Benjamin Whichcote (4 May 1609 – May 1683) was an English

Establishment Establishment may refer to: * The Establishment, a dominant group or elite that controls a polity or an organization * The Establishment (club), a 1960s club in London, England * The Establishment (Pakistan), political terminology for the military ...

and

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

, Provost of

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

and leader of the

Cambridge Platonists The Cambridge Platonists were an influential group of Platonist philosophers and Christian theologians at the University of Cambridge that existed during the 17th century. The leading figures were Ralph Cudworth and Henry More. Group and its nam ...

. He held that man is the "child of reason" and so not completely depraved by nature, as Puritans held. He also argued for religious toleration.

Life and career

Whichcote was born at Whichcote Hall in

Stoke upon Tern Stoke on Tern is a village located in Shropshire, England, on the River Tern. The civil parish is known as Stoke upon Tern. Locality The village straddles the River Tern, which flows through the south and west of the village. The parish includ ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

. He entered

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

in 1628, and became a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

in 1633. In 1637, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

at the same time. In 1643, he married and took up priestly duties in a Cambridge-dispensed parish in

North Cadbury, Somerset North Cadbury is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish west of Wincanton, by the River Cam, Somerset, River Cam, in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. It shares its Parish councils in England, parish council with n ...

. In 1644, he became 19th Provost of King's College due to

Parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

control of the universities. However, he was the only new head of house who did not subscribe to the

National Covenant The National Covenant () was an agreement signed by many people of Scotland during 1638, opposing the proposed reforms of the Church of Scotland (also known as ''The Kirk'') by King Charles I. The king's efforts to impose changes on the church i ...

. In 1650, during the

Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

, he was

vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, and advised

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

on the subject of toleration of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. After the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

he was removed from his position at King's College, but reinstated when he accepted the Act of Uniformity in 1662. From that time he was the Curate of

St. Anne's Church, Blackfriars St Ann Blackfriars was a church in the City of London, in what is now Ireland Yard in the ward of Farringdon Within. The church began as a medieval parish chapel, dedicated to St Ann, within the church of the Dominicans (the order after whom th ...

, until it burnt down in 1666. In 1668, he was appointed Vicar of

St Lawrence Jewry St Lawrence Jewry next Guildhall is a Church of England guild church in the City of London on Gresham Street, next to Guildhall. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren. It is the ...

. He was a brother to

Jeremy Whichcote Sir Jeremy Whichcote, 1st Baronet (c. 1614–1677), was an English barrister and Solicitor-General to the Frederick V of the Palatinate. He was the owner of the manor of Totteridge in north London. Early life and education Jeremy Whichcote was ...

and Elizabeth Foxcroft, wife of

Ezechiel Foxcroft Ezechiel Foxcroft (1633, London – 1676) was an English esoterocist who produced the first translation of the ''Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz '' published in 1690. He was the son of the prominent merchant George Foxcroft, and his wife, ...

. Whichcote was one of the leaders of the

, and had liberal views. In 1650, he was involved in a controversy with his former teacher and friend

Anthony Tuckney Anthony Tuckney (September 1599, in Kirton-in-Holland – February 1670) was an English people, English Puritan theologian and scholar. Life Anthony Tuckney was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and a fellow there from 1619 to 1630. He w ...

. He was opposed to the doctrine of total depravity and adopted a

semi-Pelagian Semi-Pelagianism (or Semipelagianism) is a Christian theological and soteriological school of thought on salvation. Semipelagian thought stands in contrast to the earlier Pelagian teaching about salvation, Pelagianism (in which people are born unt ...

position, holding that man is the "child of reason", and therefore not, as the Puritans held, of a completely depraved nature. He argued that there are some questions beyond the ability of reasonable and religious people to solve, and he therefore called for religious toleration. He was accused at various times by various persons of being an

Arminian Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Re ...

Socinian Socinianism () is a nontrinitarian belief system deemed heretical by the Catholic Church and other Christian traditions. Named after the Italian theologians Lelio Sozzini (Latin: Laelius Socinus) and Fausto Sozzini (Latin: Faustus Socinus), uncle ...

, and

Latitudinarian Latitudinarians, or latitude men, were initially a group of 17th-century English theologiansclerics and academicsfrom the University of Cambridge who were moderate Anglicans (members of the Church of England). In particular, they believed that a ...

. He died in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in May 1683 aged 74 and was buried in London at the church of St Lawrence Jewry.

Works

Nearly all of his works were published posthumously. They include ''Select Notions of B. Whichcote'' (1685), ''Select Sermons'' (1689), '' Discourses'' (

1701 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 12 – Parts of the Netherlands adopt the Gregorian cal ...

), and ''Moral and Religious Aphorisms'' (

1703 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Thursday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 9 – The Jamaican town of Port Royal, a center of trade ...

References

*Cross, F. L., and E. A. Livingstone, ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''. London: Oxford UP, 1978

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whichcote, Benjamin 1609 births 1683 deaths English theologians 17th-century English Anglican priests 17th-century Christian mystics Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Provosts of King's College, Cambridge Cambridge Platonists Clergy from Shropshire Protestant mystics Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge