Ephraim Pagit (Pagitt) (c. 1575 – April 1647) was an English clergyman and
heresiographer
In theology or the history of religion, heresiology is the study of heresy, and heresiographies are writings about the topic. Heresiographical works were common in both medieval Christianity and Islam.
Heresiology developed as a part of the emergi ...
. His ''Heresiography'' of 1645 was a precursor of the better-known ''
Gangraena
''Gangraena'' is a book by English puritan clergyman Thomas Edwards, published in 1646. A notorious work of heresiography, it appeared the year after Ephraim Pagitt's ''Heresiography''. These two books attempted to catalogue the fissiparous Prot ...
'', and is a well-referenced account of contemporary sectarian Protestantism in England. In fact the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'' indicates that the title of this book was a neologism, derived by analogy from ''Christianography'', an earlier title, to indicate a catalogue or classification of
heretics
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
. By political conviction Pagit was a royalist, but he was sufficiently opposed to the religious Independents to support
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
.
Life
The son of
Eusebius Pagit, he was born in
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, probably at
Lamport, about 1575. He matriculated at
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
on 25 May 1593, being eighteen years old. There is no evidence of his graduation, but he is said to have been a great linguist, writing fifteen or sixteen languages. On 19 August 1601 he was admitted to the rectory of
St. Edmund the King, Lombard Street.
[ :s:Pagit, Ephraim (DNB00)]
In May 1638 he wrote a series of letters addressed to
Cyril Lucaris
Cyril Lucaris or Loukaris ( el, Κύριλλος Λούκαρις, 13 November 1572 – 27 June 1638), born Constantine Lucaris, was a Greek prelate and theologian, and a native of Candia, Crete (then under the Republic of Venice). He later bec ...
,
Patriarch of Constantinople
The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...
, and other patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox church. In them he commended to their notice his own ''Christianographie'', the translation of the English prayer-book into Greek by
Elias Petley, and
William Laud
William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 1640 ...
's conference with
John Fisher
John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI.
Fisher was executed by o ...
.
[
On the outbreak of the ]First English Civil War
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...
Paget was silenced, and retired to Deptford, Kent. He was always a strong royalist, and in favour of the prayer-book; but he took the Covenant
Covenant may refer to:
Religion
* Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general
** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible
** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...
, and in 1645 he joined in a petition to Parliament for the establishment of presbyterianism, probably as a preferable alternative to independency. His standard of doctrine he found in the articles of the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
. He died at Deptford in April 1647, and was buried in the churchyard. He married the widow of Sir Stephen Bord of Sussex.[
]
Works
In his accounts of sectaries, he makes it a rule to give authorities; and they take a wide range, since he treats every deflection from Calvinism
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...
as heresy, and every approach to independency as faction. He published:
* ''Christianographie ; or, a Description of the sundrie Sorts of Christians in the World'', &c., 1635, (many reprints);
* ''Heresiography ; or a description of the Hereticks and Sectaries of these latter times'', &c., 1645; sixth edition, 1662.
* ''The Mystical Wolf'', &c., 1645, (sermon on Matthew vii. 15 : reissued with new title-page, ''The Tryall of Trueth'', &c.)
His nine letters to the patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Moscow, and of the Maronites, also to Prince Radziwil of Poland and John Tolnai of Transylvania, are in Harleian MS. 825. All are duplicated in Greek and Latin; two are also in English, and one in Syriac.[
]
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pagit, Ephraim
1575 births
1647 deaths
17th-century English Anglican priests
English subscribers to the Solemn League and Covenant 1643
People from West Northamptonshire District