Memorial to Bishop Simon Patrick in Ely Cathedral

Simon Patrick (8 September 1626 – 31 May 1707) 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 ide ...

theologian and bishop.

Life

He was born at

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, eldest son of Henry Patrick, a wealthy merchant, on 8 September 1626, and attended Boston Grammar School. He entered Queens' College, Cambridge, in 1644, and after taking orders in 1651 became successively chaplain to Sir Walter St. John and

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of Battersea, Surrey. He was afterwards (1662) preferred to the rectory of St. Paul's, Covent Garden,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he continued to labor during the plague. He was appointed

Dean of Peterborough The Dean of Peterborough is the head of the chapter at Peterborough Cathedral. On the Dissolution of Peterborough Abbey in 1539 and the abbey-church's refoundation as a cathedral for the new bishop and diocese of Peterborough, care for the abbey ...

in 1679, and

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 ...

in 1689, in which year he was employed, along with others of the new bishops, to settle the affairs of the Church in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In 1691 he was translated to the see of Ely, which he held until his death on 31 May 1707. He was buried in Ely Cathedral. His memorial is by Edward Stanton. He had

Dalham Hall Dalham Hall is a country house and estate, located in the village of Dalham, Suffolk, near Newmarket, and west of Bury St Edmunds. Owners of the Dalham estate have included: *c.1050-1240 Peche Family *1240-1320 English Crown Estate (from 1 ...

built.

Works

His

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. ...

s and devotional writings are numerous, and his ''Commentary on the Historical and Poetical Books of the Old Testament'', in 10 vols., going as far as the '' Song of Solomon'', was reprinted in the 1810 ''Critical Commentary on the Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha'', along with works of

Richard Arnald Richard Arnald (1698 or 1700 Nichols, J., ''The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester'', Vol. 3, Part 2 (1804), pp. 1059, 1071 – 4 September 1756) was a distinguished English clergyman and biblical scholar. Life He was a native ...

Moses Lowman Moses Lowman (1680–1752) was an English nonconformist minister, known as a Biblical commentator. Life Born in London, he became a student at the Middle Temple in 1697, but a year later abandoned law for divinity. On 17 September 1698 he entered ...

William Lowth William Lowth D.D. (1660–1732) was an English clergyman, known as a Biblical commentator. Life He was the son of William Lowth, an apothecary, who was burnt out in the Great Fire of London, and was born in the parish of St Martin, Ludgate on 3 ...

, and

Daniel Whitby Daniel Whitby (1638–1726) was a controversial English theologian and biblical commentator. An Arminian priest in the Church of England, Whitby was known as strongly anti-Calvinistic and later gave evidence of Unitarian tendencies. Life The s ...

. Patrick's ''Friendly Debate between a Conformist and a Nonconformist'' was a controversial tract, defending the

Five Mile Act The Five Mile Act, or Oxford Act, or Nonconformists Act 1665, was an Act of the Parliament of England (17 Charles II c. 2), passed in 1665 with the long title "An Act for restraining Non-Conformists from inhabiting in Corporations". It was one ...

. It excited considerable feeling at the time of its publication in 1668. Among replies was one from Samuel Rolle as Philagathus. He also contributed to a volume of ''Poems upon Divine and Moral Subjects'' (1719). The first collected edition of his works appeared at Oxford in 1858 (9 vols.), edited by Alexander Taylor; a small ''Autobiography'' was published also at Oxford in 1839. He is the author of the anti-semitic pamphlet,
Jewish Hypocrisie, A Caveat To The Present Generation."

Theology

Simon Patrick, was influenced by prominent Arminian theologians as

Henry Hammond Henry Hammond (18 August 1605 – 25 April 1660) was an English churchman, who supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. Early life He was born at Chertsey in Surrey on 18 August 1605, the youngest son of John Hammond (c. 155 ...

, and the

Cambridge Platonists The Cambridge Platonists were an influential group of Platonist philosophers and Christian theologians at the University of Cambridge that existed during the 17th century. The leading figures were Ralph Cudworth and Henry More. Group and its na ...

; and was criticized for his Arminian belief. He is described by historians as an influential Arminian Anglican.

Marriage

In 1675 he married Penelope Jephson (died 1725), a daughter of Maj. Gen. William Jephson (1609-1658), a highly influential

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Stockbridge, and also a substantial landowner in

Mallow, County Cork Mallow (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland, approximately thirty-five kilometres north of Cork. Mallow is in the barony of Fermoy. It is the administrative centre of north County Cork, and the Northern Divisional Offices of Cork County Coun ...

, by his wife Alicia Dynham,Jephson, Maurice Denham ''An Anglo-Irish Miscellany, some Records of the Jephsons of Mallow'' Dublin Allen Figgis 1964 a daughter of Sir John Dynham of Boarstall Tower, Buckinghamshire and Penelope Wenman. They had three children, two of whom died young. The printed autobiography of Simon Patrick calls his wife a "grandchild to the lady Durham (sic) of Borstall". The Auto-Biography of Simon Patrick, Bishop of El

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Notes and references

Citations

Sources

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Attribution

External links

Rt Rev Simon Patrick

Facsimile of Simon Patrick's preface to Hugo Grotius' Truths of Christian Religion.
Scanned by Elms College Alumnae Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick, Simon 1626 births 1707 deaths 17th-century Church of England bishops 18th-century Church of England bishops Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Arminian ministers Arminian theologians Bishops of Chichester Bishops of Ely Canons of Westminster Deans of Peterborough English theologians People educated at Boston Grammar School People from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire 17th-century Anglican theologians 18th-century Anglican theologians