John Grayle or Graile (1614–1654) was an English Puritan minister.

Life

Grayle was the son of John Grayle, priest, of

Stone, Gloucestershire Stone is a small village in the parish of Ham and Stone, Gloucestershire, England. It stands on the A38 road, just south-west of its crossing of the Little Avon River, roughly halfway between Bristol and Gloucester at . It is adjacent to the ...

, where he was born. At the age of 18 he entered

Magdalen Hall, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colleg ...

, as a batler, and proceeded B.A. in 1634 and M.A. on 15 June 1637. Brook states that Grayle, having married, in the end of 1645, a daughter of

Henry Scudder Henry Scudder may refer to: * Henry Austin Scudder (1819-1892), Massachusetts state legislator * Henry Joel Scudder (1825–1886), U.S. Representative from New York * Henry Scudder (priest) (died 1659), English Presbyterian * Henry Martyn Scudder ...

, went the next year, probably as minister, to live at Colling-bourne-Ducis, Wiltshire. He subsequently became rector of

Tidworth Tidworth is a garrison town and civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 about north of the A303 primary route, the town is approximately west of Andover, south o ...

in the same county. Grayle died, aged 40, early in 1654, after a lingering illness. He was buried in Tidworth Church. A son of the same name, educated at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

, was rector of

Blickling Blickling is a village and civil parish in the Broadland district of Norfolk, England, about north-west of Aylsham. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 136 and covers , falling to 113 at the 2011 Census. Since the 17th century t ...

, Norfolk, and published sermons.

Works

While a strict

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 ...

, Grayle was charged with

Arminianism 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 ...

, and defended his principles in a work, which was published after his death with a preface by Constantine Jessop, minister at

Wimborne Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poole ...

, Dorset, entitled ''A Modest Vindication of the Doctrine of Conditions in the Covenant of Grace and the Defenders thereof from the Aspersions of Arminianism and Popery which Mr. W. Eyre cast on them'', London, 1655. The preface (dated 15 September 1654) says that the book had been delivered to William Eyre in the author's lifetime; Eyre, Grayle's critic, was minister of St Edmund's, Salisbury. A neighbouring minister, Humphrey Chambers, preached his funeral sermon, and it was published with the ''Modest Vindication''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grayle, John People from Stroud District 1614 births 1654 deaths English Christian religious leaders English Presbyterian ministers Alumni of Magdalen Hall, Oxford 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers English religious writers Arminian ministers Arminian writers English male non-fiction writers 17th-century English Presbyterian ministers