. He and his wife then settled in Oxfordshire.

Early life and war service

Hall was born on 22 July 1895 in Newcastle, England, the second child (and eldest son) of an Anglican clergyman, Cecil Gallopine Hall, who was then Curate of St Andrew's Newcastle, and his wife Constance Gertrude (née Upcher, herself the daughter of another clergyman).[2][3] Hall was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, and Bromsgrove School.[2][4] With the outbreak of the First World War, he joined the Northumberland Fusiliers. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 10 December 1914 for service with the 18th (1st Tyneside) Battalion,[5][6] one of the "Pals battalions" raised as part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies. He was promoted to temporary captain on 1 April 1915.[7] He was transferred to 15th (Nottingham) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters on 9 July 1915, and subsequently to the General List with the same date, having been appointed a staff captain.[8][9] On 7 June 1916 he was appointed a General Staff Officer, 3rd Grade.[10] On 7 April 1917 he was appointed brigade major,[11][12] reputedly the youngest in the British Army.[2] He was appointed General Staff Officer, 2nd Grade, with the temporary rank of major (United Kingdom), on 14 October 1918.[13][14] He relinquished his commission on 16 January 1919.[15][16] He was awarded the Military Cross in the 1918 New Year Honours,[17] and a Bar to the medal in the 1919 New Year Honours.[18]

Early ministry

After the war, Hall took his degree at Brasenose College, Oxford, on the shortened degree course run in the immediate post-war years. He became a leader of the British Student Christian Movement and was appointed to the national staff in 1920.[3] Hall attended the World's Student Christian Federation conference in Peking in 1922. He became friends with young Chinese Christian leaders, including T. Z. Koo (Gu Ziren), an evangelist, and Y. T. Wu, founder of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement in China.[3]

Ordained deacon in 1920 in Newcastle Cathedral and priest in Southwark Cathedral in 1921 for work with the Student Christian Movement,[19] Hall later became vicar of St Luke's Newcastle upon Tyne.[20]

Hong Kong

In 1932 he was appointed Bishop of Victoria, Hong Kong,[21][22] and then from 1951 of the smaller Diocese of Hong Kong and Macau, retiring in 1966.[23] He was (and is) known in Chinese as 何明華 (Mandarin: He Minghua; Cantonese: Ho Ming Wah); 何 approximates the sound of "Hall" and 明華 means "understands Chinese people".

Hall was described as a "legendary figure"[24] with a "burning compassion for the less privileged".[25] He emphasized the needs of ordinary people, especially victims of social upheaval. As Bishop of Hong Kong, he advocated for the poor and supported the Chinese revolution.[3] Before World War II, Hall established an orphanage in Tai Po,[24] Hong Kong, which later became the St Christopher’s Home.[26] Under his leadership, the Anglican Church became a major partner with the Hong Kong government in provision of social services.[27]

While Bishop of Hong Kong, Hall ordained the first woman priest in the Anglican Communion. The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong and of parts of China had made it impossible for Anglican priests to get to neutral Macau, where there were a number of refugee Anglicans with no priest. Li Tim-Oi had already been made a deaconess in Macau by Hall and had been authorised by him and his assistant to give the sacraments to the Anglicans in these extenuating circumstances.[28] In January 1944, Li travelled through Japanese-occupied territory to meet with Hall in the small town of Xing Xing, as yet unoccupied by the Japanese, where he regularised her administration of the sacraments by ordaining her as a priest. The Archbishop of Canterbury at the time, William Temple, confided to others his conflicting views but he felt compelled to take a public stand against it.[29][30]

When the war ended in 1945, Li, to avoid controversy, gave up her licence as a priest, though never renounced her ordination. At the provincial synod of the Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui in Shanghai in 1947, Hall tried but failed to receive retroactive approval in canon law for Li's ordination. In 1948, Hall was awarded the Order of the Brilliant Star with Plaque by Chiang Kai-shek.[31]

In 1965, in recognition of his work, the University of Hong Kong awarded him the Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa).[32]

In the 1966 Queen's Birthday Honours, Queen Elizabeth appointed Hall Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George(CMG).[33]

Retirement and legacy

Hall died on 22 April 1975.[34] He was succeeded as bishop by Gilbert Baker.

References to Hall can be seen around Hong Kong. The Ming Hua Theological College is named after him. So is Ming Hua Tang, a hostel of Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong: Hall was one of the founders of Chung Chi college.[35] He was also instrumental in the setting up of the Hong Kong Housing Society.

The Bishop Ho Ming Wah Chinese Centre was opened in London in 1987.[36]

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ http://www.oxford.anglican.org/about-the-diocese/calendar-of-commemoration/ronald-hall-bishop-missionary-22-april-1975.html Oxford Anglican
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ronald Owen Hall(1895-1975) by Charles Henry Long; Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity
  4. ↑ Who was Who 1897–1990 London, A & C Black 1991 ISBN 0-7136-3457-X
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 29043. p. 593. 23 February 1915. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29080. p. 1835. 15 January 1915. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  7. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29158. p. 4521. 15 January 1915. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  8. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 29269. p. 8292. 20 August 1915. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  9. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29250. p. 7651. 3 August 1915. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  10. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 29656. p. 6749. 7 July 1916. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  11. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30074. p. 4774. 15 May 1917. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  12. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30889. p. 10621. 6 September 1918. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  13. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31035. p. 14047. 26 November 1918. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  14. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31036. p. 14062. 26 November 1918. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  15. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31320. p. 5463. 29 April 1919. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  16. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 32831. p. 3975. 5 June 1923. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  17. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30450. p. 35. 28 December 1917. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  18. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31092. p. 22. 31 December 1918. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  19. ↑ Crockford's Clerical Directory1940–1941 Oxford, OUP, 1941
  20. ↑ Photo of church
  21. ↑ The Times, 30 July 1932; p. 10, "New Bishop of Victoria, Hong Kong"
  22. ↑ Enthronement sermon
  23. ↑ The Times, 3 May 1966; p. 18, "Thanksgiving Fund In Hongkong"
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Hong Kong Internment, 1942 to 1945: Life in the Japanese Civilian Camp at Stanley by Geoffrey Charles Emerson; Hong Kong University Press 2008
  25. ↑ R. O.: The Life and Times of Bishop Ronald Hall of Hong Kong by David M. Paton
  26. ↑ Historical Vignettes: St John’s Cathedral, Hong Kong — 1847 to 2007 St John’s Cathedral
  27. ↑ British Missionaries’ Approaches to Modern China, 1807-1966 by Wong Man Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University
  28. ↑ "I’m not an advocate for the ordination of women. I am, however, determined that no prejudices should prevent the congregations committed to my care having the sacraments of the Church." Rose, Mavis. Freedom From Sanctified Sexism – Women Transforming the Church. Queensland, Australia: Allira Publications. 1996. pp. 129–149. Retrieved July 2010 from http://www.womenpriests.org/related/rose_08.asp
  29. ↑ Rose, Mavis. Freedom From Sanctified Sexism – Women Transforming the Church. Queensland, Australia: Allira Publications. 1996. pp. 129–149. Retrieved July 2010 from http://www.womenpriests.org/related/rose_08.asp
  30. ↑ http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/A2A/records.aspx?cat=109-aa_1-1_1-2&cid=-1&Gsm=2008-06-18#-1 National Archives
  31. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 38227. pp. 1625–1626. 5 March 1948. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  32. ↑ 64th Congregation (1965)- The University of Hong Kong
  33. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44004. p. 6533. 11 June 1966. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  34. ↑ The Times, 25 April 1975; p. 18, "Obituary The Right Rev Ronald Hall"
  35. ↑ Ming Hwa Tang hostel Chung Chi College
  36. ↑ Bishop R.O. Hall and the History of the Association
Anglican Communion titles
New creation Bishop of Anglican Diocese of Hong Kong and Macau
1951–1966		 Succeeded by
Gilbert Baker
Religious titles
Preceded by Bishop of Victoria, Hong Kong
1932–1951		 Succeeded by
diocese abolished
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