Thomas Lushington (1590–1661) was a British author and theologian, born in 1590 Sandwich, Kent and baptised in Hawkinge, near

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

on 2 September 1590. He was the son of Ingram and Agnes Lushington, and was one of four children. He is best known for being the tutor to Sir

Thomas Browne Sir Thomas Browne (; 19 October 160519 October 1682) was an English polymath and author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including science and medicine, religion and the esoteric. His writings display a deep curi ...

, author of ''

Religio Medici ''Religio Medici'' (''The Religion of a Doctor'') by Sir Thomas Browne is a spiritual testament and early psychological self-portrait. Published in 1643 after an unauthorized version was distributed the previous year, it became a European best- ...

''. However, he is also known for being a controversial preacher, having been later accused of heresy.

Education

Lushington attended the Canterbury Cathedral Foundation at The King's School, Canterbury. Later enrolling at

Broadgates Hall Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

, Oxford on 15 March 1607; Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

in 1616, and an Master of Arts (MA) in 1618. Following this he returned to Broadgates Hall to study Theology and to tutor. It was here that Thomas Browne became his pupil. Lushington achieved

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

(BD) in 1627 and the

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 ...

(DD) in 1632.

Career

Whilst studying Lushington had a number of public jobs, prior to taking up his tutoring post at Broadgates Hall. His career at Oxford came to an end after becoming close friends with

Richard Corbet Bishop Richard Corbet (or Corbett) (158228 July 1635) was an English clergyman who rose to be a bishop in the Church of England. He is also remembered as a humorist and as a poet, although his work was not published until after his death. Life ...

who assisted him in securing his future positions. Both were described as men of William Laud. Initially, Corbett got Lushington the chaplaincy to Charles I of England. This was followed in 1631 with Lushington becoming a Prebendary of Salisbury.. In 1632 Lushington moved to Norwich with Corbett. Archbishop Laud is said to have been attempting to rule all Anglican England and therefore used Corbett and Lushington to help reclaim

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

for the Church. Thus, Lushington gained positions in the benefices of Barton Turf and Neatheshead (

Neatishead Neatishead ( ) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated some north-east of the city of Norwich, within The Norfolk Broads and to the west of Barton Broad. Access to Neatishead from the broad is by w ...

), Norfolk; and in 1636 in Felixstowe and

Walton, Suffolk Walton is a settlement and former civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England, lying between the rivers Orwell and Deben. It is now part of Felixstowe parish. In 1911 the parish had a population of 4226. His ...

. By 1639 Lushington had to forfeit his benefices in Norwich to

Presbyterians 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 ...

and was presented by the King to the rectory of Burnham-Westgate in 1639, and Burnham-St. Mary, Burnham-St. Margaret and Burnham-All Saints, all within the district of

Hunstanton Hunstanton () is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash, making it one of the few places on the east coast of Great Britain where the sun sets over the sea. Hunstant ...

, Norfolk in 1640. According to the plague in St. Mary's Church, Burnham Westgate, Lushington was Rector (ecclesiastical) between 1639 and 1655.

Reputation

In April 1624 or 1625, Lushington preached the Easter Monday Sermon at

St Mary's, Oxford The University Church of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary's or SMV for short) is an Oxford church situated on the north side of the High Street. It is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew and its parish consists almost exclusively of un ...

which was received with applause by the congregation. However, it was not welcomed by all. Some felt it was shockingly theatrical and because part of it reflected on King James I's Spanish policy, Lushington denounced the popular desire for war with Spain, as well as contemptuous words about Parliament and the House of Commons, he was forced to deliver a recantation sermon the following Sunday. It is suggested that these sermons set his reputation for the rest of his career, and was even noted in

Serenus de Cressy Dom Serenus Cressy, O.S.B., (originally born Hugh Paulinus de Cressy), (ca. 1605 –10 August 1674) was an English convert to Catholicism and Benedictine monk, who became a noted scholar in Church history. Life Anglican chaplain Hugh Paulinus d ...

's later works. He experienced various attacks over the years accusing him of heretical opinions and socianianism, largely following comments by the "Puritan" Rev. Edmund Porter. His attacks would see Lushington return to Sittingbourne in 1655.

Literary works

* ''The expiation of a sinner in a commentary vpon the Epistle to the Hebrevves'' (1646) * ''The justification of a sinner being the maine argument of the Epistle to the Galatians / by a reverend and learned divine.'' (1650) * A treatise on the theology of Proclus (1650) * ''Logica analytica'' (1650) * ''The Resurrection rescued from the souldiers calumnies, in two sermons preached at St. Maries in Oxon'' (1659). Published under the name Robert Jones D.D. There is debate around whether Lushington did in fact write ''Commentaries of the Epistle of the Hebrews.'' Initially the book had been written under the author "G.M" when it was first published in 1646. However, when it was reissued, "G.M" had been replaced with "T.L.D.D", reportedly Thomas Lushington Doctor of Divinity. Allegedly there is no record of him, or his supporters, denying authorship, and it has been suggested the attribution of the works could be down to Rev. Edmund Porter.

Death

Lushington died in Sittingbourne, Kent on 22 December 1661, aged 72. He was buried on 26 December in the south chancel of St. Michael's Church, Sittingbourne where a monument was erected in his memory. No traces of the monument remain which was destroyed in a fire in July 1762.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lushington, Thomas 1590 births 1661 deaths British writers British theologians Alumni of Broadgates Hall, Oxford