Robert Farrar Capon
Robert Farrar Capon was an American Episcopal priest, author and chef. He was born in Jackson Heights, Queens in 1925. A lifelong New Yorker, for almost thirty years Capon was a full-time parish priest in Port Jefferson, New York. In 1965, he published his first book, Bed and Board, and in 1977 he left the full-time ministry to devote more time to his writing career. He authored a total of twenty books, including Between Noon and Three, The Supper of the Lamb, Genesis: The Movie, and a trilogy on Jesus’ parables: The Parables of Grace, The Parables of the Kingdom, and The Parables of Judgment.
Capon described himself in the introduction to one of his books as an “old-fashioned high churchman and a Thomist to boot.” One of Capon’s primary themes is the radical grace of God. Capon summarizes his broad view of salvation as follows:
In the 1990s Capon served as assisting priest at St. Luke's Church in East Hampton, New York, and was the Canon Theologian to the Episcopal Bishop of Long Island. He lived with his wife Valerie in Shelter Island, New York as of 2004.
Capon also had a lifelong interest in food and cooking, and authored several cookbooks. He was a food columnist for Newsday and The New York Times, and taught cooking classes.
Robert Capon died on September 5, 2013 in Greenport, New York.
