John Dudley Irvine (born 2 January 1949)[1] is a British Anglican priest.
Irvine is the son of former Labour MP and Solicitor General Sir Arthur Irvine, QC and the brother of Michael Irvine, a former Conservative Party MP for Ipswich. He was educated at Haileybury and studied law at the University of Sussex, later studying theology at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.[1]
He was a barrister in London before his ordination to the priesthood. He served a curacy at Holy Trinity Brompton and was one of the founders of the Alpha course. Having taken charge of the Alpha course, he played a major part in transforming it from its original four-week form to its current 10-week form.
In 1985 Irvine led the first "church plant" from HTB to St Barnabas Kensington.
Irvine was appointed Dean of Coventry in March 2001.[2] He retired on 29 July 2012.[3] [4] He was then associate vicar at Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge from September 2012 until 2016, and remains Dean Emeritus of Coventry.[1]