John Andrew

John Gerald Barton Andrew, OBE (10 January 1931 – 17 October 2014) was a British Anglican priest. From 1972 to 1996, he was the Rector of St. Thomas' Church on New York's Fifth Avenue.

Early life Andrew was born on 10 January 1931 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England. He was educated at Beverley Grammar School, an all-boys school in Beverley, Yorkshire.

Having served in the Royal Air Force for 18 months as part of National Service, he was awarded a scholarship to the University of Oxford. He studied theology at Keble College, Oxford. On 18 September 1951, after 18 months with the RAF, he was transferred to the reserve (national Service list) thereby ending his full-time service. He was promoted to flying officer on 4 June 1952. On 27 May 1956, he relinquished his commission and therefore ended his call-up liability.

Ordained ministry In 1956, Andrew was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon by Michael Ramsey, then the Archbishop of York, at York Minster. From 1956 to 1959, he served his curacy at St Peter's Church, Redcar. He was promoted to Senior Chaplain in 1965. His first act was to change the main Sunday service from Morning Prayer to a Eucharist and he extended this to daily Mass throughout the year. He also introduced incense to services, icons and Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament. His funeral was held at St. Thomas' Church, New York, on 5 November.

Honours In the 1996 New Year Honours, Andrew was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) 'for charitable and community services in New York'. In May 1996, he was awarded the Cross of St Augustine, the second highest honour for service to Anglicanism, by George Carey, the then Archbishop of Canterbury.

He was awarded a number of honorary Doctor of Divinity (DD) degrees. In 1976, he was awarded DDs by Cuttington University, Liberia, and by the Episcopal Theological Seminary, Kentucky, US. In 1977, he was awarded a DD by Nashotah House Theological Seminary, Wisconsin, US. In 1996, he was awarded a DD by the General Theological Seminary, New York, US.

Writings Nothing Cheap and Much That Is Cheerful (1988); The Best of Both Worlds (1991), Eerdmans;