Arthur Philip Perceval (1799–1853) was an English

high church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

Anglican

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, royal chaplain and theological writer.

Life

Born on 22 November 1799, he was the fifth and youngest son of Charles George Perceval, 2nd Baron Arden, by his wife Margaret Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson. He matriculated at Oriel College, Oxford, on 19 March 1817, graduating B.A. in 1820 and B.C.L. in 1824; from 1821 to 1825 he was fellow of

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

. On 18 June 1824 he was appointed rector of

East Horsley East Horsley is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England, 21 miles southwest of London, on the A246 between Leatherhead and Guildford. Horsley and Effingham Junction railway stations are on the New Guildford line to London Waterloo. ...

, Surrey. In 1826 he became chaplain to George IV, and continued royal chaplain to William IV and Queen Victoria until his death. He supported the

Tractarian The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

movement at Oxford, and in 1841 published a ''Vindication of the Authors of the Tracts for the Times'', principally defending

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

against attacks made on his ''

Tract 90 ''Remarks on Certain Passages in the Thirty-Nine Articles'', better known as Tract 90, was a theological pamphlet written by the English theologian and churchman John Henry Newman and published in 1841. It is the most famous and the most controvers ...

''. On 24 July 1838, when preaching as royal chaplain at the Chapel Royal, St. James's, he advocated High Church principles before the queen. Charles Blomfield,

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 ...

, who was aware of Perceval's intention, is said to have preached for several Sundays in order to keep Perceval out of the pulpit, but the bishop broke his collarbone, and Perceval found his opportunity. Perceval died on 11 June 1853, having married, on 15 December 1825, Charlotte Anne, eldest daughter of the Rev. and Hon. Augustus George Legge, fifth son of

William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, PC, FRS (20 June 1731 – 15 July 1801), styled as Viscount Lewisham from 1732 to 1750, was a British statesman who is most remembered as the namesake of Dartmouth College. Background Dartmouth was the s ...

; she died on 21 June 1856, having had, with other issue, three sons and four daughters.

Works

Perceval was a voluminous author, mostly of letters, sermons, and pamphlets. His works include:
A Christian Peace-Offering; Being an Endeavour to Abate the Asperities of the Controversy between the Roman and English Catholic Churches
1829
Reasons Why I Am Not a Member of the Bible Society
1830
Letter to the Reverend James Slade, Containing Remarks on His Letter to the Lord Bishop of London, on the Subject of Church Reform
1831
A Letter to Lord Henley Respecting His Publication on Church Reform
1832 * A Letter to the Right Honourable Earl Grey, on the Obligation of the Coronation Oath, 1832
On the Expected Dissolution of Parliament: An Address to the Members of the Church of England Entitled to Vote for Members of Parliament
1833
High Christian Principle the Only Safeguard, and the Church of Christ Invulnerable: A Sermon Preached in the Chapel Royal, St. James's
1833

1833 * [https://books.google.com/books?id=Oy6W3WrQcBMC A Clergyman's Defence of Himself, for Refusing to Use the Office for the Burial of the Dead over One Who Destroyed Himself, Notwithstanding the Coroner's Verdict of Mental Derangement], 1833
Observations on the Proposed Alterations, and Present System, of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, with Suggestions for Its Improvement
1834 * Historical Notices Concerning Some of the Peculiar Tenets of the Church of Rome, 1836
Reasons for Withdrawing the Clergy Remonstrance
1839
The Roman Schism illustrated from the Records of the Catholic Church
1836 * The Origin of Church Rates, 1837 * The Christian Priesthood, and the Church of England, 1838 * The Original Services for the State Holidays, 1838
Sermons preached chiefly at the Chapel Royal, St. James's
1839
Questions and Answers on Christian Baptism
1841
An Apology for the Doctrine of Apostolical Succession
1839; 2nd edit. 1841
A Vindication of the Principles of the Authors of "The Tracts for the Times"
1841
A Collection of Papers connected with the Theological Movement of 1833
1842; 2nd edit. 1843 * On Subscription to the XXXIX Articles, 1842
A Vindication of the Proceedings Relative to the Mission of Bishop Alexander to Jerusalem
1843
On the Use of the Irish Language in Religious Worship and Instruction
(1844) * Plain Lectures on the Gospel According to St. Matthew, 1845
Three Sermons Preached in Times of Public Anxiety
1845
Results of an Ecclesiastical Tour in Holland and Northern Germany
1846.
Plain Lectures on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians
1846
A Letter to Lord John Russell, on National Education
1847
A Question for the Present Crisis: Who Are the Queen's Constitutional Advisers?
1848
A Letter to the Members of the Peace Society
1849 * Origines Hibernicæ, Dublin, 1849 (in this he endeavours to prove that Ireland is the

Patmos Patmos ( el, Πάτμος, ) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is famous as the location where John of Patmos received the visions found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written. One of the northern ...

of Revelation, and that the Virgin Mary was buried on Tara Hill)
A Letter to the Bishop of Exeter, with Remarks on the Resolutions of the Archdeacon of Chichester, and a Note on Dr. Wiseman
1850
Result of a First Endeavour to Re-establish, in Germany, the Ancient Ecclesiastical Missions from England and Ireland, in 1846-1847
1850

1851 *On the Use of the Crucifix, 1851
Thoughts on the Delayed Interment of the Remains of the Late Duke of Wellington
1852

External links

Bibliographic directory
from Project Canterbury ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Perceval, Arthur Philip 1799 births 1853 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford 18th-century Anglican theologians 19th-century Anglican theologians