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Elliott, G(raeme) Maurice (1883-1959)

Clergyman in the Church of England who explored the relationship between Christianity and psychical research. Elliott was born October 1, 1883, in London, and studied at the University of London and Hackney College. He was ordained a deacon in 1915 and a priest in 1917. From 1915 until his retirement in 1952 he served as curate, vicar, or rector of various parishes.

Through his religious studies, Elliott became interested in the psychical as a tool for interpreting the Bible and under-standing what is commonly understood to be the "supernatural" element in Christianity, about which he wrote several important books: The Psychic Life of Jesus (1938), Spiritualism in the Old Testament (1940), In Search of Faith (1948), and The Bible as Psychic History (1959). He participated in the founding of the Churches' Fellowship for Spiritual and Psychical Studies and beginning in 1954 served as its secretary for many years. He was also a cofounder of the Confraternity, an association of laity and clergy concerned with Spiritualism, and a member of the directorate of the Order of the Preparation of Communion of Soul (a psychical research body). From 1954 to 1959 he served on the Commission on Divine Healing set up by the archbishop of Canterbury. He died June 8, 1959, in London.