William Barret ('' fl''. 1595) was an English

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

Life

He matriculated as a pensioner of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, on 1 February 1579–80. He proceeded to his M.A. degree in 1588, and was soon afterwards elected fellow of

Caius College Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

. In a ''Concio ad Clerum,'' preached by him for the degree of B.D. at Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge, on 29 April 1595, he violently attacked the

Calvinist 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 Ca ...

tenets, then popular at Cambridge. While rejecting the doctrine of assurance and of the indefectibility of grace, he also handled with unusual freedom the names of Calvin, Peter Martyr, and other believers in unconditioned reprobation. This public attack was not allowed to pass unnoticed. The vice-chancellor, Dr. Dupont, conferred privately with Barret, who, however, remained contumacious, and was next summoned before the heads of colleges. After several conferences, in which Barret acknowledged the justice of the inferences drawn from his sermon, he was ordered to recant. He accordingly read a prescribed form of withdrawal at St. Mary's, on 10 May 1595, but in an "unreverend manner", significant of his unchanged views. On the 20th, some forty fellows memorialised the vice-chancellor in favour of Barret's punishment. Once more he was summoned before the heads of colleges, and threatened with expulsion. But taking advantage of a libellous account of his sermon circulated by the authorities of St. John's, he appealed to Archbishop Whitgift, a course also adopted by his accusers. The primate, in reply, censured the hasty proceedings of the heads of colleges, who upon this appealed to

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 ...

, their chancellor, asking permission to punish Barret. The chancellor at first gave his assent, which he withdrew at the request of Whitgift. The heads now saw that they had gone too far, and in the month of September wrote to the primate, begging that he would settle the matter by inquiry into Barret's opinions. The accused was therefore summoned to

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...

, and required to answer certain questions sent down from Cambridge. At a second meeting, he was confronted with a deputation headed by Whitaker, and at last consented to make another recantation. This seems to have been done after many delays. In March 1597, the archbishop warned the authorities that Barret was contemplating flight; but he had set out before the letter reached them. Whilst on the continent Barret embraced the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

faith, and eventually returned to England, where he lived as a layman till his death.

Legacy

The fruit of this controversy is seen in the so-called

Lambeth Articles The Lambeth Articles of 1595 were a series of nine doctrinal statements intended to be an appendix to the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. In response to a controversy over the Calvinist doctrine of predestination, the Lambeth Articles ...

. Barret is by some identified with the publisher, who prefixed a letter to his own edition of Robert Southwell's works, entitled ''St. Peter's Complainte, Mary Magdal Teares, with other works of the author, R. S.,'' London, 1620 and 1630.

Notes

References

;Attribution *; Endnotes: **Prynne's ''Church of England's New Antithesis to Old Arminianism'', 1629, pages 12, 42, 121, 134 **''Canterburies Doome'', 1646, pages 164, 176 **''God no Deluder'', p. 29 **Fuller's ''History of Cambridge'', 1665, p. 150 **Heylyn's ''Hist. Quinqu-Articularis'', 1660, part iii., xx, 69 **Hickman's ''Hist. Quinq-Artic. Exarticulata'', 1674, p. 209 **Howell's ''State Trials'', xxii. 712 **Strype's ''Life of Whitgift'', 1822, ii. 277 **''Annals of the Reformation'', iv. 320, Cooper's ''Athenæ Cantab.,'' 1861, ii. 236. {{DEFAULTSORT:Barret, William Year of birth missing Year of death missing Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Anglican priest converts to Roman Catholicism 16th-century English Anglican priests