John Mullins or Molyns (died 1591) was an English churchman and

Marian exile The Marian exiles were English Protestants who fled to Continental Europe during the 1553–1558 reign of the Catholic monarchs Queen Mary I and King Philip.Christina Hallowell Garrett (1938) ''Marian Exiles: A Study in the Origins of Elizabeth ...

archdeacon of London The Archdeacon of London is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England. They are responsible for the eastern Archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of London) of the Two Cities (London and Westminster) in the Diocese of London, an area with ...

from 1559.

Life

Born in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, Mullins was made a probationary Fellow of

Magdalen College, Oxford 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 ...

in 1541; and proceeded B.A. 1541, M.A. 1545, D.D. 1565–6. At this period Magdalen and Christ Church were the two leading Protestant colleges of the University of Oxford. Magdalen had an evangelical group around

Thomas Bentham Thomas Bentham (1513/14–1579) was a scholar and a Protestant minister. One of the Marian exiles, he returned to England to minister to an underground congregation in London. He was made the first Elizabethan bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, se ...

John Foxe John Foxe (1516/1517 – 18 April 1587), an English historian and martyrologist, was the author of '' Actes and Monuments'' (otherwise ''Foxe's Book of Martyrs''), telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the su ...

, and

Lawrence Humphrey Lawrence Humphrey (or Laurence Humfrey) DD (1525/7? – 1 February 1589) was an English theologian, who was President of Magdalen College, Oxford, and Dean successively of Gloucester and Winchester. Biography Humphrey was born at Newport Pa ...

. Mullins was involved in the 1550 petition against the Catholic President of Magdalen,

Owen Oglethorpe Owen Oglethorpe ( – 31 December 1559) was an English academic and Roman Catholic Bishop of Carlisle, 1557–1559. Childhood and Education Oglethorpe was born in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England (where he later founded a school), the third son ...

, one of ten signatories who included also Walter Bower, Michael Reninger and

Arthur Saul Arthur Saul (died 1586) was an English Puritan cleric and academic, a Marian exile and canon of Gloucester Cathedral. Life Of Gloucestershire origin, Saul was admitted a demy of Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1545. He graduated B.A. in 1546, and ...

. In Queen Mary's reign Mullins left for

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, after Bishop

Stephen Gardiner Stephen Gardiner (27 July 1483 – 12 November 1555) was an English Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I and King Philip. Early life Gardiner was b ...

's visitation of Magdalen College. At

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

he was reader in Greek to the exiled English. He was one of those, with his associate

Alexander Nowell Alexander Nowell (13 February 1602, aka Alexander Noel) was an Anglican priest and theologian. He served as Dean of St Paul's during much of Elizabeth I's reign, and is now remembered for his catechisms. Early life He was the eldest son of John ...

, who shared the Frankfurt house of Thomas Watts. Mullins returned to England early in

Elizabeth I 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". El ...

's reign, and was appointed in 1559 canon of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

and

. In February 1561 he was collated to the rectory of

Theydon Garnon Theydon Garnon is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district, in the county of Essex, England. The parish also includes the hamlet of Hobbs Cross. History Also recorded as Thoydon Garnon and Coopersale, "Theydon" is thought to mea ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, and in May 1577 to the rectory of

Bocking, Essex Bocking is an area of Braintree, Essex, England, which was a former village and civil parish. In 1934 it became part of the civil parish of Braintree and Bocking, which is now within Braintree District. It forms an electoral division for Essex Co ...

. He was made dean of Bocking in October 1583, along with

John Still John Still (c. 1543 – 26 February 1607/1608) was Master of two Cambridge colleges and then, from 1593, Bishop of Bath and Wells. He enjoyed considerable fame as an English preacher and disputant. He was formerly reputed to be the author of an ...

. In 1573 Mullins brought up the "

troubles at Frankfurt The Troubles at Frankfurt was a name given retrospectively to internal quarrels of the Marian exiles in Frankfurt am Main in the mid-1550s, involving also the Scottish reformer John Knox. Politically, Frankfurt was a Free Imperial City of the Holy ...

"—the theological contention between Richard Cox and

John Knox John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgat ...

in 1555–6—in a sermon. He himself had been an external observer, moving from Zürich to Frankfurt after Knox had departed. The historical issue once raised, Thomas Wood published '' A Brieff Discours off the Troubles Begonne at Franckford'' (1575, anonymous, attribution by

Patrick Collinson Patrick "Pat" Collinson, (10 August 1929 – 28 September 2011) was an English historian, known as a writer on the Elizabethan era, particularly Elizabethan Puritanism. He was emeritus Regius Professor of Modern History, University of Cambridge, ...

). It aimed to rebut the views of Mullins and

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Coll ...

, and to reach back to the 1550s for precedents to the contemporary English debates.

Death and legacy

Tomb slab of John Mullins and memorial to Sir Simon Baskerville in St Paul's by Wenceslaus Hollar

Mullins died in June 1591, and was buried in the north aisle of St Paul's Cathedral. By his will he left money to purchase lands to endow an

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

for two scholars at Magdalen College.

Works

Mullins published a Greek poem in ''Carmina Latina et Graeca in Mortem duorum fratrum Suffolciensium, Henrici et Caroli Brandon'', 1552.

Family

Mullins was married, and his daughter Mary was the wife of

Walter Chetwynd Walter Chetwynd FRS (1 May 1633 – 21 March 1693), of Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire was an English antiquary and politician. Life He was the only child of Walter Chetwynd (1598–1669), the eldest son of Walter Chetwynd (died 1638), who buil ...

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Molyns, John Year of birth missing 1591 deaths 16th-century English Anglican priests Archdeacons of London Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge Deans of Bocking