Memorial to Bishop Simon Patrick in Ely Cathedral

Simon Patrick (8 September 1626 – 31 May 1707) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

theologian and bishop.

Life

He was born at Gainsborough,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, eldest son of Henry Patrick, a wealthy merchant, on 8 September 1626, and attended

Boston Grammar School The Boston Grammar School is a Grammar school, selective grammar school and sixth form college for boys aged 11 to 18 and girls attending the sixth form aged 16–18 located in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. A recent 2021 Ofsted report assesse ...

. He entered

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

, in 1644, and after taking orders in 1651 became successively

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to Sir Walter St. John and

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of Battersea,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. He was afterwards (1662) preferred to the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

of St. Paul's,

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, where he continued to labour during

the plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

. He was appointed

Dean of Peterborough The Dean of Peterborough is the head of the chapter at Peterborough Cathedral. On the Dissolution of Peterborough Abbey in 1539 and the abbey-church's refoundation as a cathedral for the new bishop and diocese of Peterborough, care for the abbey ...

in 1679, and Bishop of Chichester in 1689, in which year he was employed, along with others of the new bishops, to settle the affairs of the Church in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In 1691 he was translated to the

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formal ...

, which he held until his death on 31 May 1707. He was buried in

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...

. His memorial is by Edward Stanton. He had

Dalham Hall Dalham Hall is a country house and estate, located in the village of Dalham, Suffolk, near Newmarket, and west of Bury St Edmunds. Owners of the Dalham estate have included: *c.1050-1240 Peche Family *1240-1320 English Crown Estate (from 1303, ...

built.

Works

His

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

s and devotional writings are numerous, and his ''Commentary on the Historical and Poetical Books of the Old Testament'', in 10 vols., going as far as the '' Song of Solomon'', was reprinted in the 1810 ''Critical Commentary on the Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha'', along with works of

Richard Arnald Richard Arnald (1698 or 1700 Nichols, J., ''The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester'', Vol. 3, Part 2 (1804), pp. 1059, 1071 – 4 September 1756) was a distinguished English clergyman and biblical scholar. Life He was a native ...

, Moses Lowman,

William Lowth William Lowth D.D. (1660–1732) was an English clergyman, known as a Biblical commentator. Life He was the son of William Lowth, an apothecary, who was burnt out in the Great Fire of London, and was born in the parish of St Martin, Ludgate on 3 ...

, and Daniel Whitby. Patrick's ''Friendly Debate between a Conformist and a Nonconformist'' was a controversial tract, defending the Five Mile Act. It excited considerable feeling at the time of its publication in 1668. Among replies was one from Samuel Rolle as Philagathus. He also contributed to a volume of ''Poems upon Divine and Moral Subjects'' (1719). The first collected edition of his works appeared at Oxford in 1858 (9 vols.), edited by Alexander Taylor; a small ''Autobiography'' was published also at Oxford in 1839. He is the author of the anti-semitic pamphlet,
Jewish Hypocrisie, A Caveat To The Present Generation."

Theology

Simon Patrick, was influenced by prominent Arminian theologians as

Henry Hammond Henry Hammond (18 August 1605 – 25 April 1660) was an English churchman, who supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. Early life He was born at Chertsey in Surrey on 18 August 1605, the youngest son of John Hammond (c. 155 ...

, and the Cambridge Platonists; and was criticized for his

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 ...

belief. He is described by historians as an influential

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Marriage

In 1675 he married Penelope Jephson (died 1725), a daughter of Maj. Gen. William Jephson (1609–1658), a highly influential

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Stockbridge, and also a substantial landowner in Mallow, County Cork, by his wife Alicia Dynham,Jephson, Maurice Denham ''An Anglo-Irish Miscellany, some Records of the Jephsons of Mallow'' Dublin Allen Figgis 1964 a daughter of Sir John Dynham of

Boarstall Tower Boarstall Tower is a 14th-century moated gatehouse located in Boarstall, Buckinghamshire, England, and now, with its surrounding gardens, a National Trust property. Until March 2020, the National Trust offered tours on Wednesday afternoons. ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

and Penelope Wenman. They had three children, two of whom died young.The printed autobiography of Simon Patrick calls his wife a "grandchild to the lady Durham (sic) of Borstall". The Auto-Biography of Simon Patrick, Bishop of El

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Notes and references

Citations

Sources

* *

Attribution

External links

Rt Rev Simon Patrick

Facsimile of Simon Patrick's preface to Hugo Grotius' Truths of Christian Religion.
Scanned by Elms College Alumnae Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick, Simon 1626 births 1707 deaths 17th-century Church of England bishops 18th-century Church of England bishops Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Arminian ministers Arminian theologians Bishops of Chichester Bishops of Ely Canons of Westminster Deans of Peterborough English theologians People educated at Boston Grammar School People from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire 17th-century Anglican theologians 18th-century Anglican theologians