Cuddesdon is a community of communities of men and women called together in service of God. Whether you are exploring training for ordained or lay ministry, pioneer ministry or further learning as an independent student, we do hope that what you find here will stimulate your own spiritual journey and encourage you to come to Cuddesdon and experience what it has to offer for yourself.
Central to Cuddesdon's ethos – explicit in the intentions our founders – is a commitment to prayer and worship underpinning learning in the context of rich and welcoming community. Cuddesdon rejoices in this inheritance and its service of the wider church and world for over 160 years and is committed to ongoing faithful exploration of its vocation through the twenty-first century and beyond.
Cuddesdon stands for breadth in learning, spirituality and Christian tradition. We were established in 1854 as a ‘non-party’ place of learning, in which the routine of worshiping, learning and living together formed clergy to serve the whole church and world, rather than any narrower party interests. We remain proud of this unique heritage and of our distinctive place within the Church of England. Cuddesdon actively welcomes students from across the traditions, looking for the mutual enrichment that comes from generous and courageous engagement across ‘party’ lines and loyalties. Cuddesdon is also proud of its long commitment to the inclusion of both women and men in the ordained ministry of the Church and that among its alumnae are to be found some of the first women to have served as priests and bishops in the Church of England.
Our commitment to comprehensive engagement across the scope of Anglican tradition is complemented in our various Pathways and partnerships. Cuddesdon College, with its early Oxford Movement tradition of disciplined spirituality, merged with Ripon Hall, a centre of excellence in theological scholarship, in the 1970s. Ripon College Cuddesdon was further enhanced by the incorporation of regional pathways in Oxford, Gloucester, Hereford and Portsmouth dioceses in subsequent decades. Each of these is rooted in its own local context and attracts students from every tradition and stream in Anglicanism. With the further enrichment of candidates for Pioneer ministry from Church Mission Society (CMS), we are proud to represent ‘The Church of England in microcosm’ and, as such, to serve the mission of the Church, the wider Anglican Communion and the communities and parishes in which our students will serve.
We look forward to meeting you.
Bishop Humphrey Southern