James Chapman (1799–1879) was the first

Anglican Bishop of Colombo The Anglican Bishop of Colombo is the ecclesiastical head of the Anglican Diocese of Colombo, a diocese in the Church of Ceylon which is part of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Diocese of Colombo was founded in 1845, as the diocese of the C ...

, in

British Ceylon British Ceylon ( si, බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ලංකාව, Britānya Laṃkāva; ta, பிரித்தானிய இலங்கை, Biritthāṉiya Ilaṅkai) was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between ...

(now

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

), serving from 1845 to 1861.

Life

He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

, where he graduated

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(BA) in 1823, and

Cambridge Master of Arts In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts are promoted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts (MA) on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university (including years as an u ...

(MA Cantab) in 1826. He was made deacon in Ely in 1824 and ordained priest the next year in Chichester. He became a Fellow of King's College, one of the Masters of Eton, and Evening Lecturer at Windsor. In 1834, he was appointed to the Rectory of

Dunton Wayletts Dunton Wayletts is a hamlet in the unparished area of Basildon, on the western outskirts of Laindon, in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It is located between the Southend Arterial Road (A127 road) and the London, Tilbury and Southend lin ...

, in Essex, the patronage of which was with King's College. On 7 November 1845, he was consecrated as the first Bishop of Colombo at St Peter's Church, Colombo, and received the degree of

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) from his University. In 1851, Chapman founded S. Thomas' College when it was in Mutwal before it relocated to its present site in Mount Lavinia He resigned the See of Colombo in 1861, and was elected a Fellow of Eton College, and was presented by the College in 1863 to the Rectory of

Wootton Courtenay Wootton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on Exmoor in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Brockwell and Huntscott. The village lies on the route of the Macmillan Way West and the ...

, Somerset. In 1868, he was made Prebendary of Warminster in

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...

. He was the author of occasional Charges, Sermons and Journals. During the mid-1860s, he undertook several bishop's duties (including ordinations of deacons/priests and consecrations of church buildings) in the

Diocese of Exeter The Diocese of Exeter is a Church of England diocese covering the county of Devon. It is one of the largest dioceses in England. The Exeter Cathedral, Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter is the seat of the diocesan Bishop of Exeter. It is pa ...

. In the late 1860s, when

Robert Eden Robert Eden may refer to: *Sir Robert Eden, 1st Baronet, of West Auckland (c. 1644–1721), MP for County Durham * Sir Robert Eden, 3rd Baronet, of West Auckland (died 1794) * Sir Robert Johnson-Eden, 5th Baronet, of West Auckland (1774–1844) * S ...

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...

, was ill, Chapman also assisted him as

Coadjutor Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...

. He died in 1879.''Church Bells'' (July 17, 1875) W. Wells Gardner, Publisher, LondonA History of the Church of England in India
anglicanhistory.org

References

External links

The Church of Ceylon (Anglican Communion)

Anglican Church of Ceylon News
1879 deaths 19th-century Anglican bishops in Asia People educated at Eton College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Sri Lankan Christian clergy Place of birth missing Place of death missing 1799 births Anglican bishops of Colombo Fellows of Eton College {{SriLanka-bio-stub

Life

See also

References

External links