Following the death of Rev Prof Hector Patmore, some of those who knew and worked with him in our Diocese reflect on his ministry and his life. Please hold his wife, Lydia and their sons especially in your prayers.

A longer obituary will be printed in the Church Times shortly.

Hector and his family, Lydia and their boys, have been part of communities in our diocese for many years. During COVID they helped at Holy Trinity, Brussels, especially supporting all age services online. Hector and Lydia were then of immense support to St Martha & St Mary's chaplaincy in Leuven for many years, with Hector leading services and preaching. He also helped out in many other chaplaincies in need, Maastricht and Gent among others, and the congregations there were grateful for his insights and inspiration. He will be hugely missed.

Rev Canon Jack McDonald writes:

"Hector Patmore was a golden man, a dear friend, my closest colleague in the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies in KU Leuven because we were both Anglican priests. He was the colleague I gravitated towards in the faculty coffee-room and indeed the colleague who taught me how to tie the double bowline knot on the strings of a Leuven professor's gown. The faculty is completely stunned by his sudden death, coming just a year after his election to a full professorship. He was among the best scholars in the world of Targumim, translations of the Hebrew Bible chiefly into Aramaic for popular use (the TEXTEVOLVE Targum project was his brainchild) and he had a particular interest in demonology in ancient texts. He was one of a select group of professors who were genuinely warm, popular and loved by colleagues and students alike, and this is shown by the large number of research students who sought him as supervisor and by the number of popular study programmes he organised to Israel and Palestine. Alongside his academic work, he was a diligent and devoted priest, helping in our parishes in Leuven, Brussels, Gent and elsewhere, and one of the founding energies behind the new Anglican Institute in Belgium - he hosted the meetings of its board. His love of his wife and children was transparent. I will truly, truly miss him. Requiescat in pace ut in gloria resurgat."

Bishop Robert shared:

"I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of Hector Patmore. I experienced Hector as a humble, kind and deeply scholarly man. We pray for all who grieve his loss, especially his wife Lydia and their young sons. May the God of all consolation hold this family safe in his loving arms."