Augustus Clissold
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Augustus Clissold (c. 1797–1882) was an English Anglican priest. He is known as a
Swedenborgian The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) is any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed as a new religious group, influenced by the writings of scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). Swedenborgian or ...
, who was active in later life publishing his views.


Life

Born in or about 1797, the fifth son of Stephen Clissold (1764–1834) of Stonehouse, near
Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...
, Gloucestershire, he had
Stephen Clissold Stephen Clissold (17 February 1825 – 26 May 1898) was an English cricketer. He played eight first-class matches for Cambridge University Cricket Club between 1844 and 1848. See also * List of Cambridge University Cricket Club players ...
the writer as an elder brother. He matriculated at
Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...
on 6 December 1814, the same day as his elder brother Henry. He took the ordinary B.A. degree on 19 November 1818, proceeding M.A. on 13 June 1821. In 1821 Clissold was ordained deacon and in 1823 admitted to priest's orders by Thomas Burgess,
Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...
. He held for some time the curacies of
St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...
and St Mary,
Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...
. Clissold became a follower of
Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had ...
and withdrew from the Anglican ministry about 1840, but remained nominally connected with the Church of England to the end of his life. He continued to reside in Stoke Newington. He died on 30 October 1882 at his country house, 4 Broadwater Down,
Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...
, in his 86th year.


Swedenborgian

The Swedenborg Association was started in 1845 for the publication of Swedenborg's scientific works, and merged after its task had been larger accomplished, with the larger
Swedenborg Society The Swedenborg Society was founded in 1810 to translate into English and publish the works of Emanuel Swedenborg. Its original name was the London Society for Printing and Publishing the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg. The Society's headquarters, S ...
. Clissold was chosen as President of the Association. In 1838 he joined the Swedenborg Society as a life member, and in the same year he was placed on the committee. In 1840 he chaired the annual meeting. In 1854 he purchased for the use of the society seventy years' lease of 36 Bloomsbury Street, London, which later became a distribution centre for "New Church" literature. During the troubled time through which the Swedenborg Society passed in 1859–1860, Clissold supported it financially. He left it £4,000 in his will.


Works

Clissold translated and printed at his own expense Swedenborg's ''Principia Rerum Naturalium'', 2 vols., London, 1845–1846, and ''Œconomia Regni Animalis'' (edited by J. J. Garth Wilkinson), 2 vols., London, 1846, both of which he gave to the Swedenborg Association. He was the author of the following: *''The Practical Nature of the Doctrines and alleged Revelations contained in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg … in a Letter to the Archbishop of Dublin'' (R. Whately), London, 1838 (2nd ed. as ''The Practical Nature of the Theological Writings'', London, 1860
859 __FORCETOC__ Year 859 ( DCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 15 – Battle of St. Quentin: Frankish forces, led by Humfrid, d ...
*''Illustrations of the End of the Church, as predicted in Matthew, chap. xxiv''., London, 1841 *''A Letter to the Rev. J. Bonwell of Preston, upon the Subject of his Sermon on the Perishing in the Gainsaying of Core'', London, 1843 *''The New Church … addressed to the inhabitants of Preston'', London, 1843 *''A Review of the Principles of Apocalyptical Interpretation'', 3 vols. London, 1845 *''A Reply to the Remarks emanating from St. Mary's College, Oscot, on Noble's Appeal in behalf of the Doctrines of Swedenborg'', ondon 1849 *''The Spiritual Exposition of the Apocalypse'', 4 vols., London, 1851 *''A Letter to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford on the Present State of Theology in the Universities and the Church of England'', London, 1856 *''Swedenborg's Writings and Catholic Teaching'', (in answer to the Rev. William James Early Bennett, by A. Clissold), London, 1858 (3rd ed., London, 1881) *''Inspiration and Interpretation: being a review of seven sermons … by J. W. Burgon, … with some remarks upon “The Beginning of the Book of Genesis,” by I. Williams'', 7 parts, Oxford, London rinted 1861–1864 *''The Reunion of Christendom'', London, 1866 *''Swedenborg and his modern Critics'', London, 1866 *''The Literal and Spiritual Senses of Scripture in their relations to each other and to the Reformation of the Church'', London, 1867 *''Transition; or, the Passing away of Ages or Dispensations, Modes of Biblical Interpretation, and Churches; being an Illustration of the Doctrine of Development'', London, 1868 *''The Centre of Unity; What is it? Charity or Authority?'', London, 1869 *''The Prophetic Spirit in its relation to Wisdom and Madness'', London, 1870 *''The Present State of Christendom in its relation to the Second Coming of the Lord'', London, 1871 *''The Creeds of Athanasius, Sabellius, and Swedenborg, examined and compared with each other'', London, 1873 (2nd ed. in the same year) *''Paul and David'' (by A. Clissold), London, 1873 *''Sancta Cœna; or the Holy Supper, explained on the principles taught by Emanuel Swedenborg'', London, 1874 *''The Divine Order of the Universe as interpreted by Emanuel Swedenborg, with especial relation to modern Astronomy'', London, 1877 *''The Consummation of the Age: being a Prophecy now fulfilled and interpreted in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg'' (extracted from Swedenborg's ''Arcana Cœlestia'', with a preface by A. Clissold), London, 1879 Clissold also published a sermon preached on the death of the Rev.
George Gaskin George Gaskin (1751–1829) was a lecturer (assistant curate) at St Mary's, Islington for forty-six years, resigning in 1822, to become a prebendary at Ely Cathedral. He was also Rector of Stoke Newington and of St Benet, Gracechurch. For a long ...
, London, 1829. In 1870 he busied himself with promoting the publication of the ''Documents concerning the Life and Character of Emanuel Swedenborg'' 2 vols. 1875–1877, based on originals collected, translated, and annotated by Johann Friedrich Immanuel Tafel. During the last two years of his life he assisted similarly in the publication of Swedenborg's posthumous work on ''The Brain'', 1882, part of the ''Regnum Animale perlustratum''.


Family

Clissold married Elizabeth Crawshay, daughter of William Crawshay, some time after the latter's death in 1834. They had no children. On the marriage, the Newington Park House estate passed to Clissold. It was renamed
Clissold Park Clissold Park is an open space in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bounded by Greenway Close (to the north), Church Street (south), Green Lanes (west) and Queen Elizabeth's Walk (east); the south-east corner abuts St ...
and the house Clissold House.


Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Clissold, Augustus 1797 births 1882 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests English Swedenborgians People from Stonehouse, Gloucestershire Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford