Francis White (1638) was an English bishop and controversialist.

Life

He was son of Peter White (died 19 December 1615), vicar of Eaton Socon, Bedfordshire, was born at Eaton Socon about 1564 (parish register begins in 1566). His father had five sons, all clergymen, among them John White (1570?–1615),

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to James I. Francis, after passing through the grammar school at

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

, Huntingdonshire, was admitted pensioner at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, on 20 March 1579, aged 15. He graduated Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1583, Cambridge Master of Arts (MA Cantab) in 1586, and was ordained priest by John Aylmer, Bishop of London, on 17 May 1588. His early preferments were the rectory of Broughton Astley,

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, a lectureship at

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Gr ...

, London, and the rectory of

St. Peter's, Cornhill St Peter upon Cornhill is an Anglican church on the corner of Cornhill and Gracechurch Street in the City of London of medieval, or possibly Roman origin. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt to the designs of Sir C ...

, London. In controversy against Catholicism he took a prominent part, and it produced his first publication. He graduated

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

(DD) in 1618. Early in 1622 he was employed by James I as a disputant against John Percy alias Fisher (1569–1641), to stay the Roman Catholic tendencies of

Mary, Countess of Buckingham Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham (née Beaumont; c. 1570 – 19 April 1632) is perhaps best known as the mother of the royal favourite Sir George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. She was the daughter of Anthony Beaumont of Glenfield, Lei ...

. He held two conferences; the third (24 May 1622) was entrusted to William Laud. White's ''Replie'' to Fisher (1624) was dedicated to James I. On 14 September 1622 White was presented to the deanery of Carlisle (installed 15 October). He took part, in conjunction with Daniel Featley, in another discussion with Fisher, opened on 27 June 1623, at the house of

Humphrey Lynde Sir Humphrey Lynde (1579–1636) was an English lay Puritan controversialist and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1626. Life Lynde was the son of Cuthbert Linde or Lynde of Westminster. He was elected a queen's scholar at Westminster ...

, in Sheer Lane, London. In 1625 White became senior dean of Sion College, London, which existed then only on paper. He was consecrated

Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The see is in the city of Car ...

on 3 December 1626 at Durham House, London, by Richard Neile, Bishop of Durham; John Buckeridge,

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was foun ...

; and three other prelates, John Cosin preaching the consecration sermon. His elevation was much canvassed. It was said that he had 'sold his orthodoxe bookes and bought Jesuits'.' Sir Walter Earle referred to the matter in parliament (11 February 1628), quoting the line 'Qui color albus erat, nunc est contrarius albo'. He was made

Lord Almoner The Royal Almonry is a small office within the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, headed by the Lord High Almoner, an office dating from 1103. The almoner is responsible for distributing alms to the poor. The Lord High Almoner is usually a ...

the same year. On 22 January 1629 he was elected Bishop of Norwich; and he was elected

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of nort ...

on 15 November 1631. Shortly afterwards he held a conference at Ely House, Holborn, with Theophilus Brabourne on the Sabbath question, and had much to do with Brabourne's subsequent prosecution. His ''Treatise of the Sabbath-Day'' (1635; 3rd ed. 1636) was dedicated to Laud and written at the command of Charles I. White treated the question doctrinally; its historical aspect was assigned to Peter Heylyn. He visited Cambridge in 1632, to consecrate the chapel of Peterhouse. His last publication was ''An Examination and Confutation of . . . A Briefe Answer to a late Treatise of the Sabbath-Day'', 1637; this ''Briefe Answer'' was a dialogue by

Richard Byfield Richard Byfield (1598?–1664) was an English clergyman, Sabbatarian controversialist, member of the Westminster Assembly, and ejected minister. Life He was 16 years of age in 1615 and 67 at his death in December 1664; he was probably born in ...

, with title ''The Lord's Day is the Sabbath Day'' (1636). He died at Ely House, Holborn, in February 1638, and was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. His will, dated 4 March 1637, proved 27 February 1638 by his widow Joane White, shows that he survived a son, and left married daughters and several grandchildren; the bulk of his property went to his grandson Francis White. Among many, White ordained Ralph Wheelock, Clare College graduate, and first schoolmaster of America's first free school in

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...

, on 6 May 1630.

Theology

Francis White had 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 ...

theology. In 1626, together with John Cosin they engaged in theological debate with Calvinist

John Preston John Preston may refer to: Politicians * John Preston (died 1434), Member of Parliament (MP) for Sussex * John Preston (c. 1578 – c. 1642), MP for Lancaster * John Preston (alderman) (1611–1686), mayor of Dublin in 1654 * John Preston (died ...

and Thomas Morton.

Notes and references

Citations

Sources

Attribution