THE Anglican Evangelical theologian the Revd Professor J. I. Packer, who died on Friday, was “a giant of his time”, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.

Regent College, Vancouver, where Professor Packer had taught since 1979, announced on Friday that he had died in Vancouver, Canada, aged 93. “He was . . . humorous, gracious, and prayerful even in his final days,” a statement said.

Archbishop Welby paid tribute to Professor Packer on Friday: “Dr James Packer’s death ends a wonderful service to God by a disciple of learning, wisdom, and holiness. A giant of his time.”

Regent College described Professor Packer as “one of the most widely respected systematic theologians of the twentieth century”, who “drew his inspiration primarily from Scripture, but was deeply influenced by the works of John Calvin and the English Puritans”.

Before his arrival at Regent College, Packer had held positions at Oak Hill, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and Trinity College, Bristol, where he was Associate Principal.

Packer was a leading figure among Evangelicals in the UK and North America, and one of his best-known books was Knowing God (1973).

The Revd Dr D. A. Carson, Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, wrote on the Gospel Coalition website: “His influence on worldwide evangelicalism, especially through his writings but scarcely less through his far-flung lecturing, can scarcely be measured.”

Obituary to follow