Godfrey Faussett (c.1781–1853) was an English clergyman and academic, Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Oxford from 1827. He was known as a controversialist. As a churchman he exemplified the high-and-dry tradition.

Life

He was the son of Henry Godfrey Faussett of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

(son of Bryan Faussett) and Susan Sandys. He graduated B.A. at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...

in 1801, and M.A. in 1804 as a Fellow of

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. He became B.D. in 1822 and D.D. in 1827, the year in which he was elected Lady Margaret Professor. Faussett was

Bampton Lecturer The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have typically been biennial ...

, publishing ''The Claims of the Established Church to exclusive attachment and support, and the Dangers which menace her from Schism and Indifference, considered'' (1820). He took the conservative side of the religious issues in the university, opposing the 1834 bill of

George William Wood George William Wood (21 July 1781 – 3 October 1843) was an English businessman, Member of Parliament and leading member of civil society in Manchester. Life George William Wood was born in Leeds, the son of William Wood, a Unitarian minister ...

to allow dissenters to enter (on a committee with Edward Burton,

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

Edward Pusey Edward Bouverie Pusey (; 22 August 180016 September 1882) was an English Anglican cleric, for more than fifty years Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford. He was one of the leading figures in the Oxford Movement. Early years ...

and William Sewell), and defending subscription to the ''

Thirty Nine Articles The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...

'' in 1835 with Vaughan Thomas and Newman. Faussett's 1838 sermon ''The Revival of Popery'' was provoked by the

Tractarian The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

publication of the ''Remains'' of

Hurrell Froude Richard Hurrell Froude (25 March 1803 – 28 February 1836) was an Anglican priest and an early leader of the Oxford Movement. Life He was born in Dartington, Devon, the eldest son of Robert Froude (Archdeacon of Totnes) and the elder brother o ...

, who had died in 1836; in it Faussett denounced Newman and

John Keble John Keble (25 April 1792 – 29 March 1866) was an English Anglican priest and poet who was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement. Keble College, Oxford, was named after him. Early life Keble was born on 25 April 1792 in Fairford, Glouce ...

. It echoed an 1831 sermon of Burton preached against

Henry Bellenden Bulteel Henry Bellenden Bulteel (14 September 1800 – 28 December 1866) was an English priest with radical opinions. He studied at the University of Oxford and became an Anglican curate in Oxford. He adopted High Calvinist opinions, and in 1831 gave a ...

. It also proved a turning point as far as traditional High Church support for the Oxford Movement went within the university, since Faussett's alienation reflected the views of others in the camp. Newman replied in a "Letter to Faussett" in June of that year, significant in its abandonment of his previous views on the

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...

. In 1843 Faussett complained to the vice-chancellor

Philip Wynter Philip Wynter D.D. (1793–1871) was an English clergyman and academic. Career Wynter was the President of St John's College, Oxford, from 1828 to 1871, and the editor of the works of Joseph Hall. While President at St John's College, he was also ...

about a sermon by Pusey. The outcome was that Pusey was banned from preaching for two years.

Works

In 1830, Faussett attacked

Henry Hart Milman Henry Hart Milman (10 February 1791 – 24 September 1868) was an English historian and ecclesiastic. Life He was born in London, the third son of Sir Francis Milman, 1st Baronet, physician to King George III (see Milman Baronets). Educa ...

's ''History of the Jews'' (1829) in a sermon ''Jewish History Vindicated from the Unscriptural View of it Displayed in the History of the Jews''. ''The Alliance of Church and State Explained and Vindicated'' (1834) protested against the power of non-Anglicans to legislate for 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 Britai ...

Family

Faussett married first Marianne-Elizabeth Bridges of

Thanet Thanet may refer to: *Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England *Thanet District, a local government district containing the island *Thanet College, former name of East Kent College *Thanet Canal, ...

; they had two sons and two daughters.

Thomas Godfrey Faussett Thomas Godfrey Faussett (1829–1877), afterwards T. G. Godfrey-Faussett, was an English antiquary. Life Faussett was born at Oxford in 1829, was a younger son of the Rev. Godfrey Faussett, D.D., canon of Christ Church, Oxford by his second wife, ...

was his son by his second wife Sarah Wethered of

Great Marlow Great Marlow is a civil parish within Wycombe district in the English county of Buckinghamshire, lying north of the town of Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the hamlets of Bovingdon Green, Burroughs Grove, Chisbridge Cro ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faussett, Godfrey 1781 births 1853 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Lady Margaret Professors of Divinity