John Fuller Russell (1813–1884), was a priest in the Church of England, a writer, mostly on theological subjects, especially religious ritual, and a notable art collector. He was a member of the committee of the

Ecclesiological Society The Cambridge Camden Society, known from 1845 (when it moved to London) as the Ecclesiological Society,Histor ...

and had close connections to the

High Church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

Oxford Movement 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 ...

Life

Russell was born on 15 August 1813, the son of Thomas Russell, a Congregationalist minister, whose surname was originally Cloutt. Arthur Tozer Russell was his brother. He was educated at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

, where he read civil law. He became one of the first sympathisers with the

Oxford movement 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 ...

at Cambridge, and in 1836, while still an undergraduate at Peterhouse, he began a correspondence with

Edward Bouverie 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 H ...

, in which he expressed a desire to revive much of the disused ritual of the Church. In 1837 he visited Pusey at Christ Church. In 1838 he was ordained deacon and appointed to the curacy of St. Peter's,

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

. The next year he graduated LL.B., and was admitted into priest's orders. He held the perpetual curacy of St James, Enfield Highway, from 1841 to 1854. On 2 October 1843 he married Rosalie Croshaw at the church. In 1856 he became rector of

Greenhithe Greenhithe is a village in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is located east of Dartford and west of Gravesend. Area In the past, Greenhithe's waterfront on the estuary of the ri ...

, Kent. He was a member of the council of the Society of Antiquaries, of the central committee of the Royal Archæological Institute, and of the committee of the Ecclesiological Society.

Art collection

When the German art historian

Gustav Waagen Gustav Friedrich Waagen (11 February 1794 – 15 July 1868) was a German art historian. His opinions were greatly respected in England, where he was invited to give evidence before the royal commission inquiring into the condition and future o ...

visited Russell at Eagle House near Enfield, he found the walls "so richly adorned with specimens of the 14th century, that the spectator feels as if transported to a chapel at Siena or Florence." He described Russell as "one of the most enthusiastic admirers of the grandeur and high significance of the ecclesiastic art from the 13th to the 15th century that I met with in England". His collection included the "Diptych of Jeanne of France" (now in the collection of the

Musée Condé The Musée Condé – in English, the Condé Museum – is a French museum located inside the Château de Chantilly in Chantilly, Oise, 40 km north of Paris. In 1897, Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of Louis Philippe I, bequeathed the c ...

in Chantilly), believed in his lifetime to be by

Hans Memling Hans Memling (also spelled Memlinc; c. 1430 – 11 August 1494) was a painter active in Flanders, who worked in the tradition of Early Netherlandish painting. He was born in the Middle Rhine region and probably spent his childhood in Mainz. He ...

six of the seven panels from the

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...

of Ugolino da Siena's altarpiece for Santa Croce in Florence, bought from the sale of the

William Young Ottley William Young Ottley (6 August 1771 – 26 May 1836) was a British collector of and writer on art, amateur artist, and Keeper of the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum. He was an early English enthusiast for 14th- and 15t ...

collection, Abrecht Altdorfer's ''Christ taking Leave of His Mother'' (National Gallery, London) and Simone Martini's ''St Geminianus, St Michael and St Augustine, each with an Angel above'' (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) He also had a notable collection of illuminated manuscripts and early printed books.

Death

He died on 6 April 1884 at his house in Ormonde Terrace, Regent's Park, London. His paintings were sold at Christie's, on 18 April 1885.

Works

Russell's works relate mainly to the doctrine and discipline of the church of England. They include: *''Letter to the Right Hon. H. Goulburn on the Morals and Religion of the University of Cambridge''. (1833). *''The Exclusive Power of an episcopally ordained Clergy to administer the Sacraments'' (1834) *''The Judgment of the Anglican Church (posterior to the Reformation) on the Sufficiency of Holy Scripture, and the Authority of the Holy Catholic Church in Matters of Faith'' (1838) *''Strict Observance of the Rubric recommended'' (1839) *''A few hints on the practical study of Ecclesiastical antiquities for the use of the Cambridge Camden Society'' (with J.M. Neale; third edition 1842) *''Anglican ordinations valid : a refutation of certain statements in the second and third chapters of 'The validity of Anglican ordinations examined'. By the Very Reverend Peter Richard Kenrick, V.G.'' (1846) *''The Life of Dr. Samuel Johnson'' (1847) *''The Ancient Knight, or Chapters on Chivalry'' (1849) *''Oral and Written Evidence in regard to the post-Reformation symbolical Use of Lights in the Church of England'' in the second report of the Ritual Commission (1867). He was co-editor with

Walter Farquhar Hook Walter Farquhar Hook (13 March 1798 – 20 October 1875), known to his contemporaries as Dr Hook, was an eminent Victorian churchman. He was the Vicar of Leeds responsible for the construction of the current Leeds Minster and for many ecc ...

of the ''Voice of the Church'' (2 vols. 1840), and with

William Josiah Irons William Josiah Irons (1812–1883) was a priest in the Church of England and a theological writer. Life Irons, born at Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, 12 September 1812, was second son of the Rev. Joseph Irons (1785–1852), by his first wife, Mary Ann ...

of ''Tracts of the Anglican Fathers'' (1841). He was also editor of ''Hierurgia Anglicana, or Documents and Extracts illustrative of the Church of England after the Reformation'' (1848).

References

Sources

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, John Fuller 1813 births 1884 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests English theologians English male non-fiction writers