Laurence Womock (also Lawrence Womach or Womack) (1612–1686) was an English bishop. He is best known for his controversial writings, some of which were signed Tilenus, after

Daniel Tilenus Daniel Tilenus (also Tilenius) (1563 – 1633) was a German-French Protestant theologian. Initially a Calvinist, he became a prominent and influential Arminian teaching at the Academy of Sedan. He was an open critic of the Synod of Dort of 1618-9. ...

, expressing his hostility to

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

in general, and the

Synod of Dort The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was an international Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. The fi ...

in particular.

Biography

Background

Lawrence Womack, a namesake of his grandfather, was born 12 May 1612 at Lopham,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, England where his father, Charles Womack, was rector. Lawrence's brother William became estranged from the family and emigrated to Virginia,

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

in the 1630s where he became a Quaker.

Education

Lawrence graduated BA from

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

in 1632, and MA in 1636. He became chaplain to

William Paget, 5th Baron Paget William Paget, 5th Baron Paget (13 September 1609 – 19 October 1678) was an English peer. He was born at Beaudesert House, Staffordshire, England to William Paget, 4th Baron Paget and Lettice Knollys. Career He was a Parliamentarian with ...

.''Concise Dictionary of National Biography''

Ecclesiastical career

Lawrence had a benefice (an office endowed with fixed capital assets that provide a living through the revenue from such assets) in the west of England, where he attained fame by his preaching. He was published by the royalist printer

Richard Royston Richard Royston (1601 in Oxford – November 1686) was an English bookseller and publisher, bookseller to Charles I, Charles II and James II. Royston, the son of an Oxford tailor Richard Royston and Alice Tideman, was admitted a freeman of the ...

. Along with

Thomas Pierce Thomas Pierce or Peirse (1622–1691) was an English churchman and controversialist, a high-handed President of Magdalen College, Oxford, and Dean of Salisbury. Early life He was the son of John Pierce or Peirse, a woollen-draper and mayor of De ...

and

Jeremy Taylor Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667) was a cleric in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression, and he is fr ...

, he was one of the

Arminian 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 ...

clerics attacked by Edward Bagshaw the younger and

Henry Hickman Henry Hickman (died 1692) was an English ejected minister and controversialist. Life A native of Worcestershire, he was educated at St Catharine Hall, Cambridge, where he proceeded B.A. in 1648. At the end of 1647, he entered Magdalen Hall, Ox ...

Period of relative obscurity

Little is known of him from 1648 to 1660. This corresponds to a revolutionary period in England that included the overthrow of the monarchy, the outbreak of the Second English Civil War in 1648, followed by the execution of King Charles I in 1649, and the short-lived Commonwealth of England. A political crisis that followed the death of Cromwell in 1658 resulted in the restoration of the monarchy. King Charles II restored the crown in 1660. Charles's English parliament enacted laws known as the Clarendon Code, designed to shore up the position of the re-established Church of England.

Further enhancement of career

At this point, Lawrence Womack returned to prominence, and obtained a prebend (a stipend drawn from the endowment or revenues of an Anglican cathedral or church by a presiding member of the clergy) in Hereford Cathedral in 1660. On the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

of 1660 he was made

Archdeacon of Suffolk The Archdeacon of Suffolk is a senior cleric in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy in the territory of the archdeaconry. History Originally in the Dioceses of No ...

on Dec. 8th, Prebendary of Ely, and

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 ...

in 1661. Like his grandfather of the same name, Lawrence Womack was a Rector in the Church of England and in 1683 was consecrated Bishop of St. David's. He was noted for his publications supporting the liturgy and was known for having a fine collection of books. He replied to Edmund Calamy's 1662 sermon ''Eli trembling for fear of the Ark''. He became

Bishop of St David's The Bishop of St Davids is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the St Davids, city of ...

in 1683.

Marriage and family

Lawrence was married three times. By his first marriage, Lawrence had at least one son, Edward. The second marriage, in West Bradford, Nov. 18, 1668, to Anne, daughter of John Hill and widow of Edward Alymer, of Claydon County, Suffolk. Ann was buried at Horringer Suffolk, 1669. Next he married at Brideford on 18 November 1668 a woman called Anne Aylmer of Bury and they had a daughter, Anne, who died in 1685. Third marriage, at St. Bartholomew, the Less, London, on April 25, 1670, was to Katherine Corbett, of Norwick, aged 40. She was still living in 1697. Lawrence Womack and Katherine Corbett had a son named John Richard Womack born in 1670 in Suffolk, England. John Richard Womack migrated to America and died in 1738 in Prince Edward County, Virginia.

Death and memorial

Lawrence Womack died in Westminster, March 12, 1686; buried at St. Margaret's Church, London, where there is a tablet to his memory. The Anglican church of St. Margaret is situated in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square next to the “Big Ben” clock tower, and is known affectionately as the parish church of the Houses of Commons.http://www.westminster-abbey.org/st-margarets> When Elizabeth I re-founded the Abbey as a collegiate church in 1560 she maintained its exemption from episcopal authority and made her new foundation a ‘royal peculiar’, subject to the authority of the Sovereign as Visitor. Lawrence left his books and property to his nephew, Lawrence Womack, Rector of Castor, of Yarmouth.

Works

*''Beaten Oyle for the Lamps of the Sanctuarie'' (1641) *''Sober Sadness'' (1643) *''The examination of Tilenus before the triers'' (1658) *''Arcana dogmatum anti-remonstrantium. Or the Calvinists cabinet unlock'd'' (1659) *''The Dressing Up of the Crown'' (1660) *''The Solemn League and Covenant arraigned and condemned'' (1661) *''The result of false principles, or, Error convicted by its own evidence'' (1661) *''Pulpit-conceptions, popular-deceptions, or, The grand debate resumed'' (1662) *''Aron-bimnucha: or, an Antidote to cure the Calamites of their Trembling for fear of the Ark'' (1663) *''Anti-Boreale'' (1663) *''Conformity re-asserted in an echo to R.S.'' (1664) *''Moses and Aaron, the king and the priest'' (1675) *''The verdict upon the dissenters plea, occasioned by their Melius inquirendum'' (1681) *''Two letters containing a further justification of the Church of England against the dissenters'' (1682) first letter attributed to

*''Suffragium Protestantium'' (1683)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Womock, Laurence 1612 births 1686 deaths Arminian ministers Arminian theologians Bishops of St Davids Archdeacons of Suffolk 17th-century Welsh Anglican bishops Burials at St Margaret's, Westminster 17th-century Anglican theologians