Canon John Toy, Chancellor of York Minster since 1983, is to retire next month.

Canon Toy played a key role in rescue work at the Minster during the fire in 1984, saving furniture on the night and then having a heavy involvement in restoration work over the subsequent year.

But he says the highlight of his time at the Minster was the opening of the new Alcuin wing of the Minster library last year, which he says has ensured that it remains a leading academic library in the field.

He has also organised the Minster lectures, including one by the controversial former Bishop of Durham, David Jenkins, on miracles, when so many turned up that the speech had to be moved from St William's College into the Minster nave.

He describes himself as a radical theologian, with a "very biblical" faith.

He worked at St John's College, teaching theology, from 1969 until his Minster appointment 14 years later.

Canon Toy's final service will be at the Minster on Sunday, May 9. He and his wife Mollie, a member of York Samaritans, plan to move to Southwell, Notts.

But he says he does not plan to move into "idle retirement", hoping to strengthen links and understanding between churches in England and the church in Scandinavia, where he studied and was a chaplain when he was young.

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