Francis Crawford Burkitt
Quick Facts
Biography
Francis Crawford Burkitt, FBA (3 September 1864 – 1935) was an English theologian and scholar. As Norris Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge from 1905 until shortly before his death, Burkitt was a sturdy critic of the notion of a distinct "Caesarean Text" of the New Testament put forward by B. H. Streeter and others.
Education and career
Burkitt was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read mathematics, graduating B.A. as 28th Wrangler (University of Cambridge) in 1886, and gained a first-class in the theological tripos in 1888. Received MA in 1890, and Bachelor of Divinity and Doctorate in Divinity in 1915. Lecturer in Palaeography in 1903-1905, Norrisian Professor of Divinity, Cambridge 1905-1936 Chief promoter of and author of the Preface for the English translation of Schweitzer's book, The Quest of the Historical Jesus, by W. Montgomery.
Burkitt accompanied Robert Bensly, James Rendel Harris, and sisters Agnes and Margaret Smith on the 1893 expedition to Saint Catherine's Monastery in Egypt to examine a Syriac palimpsest of the Gospels discovered there the previous year by the sisters. Burkitt played an important role in deciphering the text and in subsequent publication of the team's findings.
Burkitt was a noted figure at Cambridge in 1912–1935 for his chairmanship of the Cambridge New Testament Seminar, attended by other prominent theologians, including Robert Newton Flew, who left an account of it in an obituary for Burkitt in the Proceedings of the British Academy.
The Burkitt Medal, awarded by the British Academy, is named in his honour.
Works
Books
Edited by
- ———, ed. (1896). The New Testament in Greek (2nd ed.).
- ———, ed. (1897). Fragments of the Books of Kings according to the Translation of Aquila. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. OCLC 65478051.
Journal articles
- ——— (January 1900). "Notes. Saint Mark XV 34 in Codex Bobiensis". The Journal of Theological Studies. 1 (2): 278–279.
- ——— (January 1900). "Notes. On the Baptismal Rite in the Canons of Hippolytus". The Journal of Theological Studies. 1 (2): 279.
- ——— (January 1900). "Notes. The Original Language or the Acts of Judas Thomas". The Journal of Theological Studies. 1 (2): 280–290.
- ——— (October 1903). "Further Notes on codex k". The Journal of Theological Studies. 5 (17): 100–107.
- ——— (October 1904). "The Palestinian Syriac Lectionary". The Journal of Theological Studies. 6 (21): 91–98.
- ——— (October 1909). "The Oldest MS of St Justin's Martyrdom". The Journal of Theological Studies. 11 (41): 61–66.
- ——— (January 1910). "Saint Augustine's Bible and the Itala". Journal of Theological Studies. 11 (42): 258–268.
- ——— (April 1910). "The Peraean Ministry: A Reply". The Journal of Theological Studies. 11 (43): 412–415.
- ——— (April 1910). "Saint Augustine's Bible and the Itala". The Journal of Theological Studies. 11 (43): 447–458.
- ——— (July 1910). "Codex Alexandrinus". The Journal of Theological Studies. 11 (4): 603–606.
- ——— (January 1911). "The Waters of Shiloah That Go Softly: A Note on Isaiah VIII 6". Journal of Theological Studies. 12 (46): 294–295.
- ——— (January 1911). "On Matt. XI 27, Luke X 22". Journal of Theological Studies. 12 (46): 296–297.
- ——— (April 1911). "Additional Note". Journal of Theological Studies. 12 (47): 457–459.
- ——— (April 1911). "On Immediately in Matt. XXIV 29". Journal of Theological Studies. 12 (47): 460–461.
- ——— (April 1912). "A New MS of the Odes of Solomon". Journal of Theological Studies. 13 (51): 372–385.
- ——— (July 1912). "'Woman, What Have I To Do With Thee?'". Journal of Theological Studies. 13 (52): 594–595.
- ——— (October 1919). "William Sanday". The Expository Times. 31 (1): 20–21.
- ——— (February 1927). "The Baptism of Jesus". The Expository Times. 38 (5): 198–202.
- ——— (October 1929). "A Further Note on the Pahlavi Crosses". The Journal of Theological Studies. 31 (121): 47–48.
- ——— (April 1930). "The Didascalia". The Journal of Theological Studies. 31 (123): 258–265.
- ——— (July 1935). "The Dura Fragment of Tatian". The Journal of Theological Studies. 36 (143): 255–259.