Peter Gunning (1614 – 6 July 1684) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gov ...

church leader,

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's sea ...

and

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of nor ...

Life

He was born at

Hoo St Werburgh Hoo St Werburgh, commonly known as Hoo, is a large village and civil parish in the Medway district of Kent, England. It is one of several villages on the Hoo Peninsula to bear the name ''Hoo'', a Saxon word believed to mean "spur of land" or ...

, in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and educated at

The King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...

and

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refound ...

, where he became a fellow in 1633. Having taken orders, he advocated the Royalist cause eloquently from the pulpit. In 1644, during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

, he retired to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and held a chaplaincy at New College until the city surrendered to the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

ary forces in 1646. Subsequently he was

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence ...

, first to the royalist Sir Robert Shirley of

Eatington Ettington is a village and civil parish about south-east of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,171. The present village is on the A422 main road linking Stratford and Banbur ...

(1629–1656), and then at the

Exeter House Exeter House was an early 17th-century brick-built mansion, which stood in Full Street, Derby until demolished in 1854. Named for the Earls of Exeter, whose family owned the property until 1757, the house was notable for the stay of Charles E ...

chapel. After the Restoration in 1660 he was installed as a canon of

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

. In the same year he returned to Cambridge as Master of Corpus Christi, and was appointed

Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity The Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity is the oldest professorship at the University of Cambridge. It was founded initially as a readership by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII, in 1502. Since its re-endowment at the end o ...

. He also received the livings of

Cottesmore, Rutland Cottesmore (often pronounced Cotts'more) is a village and civil parish in the north of the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. In terms of population it is the largest village in Rutland, and the third-largest settlement after O ...

, and

Stoke Bruerne Stoke Bruerne is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England about north of Milton Keynes and south of Northampton. The civil parish population at the 2011 Census was 373. History Stoke Brue ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

. In 1661 he became head of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, and was elected Regius Professor of Divinity. While he served as Regius Professor of Divinity he established an

Arminian Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the '' ...

soteriological tradition at Cambridge that was furthered by his successor

Joseph Beaumont Joseph Beaumont (13 March 1616 – 23 November 1699) was an English clergyman, academic and poet. Life The son of John Beaumont, clothier, and of Sarah Clarke, his wife, he was born at Hadleigh, Suffolk, on 13 March 1616. He was educated at Ha ...

. He was consecrated bishop of Chichester in 1669, and was translated to the see of Ely in 1674–1675. Holding moderate religious views, he disliked equally

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

ism and

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Works

His works are chiefly reports of his disputations, such as that which appears in the ''Scisme Unmask't'' (Paris, 1658), in which the definition of a

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

is discussed with two Romanist opponents

John Spenser John Spenser (1559–1614) was an English academic, president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Life He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, London, and Temple Beth-El. After graduating he became Greek reader in Corpus Christi College, a ...

and John Lenthall.

Family

A relative of his, Sir Robert Gunning, became a famous diplomat.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunning, Peter 1614 births 1684 deaths 17th-century Church of England bishops Regius Professors of Divinity (University of Cambridge) Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Arminian ministers Arminian theologians Bishops of Chichester Bishops of Ely English male non-fiction writers English theologians Lady Margaret's Professors of Divinity Masters of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Masters of St John's College, Cambridge Participants in the Savoy Conference People educated at The King's School, Canterbury People from Hoo St Werburgh 17th-century Anglican theologians