Hadrian à Saravia, sometimes called Hadrian Saravia, Adrien Saravia, or Adrianus Saravia (153215 January 1612) was a Protestant theologian and pastor from the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
who became an
Anglican prebend and a member of the
First Westminster Company charged by
James I of England
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
to produce the
King James Version of the Bible.
Early years
Saravia was born in
Hesdin
Hesdin (; vls, Heusdin) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.
Geography
The N39, from Arras to Montreuil, used to be the main thoroughfare of the town. In the 1950s, a circular route was created to help traffic fl ...
(
Artois
Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...
), then part of
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
, to
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
Spanish and Flemish parents, Christopher de Saravia and Elisabeth Boulengier.
He entered the ministry at
Antwerp, reviewed a draft of the
Belgic Confession and gathered a
Walloon congregation in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
.
Saravia continued to move between London and Europe.
[ In 1561, he married Catherine d'Allez of St Omer.][ The marriage would last 45 years, and the couple had one son and an unknown number of daughters. Following the death of Catherine, Saravia married Marguerite Wiits in 1608.
]
Channel Islands
He went from there to England and was sent as an evangelist to Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...
and Guernsey. When Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
Eli ...
founded Elizabeth College in 1563 he was appointed as its first schoolmaster.
In 1568 he became rector of the parish of St Pierre du Bois, Guernsey, which was then under Presbyterian
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 ...
discipline.
Southampton
From 1571 to 1578, he held the position of headmaster at the Grammar School
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
in Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
. His students included Robert Ashley
Robert Reynolds Ashley (March 28, 1930 – March 3, 2014) was an American composer, who was best known for his television operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. His works often involve i ...
, Nicholas Fuller
Nicholas Fuller (c. 1557 – 1626) was an English Hebraist and philologist.
Life
The son of Robert Fuller by his wife Catharine Cresset, he was a native of Hampshire, and was born about 1557. He was sent to schools at Southampton, kept by Joh ...
, Francis Markham, Edward Reynolds
Edward Reynolds (November 1599 – 28 July 1676) was a bishop of Norwich in the Church of England and an author.Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature. Prepared by the Rev. John M'Clintock, D.D., and James Strong, ...
, Sir Thomas Lake
Sir Thomas Lake PC (1567 – 17 September 1630) was Secretary of State to James I of England. He was a Member of Parliament between 1593 and 1626.
Thomas Lake was baptised in Southampton on 11 October 1567, the son of Almeric Lake, a minor cus ...
, and Josuah Sylvester.[
]
Ghent and Leiden
By late 1580 he was living in Ghent and was an inspector of the theological school and active in religious affairs.[ With Ghent under threat by the Spanish, he moved to Leiden in November 1582.][ He was appointed a professor of theology at Leiden University on 13 August 1584.][ From Leiden he wrote (9 June 1585) to ]William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...
advising the assumption of the protectorate of the Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
by Elizabeth. He left the United Provinces when his complicity in a political plot was discovered.
Return to England
He published several treatises defending the Episcopacy against 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 ...
. He was appointed, in 1588, rector of Tatenhill, Staffordshire. His first work, ''De diversis gradibus ministrorum Evangelii'' (1590; in English, 1592, and reprinted), was an argument for episcopacy
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, which led to a controversy with Theodore Beza
Theodore Beza ( la, Theodorus Beza; french: Théodore de Bèze or ''de Besze''; June 24, 1519 – October 13, 1605) was a French Calvinist Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar who played an important role in the Protestant Reformation ...
and gained him incorporation as DD at Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
(9 June 1590), and a prebend at Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
(22 October 1591).
On 6 December 1595 he was admitted to a canonry
A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule.
Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...
at Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
(which he resigned in 1602), and in the same year to the vicar
A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
age of Lewisham
Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...
, Kent, where he became an intimate friend of Richard Hooker
Richard Hooker (25 March 1554 – 2 November 1600) was an English priest in the Church of England and an influential theologian.The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church by F. L. Cross (Editor), E. A. Livingstone (Editor) Oxford University ...
, his near neighbour, whom he absolved on his deathbed. He was made prebendary of Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
in 1601 and of Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
(5 July 1601). In 1604, or early in 1605, he presented to James I of England
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
his Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
treatise on the Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
, which remained in the Royal Library unprinted, until in 1885 it was published (with translation and introduction) by Archdeacon G. A. Denison.
In 1607 he was nominated one of the translators of the King James Version of the Bible of 1611, his part being ''Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
'' to the end of '' Kings II''. He is said to have been the only translator who was not English.
On 23 March 1610 he exchanged Lewisham for the rectory of Great Chart, Kent. He died at Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
on 15 January 1612, and was buried in the cathedral. His second wife, Margaret Wiits, erected a memorial to him at the Cathedral.
Theology
Saravia is one of the first Protestant mission theologians. In his ecclesiological writing ''De diversis ministrorum Evangelii gradibus sicut a domino fuerunt instituti'' of 1590, he referred to the Church’s missionary command, which he believes is valid for all times. In the episcopate, which goes back to the apostles (apostolic succession), the Church has the authority to send out missionaries. This view was criticized by Protestant theologians, among them Theodor Beza
Theodore Beza ( la, Theodorus Beza; french: Théodore de Bèze or ''de Besze''; June 24, 1519 – October 13, 1605) was a French Calvinist Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar who played an important role in the Protestant Reformatio ...
and Johann Gerhard
Johannes Gerhard (17 October 1582 – 17 August 1637) was a Lutheran church leader and Lutheran Scholastic theologian during the period of Orthodoxy.
Biography
He was born in the German city of Quedlinburg. During a dangerous illness, at the ...
, who, like many of the Reformation and Old Protestant theologians, believed that the missionary command had already been fully fulfilled in the time of the Apostles.[Werner Raupp (Ed.): Mission in Quellentexten, 1990 (see above, Sources), S. 61.]
Sources
* Werner Raupp (Ed.): Mission in Quellentexten. Geschichte der Deutschen Evangelischen Mission von der Reformation bis zur Weltmissionskonferenz Edinburgh 1910, Erlangen/Bad Liebenzell 1990 (ISBN 3-87214-238-0 / 3-88002-424-3), S. 61–63 (Introduction; – Sources: De diversis ministrorum evangelii gradibus, sicut a domino fuerunt instituti €¦ London 1590, p. 37-39; – Literature).
Notes
References
*
*
* Nicolson, Adam. (2003) ''God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible.'' New York: HarperCollins
Adrian Saravia, Rector of Tatenhill 1588–1595
External links
* Saravia, Hadrian Ã
''De Sacra Eucharistica''
trans. Denison, George A (London 1855) at Project Canterbury site.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savaria, Hadrian a
1532 births
1612 deaths
English theologians
Translators of the King James Version
16th-century English Anglican priests
17th-century English theologians
17th-century translators
17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians
16th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians
People from Pas-de-Calais
Academic staff of Leiden University
17th-century English Anglican priests
Burials at Canterbury Cathedral
People of the Spanish Netherlands
16th-century Anglican theologians
17th-century Anglican theologians