Christopher Goodman
Encyclopedia
Christopher Goodman BD
(1520–1603) was an English reforming clergyman and writer. He was a Marian exile, who left England to escape persecution during the counter-reformation
in the reign of Queen Mary I of England
. He was the author of a work on limits to obedience to rulers, and a contributor to the Geneva Bible
. He was a friend of John Knox
, and on Mary's death went to Scotland
, later returning to England where he failed to conform; he has been described as a "Calvinist pariah".
, graduating as B.A. 4 Feb. 1541, and M.A. 13 June 1544. In 1547 he became a senior student at Christ Church, Oxford
, and was proctor
in 1549. He proceeded B.D. in 1551, and is said to have become Lady Margaret professor of divinity
about 1548. At Oxford Goodman made friends with Bartlet Green.
. He afterwards joined the schism among the reformers at Frankfurt
, and withdrew with William Whittingham
and other exiles to Geneva; they jointly wrote a letter to the Frankfort congregation to defend their departure.
The congregation at Geneva chose John Knox and Goodman in September 1555 for their pastors, and the two formed a lifelong friendship. During his exile Goodman took part in Miles Coverdale's translation of the Bible, and helped Knox in the "book of common order".
Both he and Knox and wrote some acrimonious tracts. The most famous by Goodman was entitled How superior Powers ought to be obeyed of their subjects, and wherein they may lawfully be by God's word disobeyed and resisted . . . Geneva, 1558. The book, in favour of Wyatt's rebellion
, bitterly attacked Mary I of England
and the government of women in general, which afterwards drew down Elizabeth
's displeasure upon the author. Knox's First Blast of the Trumpet was published in the same year, and the tracts were secretly circulated in England. Their violence was generally disapproved, even by their own party. Goodman also published while abroad a Commentary upon Amos, in which he likens Mary to Proserpine, queen of Hades. On Elizabeth's accession, he returned briefly and somewhat furtively to London.
to treat of religion, he and Knox preaching daily. In November he became minister of Ayr
.
In the following July Goodman was appointed to St. Andrews. He also went about Scotland preaching, and in August 1560 spent ten days in the Isle of Man
, where he preached twice. Two years later he and Knox together visited some of the reformed churches in Scotland.
exhorted him to finish his work in Scotland. Goodman's irascibility impeded his progress. Cecil told Sadler in 1559 that, next to Knox, Goodman's name was the most odious of his party to Elizabeth, and fellow reformer John Jewel
wrote that Goodman was "a man of irritable temper, and too pertinaceous in anything he has once undertaken". However, John Erskine, 17th Earl of Mar
favoured his views, and in 1562 asked leave to bring him in his train to a projected meeting between Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots. Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick
from Le Havre
also begged (in December) Dudley and Cecil to give Goodman employment with his army in Normandy.
At last by Randolph's advice he ventured into England in the winter of 1565. He went to Ireland (January 1566) as chaplain to Sir Henry Sidney, the new lord deputy, who in the spring of 1567 recommended him to be bishop of Dublin, and promised him the deanery of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Goodman, however, received neither of these offices. It was probably when Sidney returned to England in 1570 that he was appointed to the living of Alford
, near Chester, and made archdeacon of Richmond
.
In the next year he was deprived by Bishop Vaughan for nonconformity, and in April 1571 brought before the ecclesiastical commissioners at Lambeth; the commission also moved at this time against Edward Dering
, John Field, Thomas Lever
, Thomas Sampson
and Percival Wiburn. He was obliged to make a full recantation of his published opinions, and a protest in writing of his dutiful obedience to the queen's person and her lawful government. In June he was again examined before Archbishop Matthew Parker
, and forbidden to preach. He complained (26 July) to Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
of his hard treatment. In August he returned to Chester.
In 1584 Goodman refused to subscribe to the articles and the service book, and Archbishop John Whitgift
complained of his perversity to the lord treasurer. Having no living he was not however again examined, but allowed to spend the rest of his days peacefully at Chester. When James Ussher
came to England to collect books for the Dublin Library, he visited Goodman (4 June 1603), then lying on his deathbed. Goodman was buried at Chester, in St. Bride's Church.
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
(1520–1603) was an English reforming clergyman and writer. He was a Marian exile, who left England to escape persecution during the counter-reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
in the reign of Queen Mary I of England
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
. He was the author of a work on limits to obedience to rulers, and a contributor to the Geneva Bible
Geneva Bible
The Geneva Bible is one of the most historically significant translations of the Bible into the English language, preceding the King James translation by 51 years. It was the primary Bible of the 16th century Protestant movement and was the Bible used by William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, John...
. He was a friend of John Knox
John Knox
John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...
, and on Mary's death went to Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
, later returning to England where he failed to conform; he has been described as a "Calvinist pariah".
Early life
He was probably born (1520) in Chester. When about eighteen he entered Brasenose College, OxfordBrasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
, graduating as B.A. 4 Feb. 1541, and M.A. 13 June 1544. In 1547 he became a senior student at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, and was proctor
Proctor
Proctor, a variant of the word procurator, is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The word proctor is frequently used to describe someone who oversees an exam or dormitory.The title is used in England in three principal senses:...
in 1549. He proceeded B.D. in 1551, and is said to have become Lady Margaret professor of divinity
Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity
Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity may refer to two theology professorships:* Lady Margaret Professor * Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity...
about 1548. At Oxford Goodman made friends with Bartlet Green.
Marian exile
Goodman left England in 1554, and on 23 November his name appears among the signatures to a letter from the exiles at StrasburgStrasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
. He afterwards joined the schism among the reformers at Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, and withdrew with William Whittingham
William Whittingham
William Whittingham was an English Biblical scholar and religious reformer. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, he became a zealous Protestant; as such he found it prudent to flee to France when Mary I ascended the throne of England....
and other exiles to Geneva; they jointly wrote a letter to the Frankfort congregation to defend their departure.
The congregation at Geneva chose John Knox and Goodman in September 1555 for their pastors, and the two formed a lifelong friendship. During his exile Goodman took part in Miles Coverdale's translation of the Bible, and helped Knox in the "book of common order".
Both he and Knox and wrote some acrimonious tracts. The most famous by Goodman was entitled How superior Powers ought to be obeyed of their subjects, and wherein they may lawfully be by God's word disobeyed and resisted . . . Geneva, 1558. The book, in favour of Wyatt's rebellion
Wyatt's rebellion
Wyatt's Rebellion was a popular uprising in England in 1554, named after Thomas Wyatt the younger, one of its leaders. The rebellion arose out of concern over Queen Mary I's determination to marry Philip II of Spain, which was an unpopular policy with the English...
, bitterly attacked Mary I of England
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
and the government of women in general, which afterwards drew down Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
's displeasure upon the author. Knox's First Blast of the Trumpet was published in the same year, and the tracts were secretly circulated in England. Their violence was generally disapproved, even by their own party. Goodman also published while abroad a Commentary upon Amos, in which he likens Mary to Proserpine, queen of Hades. On Elizabeth's accession, he returned briefly and somewhat furtively to London.
In Scotland
In June 1559 Knox asked Goodman to join him at Edinburgh, and Goodman went to Scotland early in September, acting as escort to Knox's wife and family from Geneva. In October he was made one of the council appointed by the lords of the congregationLords of the Congregation
The Lords of the Congregation were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured reformation of the church along Protestant principles and a Scottish-English alliance.- Historical events :...
to treat of religion, he and Knox preaching daily. In November he became minister of Ayr
Ayr
Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
.
In the following July Goodman was appointed to St. Andrews. He also went about Scotland preaching, and in August 1560 spent ten days in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, where he preached twice. Two years later he and Knox together visited some of the reformed churches in Scotland.
Return to England
Intercessions were meanwhile made for his return to England, though John CalvinJohn Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
exhorted him to finish his work in Scotland. Goodman's irascibility impeded his progress. Cecil told Sadler in 1559 that, next to Knox, Goodman's name was the most odious of his party to Elizabeth, and fellow reformer John Jewel
John Jewel
John Jewel was an English bishop of Salisbury.-Life:He was the son of John Jewel of Buden, Devon, was educated under his uncle John Bellamy, rector of Hampton, and other private tutors until his matriculation at Merton College, Oxford, in July 1535.There he was taught by John Parkhurst,...
wrote that Goodman was "a man of irritable temper, and too pertinaceous in anything he has once undertaken". However, John Erskine, 17th Earl of Mar
John Erskine, 17th Earl of Mar
John Erskine, 17th Earl of Mar , regent of Scotland, was a son of John, 5th Lord Erskine, who was guardian of King James V, and afterwards of Mary, Queen of Scots....
favoured his views, and in 1562 asked leave to bring him in his train to a projected meeting between Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots. Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick
Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick
Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, KG was an English nobleman and general, and an elder brother of Queen Elizabeth I's favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester...
from Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
also begged (in December) Dudley and Cecil to give Goodman employment with his army in Normandy.
At last by Randolph's advice he ventured into England in the winter of 1565. He went to Ireland (January 1566) as chaplain to Sir Henry Sidney, the new lord deputy, who in the spring of 1567 recommended him to be bishop of Dublin, and promised him the deanery of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Goodman, however, received neither of these offices. It was probably when Sidney returned to England in 1570 that he was appointed to the living of Alford
Alford
-Places:Australia*Alford, South AustraliaCanada*Alford, SaskatchewanEngland*Alford, Lincolnshire**Alford Manor House**Alford Windmill**Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Alford*Alford, Somerset*Alford CrosswaysScotland*Alford, Scotland...
, near Chester, and made archdeacon of Richmond
Archdeacon of Richmond
The Archdeacon of Richmond is an archdiaconal post in the Church of England. It is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Chester.-History:It was created around the year 1088, and was endowed by Thomas, Archbishop of York. It had the valuable impropriations of Easingwold, Bolton, Clapham, and...
.
In the next year he was deprived by Bishop Vaughan for nonconformity, and in April 1571 brought before the ecclesiastical commissioners at Lambeth; the commission also moved at this time against Edward Dering
Edward Dering (clergyman)
Edward Dering was an English clergyman and academic, known as a classical scholar, controversialist, supporter of Thomas Cartwright, and fiery preacher against his fellow clergy...
, John Field, Thomas Lever
Thomas Lever
Thomas Lever was an English Protestant reformer and Marian exile, one of the founders of the Puritan tendency in the Church of England.-Life:...
, Thomas Sampson
Thomas Sampson
Thomas Sampson was an English Puritan theologian. A Marian exile, he was one of the Geneva Bible translators. On his return to England, he had trouble with conformity to the Anglican practices...
and Percival Wiburn. He was obliged to make a full recantation of his published opinions, and a protest in writing of his dutiful obedience to the queen's person and her lawful government. In June he was again examined before Archbishop Matthew Parker
Matthew Parker
Matthew Parker was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1559 until his death in 1575. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder of Anglican theological thought....
, and forbidden to preach. He complained (26 July) to Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
of his hard treatment. In August he returned to Chester.
In 1584 Goodman refused to subscribe to the articles and the service book, and Archbishop John Whitgift
John Whitgift
John Whitgift was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 800 horsemen...
complained of his perversity to the lord treasurer. Having no living he was not however again examined, but allowed to spend the rest of his days peacefully at Chester. When James Ussher
James Ussher
James Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–56...
came to England to collect books for the Dublin Library, he visited Goodman (4 June 1603), then lying on his deathbed. Goodman was buried at Chester, in St. Bride's Church.
External links
- Goodman, Christopher, How Superior Powers Ought to be Obeyed modernised text of Geneva (1558) by Patrick S. Poole.