london (ap) | The Rev. Hugh Montefiore, a Jewish-born Anglican archbishop and passionate environmentalist, died this week, church officials said.
The Diocese of Southwark said Montefiore fell ill on his 85th birthday and died the next day in a London hospital.
Born to a Jewish family, Montefiore converted to Christianity as a teenager after, he said, seeing a vision of Christ; he liked to be known as a Jewish Christian.
After serving as an army officer in Burma during World War II, Montefiore studied theology and was ordained as a priest. He spent many years working in Cambridge before becoming Bishop of Kingston-upon-Thames and later Bishop of Birmingham, a post he held from 1978 to 1987.
After his retirement, Montefiore pursued an interest in the occult, compiling his research in a book, “The Paranormal: A Bishop Investigates.”
Montefiore’s outspoken environmentalism saw him dubbed the “eco-bishop.” He was a trustee of Friends of the Earth for 20 years and chaired the group between 1992 and 1998.