Thomas Ravis (c. 1560 – 14 December 1609) was a
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
bishop and academic. He was among those engaged in translating the
King James Bible
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
.
Early life
Ravis was born at
Old Malden
Old Malden is a ward of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London, south west of Charing Cross.
Malden Manor is an alternative name for part of Old Malden, popularised by the railway company that made up this name for its st ...
in
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. ...
, probably in 1560, and educated at
Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
. He was elected, on the recommendation of
Lord Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...
, to
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
, in 1575, but the
dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
and chapter declined to admit him on the grounds that there was no room, until Burghley remonstrated with them. He gained a BA on 12 November 1578 and an MA on 3 March 1582, proceeding to a bachelor's divinity degree in 1589 and a divinity doctorate in 1595.
Priestly career
Ravis took holy orders in 1582 and preached around Oxford for some time. On 17 April 1588 he was elected a proctor and in July 1596 and again in July 1597 was chosen
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford is the chief executive and leader of the University of Oxford. The following people have been vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford (formally known as The Right Worshipful the Vice-Chancel ...
. In 1591 he was admitted to the rectory of
Merstham
Merstham is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It lies 25 miles south of Charing Cross and 2 miles south of the Greater London border. Part of the North Downs Way runs along the northern boundary of the town. Mers ...
,
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. ...
, and from 27 December of the same year until May 1598 was vicar of
All Hallows, Barking
All Hallows-by-the-Tower, at one time dedicated jointly to All Hallows (All Saints) and the Virgin Mary and sometimes known as All Hallows Barking, is an ancient Anglican church on Byward Street in the City of London, overlooking the Tower of Lo ...
. From February 1593 till 1607 he was a prebendary of Westminster, and from 1596 until 1605 an authoritarian Dean of Christ Church. As Dean he commuted the commons allowance for food into monetary form, of two
shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...
s a week. Some of those who resisted this innovation he expelled, others he sent before the council, and others he imprisoned.
On 7 July 1598 he became vicar of
Islip
Islip may refer to:
Places England
* Islip, Northamptonshire
*Islip, Oxfordshire
United States
*Islip, New York, a town in Suffolk County
** Islip (hamlet), New York, located in the above town
**Central Islip, New York, a hamlet and census-d ...
, and in the following October vicar of
Wittenham Abbas,
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
.
[This list associates "Abbots Wittenham" with Little Wittenham. . Retrieved 27 August 2010.] He was one of the six deans who attended the
Hampton Court Conference
The Hampton Court Conference was a meeting in January 1604, convened at Hampton Court Palace, for discussion between King James I of England and representatives of the Church of England, including leading English Puritans. The conference resulte ...
in 1604, and later supplied notes for
William Barlow's account, the ''Sum and Substance of the Conference''. He was then involved in the subsequent creation of the
King James Bible
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
, being appointed one of the Oxford committee deputed to translate part of the ''
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
''. Also in that year, he was elected
prolocutor A prolocutor is a chairman of some ecclesiastical assemblies in Anglicanism.
Usage in the Church of England
In the Church of England, the Prolocutor is chair of the lower house of the Convocations of Canterbury and York, the House of Clergy. The ...
of the lower house of
Convocation
A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a speci ...
.
Episcopal career
In October 1604 Ravis was appointed
Bishop of Gloucester
The Bishop of Gloucester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Gloucester in the Province of Canterbury.
The diocese covers the County of Gloucestershire and part of the County of Worcestershire. The see's centre of governan ...
and consecrated on 17 March 1605; he was allowed to hold ''
in commendam
In canon law, commendam (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical ...
'' with his bishopric the deanery of Christ Church, his Westminster prebend, and the parsonages of Islip and Wittenham. At Gloucester he improved the Bishop's Palace. On 18 May 1607 Ravis was translated to the
episcopal see
An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...
of London and installed as
Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
on 2 June. He was intolerant of all
nonconformity. Ravis died on 14 December 1609, and was buried in the north aisle 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 ...
.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravis, Thomas
1560 births
1609 deaths
Deans of Christ Church, Oxford
Bishops of Gloucester
Bishops of London
Translators of the King James Version
People from Surrey
People educated at Westminster School, London
16th-century English translators
17th-century English clergy
17th-century translators
16th-century scholars
17th-century scholars
17th-century Anglican theologians
16th-century Anglican theologians