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Abbot Christopher Butler 7Th May 1902 —20Th September 1986

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Abbot Christopher Butler 7Th May 1902 —20Th September 1986 Abbot Christopher Butler 7th May 1902 —20th September 1986 Bishop Christopher Butler or Basil Edward was a man of deep spirituality, he was of average height and for most of his life had short close cropped hair giving him as ascetic appearance. Throughout his life he went on a spiritual journey leading to a full but simple life. After being Born in 1902 as the second boy of 6, he went at the age of 9 to win a scholarship to his Local Grammar school in Reading proving his intellectual abilities at a young age. This was followed by a scholarship to St Johns col- lege in Oxford in 1920 at the age of 18 where he studied theol- ogy and classics gaining a triple third. Religious Struggle Throughout this time in his life Christopher Butler debated with him- self the question of religion and went through quite a struggle. In 1925 He returned to Oxford to teach as a theological tutor and in 1926 was ordained as a deacon of the Church of England. However he was constantly troubled by the problems of the church of England and eventually made the decision confer with others over his problem, leading him To downside and the Roman Catholic Church. Life and Work at Downside Christopher Butler had been conversing with Dom Leander Ramsay over his struggle with religion and was invited to stay at Downside to spend some days of quite in the Abbey. He did leave briefly once again to take up a teaching position in Brighton, although throughout this time he still kept in touch with Dom Ramsay and eventually returned in June 1928 to become a Roman Catholic at Downside. After return- ing he found a post within the school as a classics master and began teaching in September of the same year. However a life of teaching was not enough for Christopher Butler and in 1929 he entered the No- vitiate at Downside which is when he took the name of Christopher and began studying theology once again. Christopher found life in the monastery very congenial. In 1931 he began writing for the Downside Review this was followed in the summer of 1933 by him being or- dained a Priest. From this point for the next six years he taught Clas- sics at Downside school and in 1939 was made Headmaster of the school until 1946. He found the position a happy job particularly dur- ing the years of the second World War as he enjoyed being around the vitality of youth. In 1946 he had to give up his post of Headmaster as he was elected Abbot of Downside, and was further re elected in 1954 and 1962. Dur- ing his time as Abbot at Downside he presided over the extensive building works to the grounds after the fire in 1955. Then in 1961 he was made President of the English Benedictine Council and it was in this capacity that he attended all four of the Vatican II council ses- sions. Contribution to Vatican II After travelling to Rome Christopher Butler found the council to be far more left leaning than previously thought, and overall considered the council to have provided a profound education. The council were con- sidering many different elements of the church and were concerning themselves with a wide variety of issues involving the church and over- all aim was to modernise the church, bringing catholic up to date. Throughout the four sessions of the council Christopher Butler became a leading English speaking participants of the Council. His extensive knowledge of theology and the Latin language meant that he became a figure of great authority. During the second session of the council he became a member of the Influential Theological Commission and became heavily involved in many of the de- bates. He contributed heavily to the chapter on the Virgin Mary and nuclear deter- rence was another issue that he got strongly involved in. With regards to Nuclear question he felt that pacifism was appropri- ate in some cases but that in some cases a war was just. He led the unilateralist case in the council. Another Issue that took much precedence at the council was the is- sue of contraception. Dom Butler was immensely cautious and he felt it was difficult for him to make a judgement. However he gained much respect thought out the council leading to a great number of opportunities once the council had close in 1965. Life after Vatican II After the Vatican II council Christopher Butler was asked to give a lec- ture at Oxford College on his experiences at the Council and in 1966 was made an honorary fellow of St Johns College, Oxford. He was the first Catholic since Newman to be given this honour. This was fol- lowed in December of 1966 with his consecration as a Bishop. He was made the titular Bishop of Nova Barbara. Not long after this he left his position at Downside to become the Auxiliary bishop of West- minster. As part of this post he was responsible for 51 Parishes in Hertfordshire. During the period fro 1970—1981 Bishop Butler was twice honoured with the Cross of St Augustine by the Archbishop of Canterbury and in 1980 he became Assistant to the Pontifical throne. After Vatican II Bishop Butler was fortunate enough to experience many things and he led a very full life. He died in September 1986 and was buried at his Beloved Downside. .
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