Ronald Williams

Ronald Ralph Williams (14 October 1906 – 3 February 1979) was a Church of England bishop. He was Principal of St John's College, Durham from 1945 to 1953 and Bishop of Leicester from 1953 to 1979.

Early life and education Williams was born on 14 October 1906 to the Revd Ralph Williams and Mary ( Sayers). He attended The Judd School, a grammar school in Tonbridge, Kent. He went on to study English and theology at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He obtained second class honours in Part I of the English Tripos in 1926, first class honours in Part I Theology Tripos, and a distinction in Part II of the Theology Tripos with which he graduated with Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1928.

Ordained ministry Williams was too young to be ordained immediately after leaving university in 1928, and so spent the following year as a tutor at St Aidan's College, Birkenhead. Having been ordained in the Church of England, he served his curacy at Leyton Parish Church from 1929 to 1931, and became examining chaplain to the Bishop of Chelmsford in 1931.

In 1944, it was announced that he had been selected as the next Principal of St John's College, Durham in succession to C. S. Wallis. He was installed as diocesan bishop during a service at Leicester Cathedral in January 1954. He also served as President (ie its figurehead) of Queen's College, Birmingham from 1957 to 1963. He retired in 1979, and was succeeded as Bishop of Leicester by Richard Rutt.

Publications (1950) Authority in the Apostolic Age. London: SCM Press. (1952) The Perfect Law of Liberty: An Interpretation of Psalm 119. London: A. R. Mowbray. (1953) The Acts of the Apostles: Introduction and Commentary. Torch Bible Commentaries. London: SCM Press. (1965) The Letters of John and James. The Cambridge Bible Commentary. London: Cambridge University Press. (1966) What's Right with the Church of England. London: Lutterworth Press. (1971) I Believe, and Why. London: A. R. Mowbray.