Arthur John Dain OBE (called Jack; 13 October 1912 – 3 March 2003) ^[1] was a prominent British- Australian Evangelical Anglican bishop who served as an assistant bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney.

Early life and education

Dain was born in Wolverhampton, ^[2] son of Herbert John and Elizabeth, and educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School, ^[1] after which he was in the British Merchant Navy.

Missionary and military

He trained at the Missionary Training College,^{[ specify]} London and became a missionary in Bihar Province, ^[2] India (1935–1940) ^[1] until World War II. During the war, he was a Gurkha until he was seconded to the Royal Indian Navy ^[2] (1941–1947). ^[1] He was the General Secretary of the Bible and Medical Missionary Fellowship ^[3] until 1959, when he was ordained after studies at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. ^[3]

Ordained ministry

Dain was made a deacon at Michaelmas 20 September 1959, by Falkner Allison, Bishop of Chelmsford, at Chelmsford Cathedral "for the colonies" ^[4] (i.e. not intended to serve a usual curacy/title in Essex), and ordained priest the same year. ^[3] Shortly after ordination, he emigrated to Australia to serve as federal secretary of the Church Mission Society there; he was also made an honorary canon of St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney in 1963. ^[1] He was consecrated a bishop on 20 April 1965, and served as Bishop-Coadjutor of Sydney ^[5] (or an assistant bishop). From 1980 until his retirement in 1982, he was senior assistant bishop and chief executive officer of the Diocese of Sydney. ^[1]

Evangelism movement

Dain was a prominent leader of the Evangelism movement, and closely associated with Billy Graham throughout his ministry. ^[2] For instance, he served as Overseas Secretary of the British Evangelical Alliance (1950–1959) ^[1] and chaired several international Evangelism conferences. He was chair of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Australia. ^{[2] [6]}

Personal life and retirement

Dain married twice: in 1938 to Edith Jane Stewart (who died 1985), ^[6] with whom he had four daughters; and in 1986 to Hester Quirk. He was a published author – of Mission Fields To-day in 1956 and of Missionary Candidates in 1959 – and he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1979. He retired to Lindfield, West Sussex ^[1] (United Kingdom) and served the Diocese of Chichester as an honorary assistant bishop from 1987 until his death. ^[3]

References