author
Basil Wilberforce
1841–1916
An Anglican priest, preacher, and writer, he became a well-known church voice in late Victorian and Edwardian Britain. His life joined public ministry with a strong interest in spiritual life, social questions, and religious thought.
1 Audiobook
Mystic Immanence, the Indwelling Spirit
by Basil Wilberforce
About the author
Born Albert Basil Orme Wilberforce on February 14, 1841, he came from one of Britain’s best-known religious families: he was the son of Samuel Wilberforce and the grandson of William Wilberforce. He was educated at Eton and Exeter College, Oxford, and was ordained in the Church of England in 1866.
After early parish work, he served for many years as rector of St Mary’s, Southampton. In 1894 he was appointed a canon of Westminster, later becoming Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons and then Archdeacon of Westminster. Those roles made him both a parish clergyman and a public church figure at the heart of national life.
He was also a prolific author and speaker, remembered for writing about Christian faith in a way that reached beyond formal theology. Accounts of his career suggest that he was especially interested in the inner life of religion and in connecting spiritual teaching with the moral concerns of his time. He died on May 13, 1916, still in office.