Cyril Charles Richardson papers, 1930-1983

Cyril Charles Richardson (1909-1976); Union Theological Seminary alumnus, Professor of Church History, Union Scholar, and Dean of Graduate Studies ; ordained in Episcopal church; author and theologian.

Cyril Charles Richardson was born on June 13, 1909 in London, England, the son of Charles W. and Kate B. Richardson. Both Richardson's parents died when he was a child and he and his sister and two brothers were raised by relatives in England.

Richardson was educated at the University School in Hastings, then was recruited by the Anglican Colonial & Continental Church Society, which arranged for his emigration to Canada. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a B.A. in 1930, then earned a Licentiate of Theology from the Society's Emmanuel College in Saskatoon in 1931. Richardson emigrated to the United States (he was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1940) in 1931 to continue his education at Union Theological Seminary, where he studied church history, concentrating on the early years of the Christian church. He earned his S.T.M. degree in 1932, writing his thesis on a comparative study of Tertullian and Origen and his Th.D. degree in 1934, writing on Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch.

Richardson also studied overseas, spending time in both Germany and France, studying with Karl Barth and Walter Bauer. In 1934, Richardson was ordained Deacon and Priest in the Episcopal church in New Hampshire, and eventually transferred into the New York diocese (1950).

Richardson's association with Union Theological Seminary continued following his graduation when he was appointed as Instructor of Church History in 1934. He moved steadily up the ranks of the faculty, and in 1949 Richardson was appointed the Seminary's sixth Washburn Professor of Church History, a position first created in 1855 and a post he held until 1974, when he retired and became Professor Emeritus. He was also Union's first Union Scholar, a position created by the Seminary's Board of Directors in 1974.

In addition to his teaching, Richardson served the Seminary in several administrative posts. He served two years as Acting Librarian (1950-51), then moved to the office of Graduate Studies, where he acted as Acting Director of Graduate Studies (1952-53), Director, and eventually Dean of Graduate Studies. Richardson expanded the Th.D. program as well as the joint Ph.D. program with Columbia. Richardson also delivered numerous sermons and lectures around the country.

Richardson was married in 1945 to Louise Shattuck, a registered nurse he met in 1943 when they were both recuperating from bouts of tuberculosis. An avid outdoorsman, Richardson enjoyed hiking and the study of mushrooms. Richardson died of a heart attack in New York on November 16, 1976, at the age of 67.