Peter Hocken (1932-2017) *84

was a British theologian and historian of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and the Pentecostal movement in the twentieth century.

Born in Brighton, England, Hocken was ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Northampton in 1964. He lectured in moral theology at Oscott College, Birmingham, England (1968 – 1976). He obtained permission to leave the country in order to join the Mother of God Community, Washington, United States, where he was an active member between 1976 and 1996. He regularly contributed to the community's devotional magazine, "The Word Among Us". In 1984, he received his PhD for his research on the history of charismatic renewal from the University of Birmingham, England. Hocken returned to England in 1997, becoming Chaplain to the Bishop of Northampton (1997 – 2001). In 2001, he received the title "Monsignor" at the request of Bishop Patrick Leo McCartie. From 2008 to 2017, Hocken lived in Hainburg an der Donau, Austria.

Hocken has been active in the charismatic movement since 1971 and has served as Executive Secretary of the Society for Pentecostal Studies from 1988 to 1997. He was a member of unofficial Catholic – Messianic Jewish dialogue (since 2000) and also served as a member of the Theology Commission for the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal (since 2003). He is author of a wide range of books on Charismatic Renewal, Christian unity and Messianic Judaism. He died on 10 June 2017, aged 84.

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