Constantine Jessop (1601 or 1602 – 16 April 1658) was a 17th-century Anglican clergyman.

Life

Jessop was the son of John Jessop, a minister at

Pembroke, Pembrokeshire Pembroke ( ; cy, Penfro ) is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 7,552. The names of both the town and the county (of which the county town is Haverfordwest) have a common origin; both are derived from the C ...

in Wales. He studied initially at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

, commencing in 1624 aged 22, before moving to

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, where he graduated with a BA from Dublin before returning to Oxford to obtain his MA in 1632. His movements thereafter are uncertain for a few years, although his son Constantine was born in 1639 or 1640. In 1643, he was appointed to the parish of

Fyfield, Essex Fyfield is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. The village is situated on the B184 road, and approximately north-east of Chipping Ongar, east of Harlow and west of Chelmsford. The River Roding flows ...

. In 1644, he argued for the biblical validity of presbyterian church government, with his views being published as ''The angel of the Church of Ephesus no bishop of Ephesus, distinguished in order from, and superior in power to a presbyter'', dedicated to William Twisse. In August 1647, he moved from Fyfield to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

to take up a position as vicar of St Nicholas. In 1650, he was alleged to have preached against the council of state and, whilst protesting, did not deny all the charges. He was allowed to remain a minister on condition that he did not return to Bristol, although temporary permission was given on two occasions in 1652 and the prohibition was removed in April 1654, after Jessop had become rector of

Wimborne Minster Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poole ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. Also in 1654, Jessop wrote a preface to

John Grayle John Grayle or Graile (1614–1654) was an English Puritan minister. Life Grayle was the son of John Grayle, priest, of Stone, Gloucestershire, where he was born. At the age of 18 he entered Magdalen Hall, Oxford, as a batler, and proceeded B. ...

's ''A Modest Vindication'', entitled ''The nature of the covenant of grace, wherein is a discovery of the judgment of Dr. Twisse in the point of justification, clearing him from antinomianism therein''. On 16 April 1658, Jessop died at Wimborne; he was buried there. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and his son, Constantine, who became rector of

Brington, Northamptonshire Brington is a civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish population was 482 people, increasing to 496 at the 2011 census. It contains three villages: *Great Brington * Little Brington *Nobottle ...

and a prebendary of

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jessop, Constantine 1600s births 1658 deaths 17th-century Welsh Anglican priests Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford People from Pembrokeshire 17th-century English Anglican priests