Francis Blackburne (archdeacon)
Encyclopedia
Francis Blackburne was an English Anglican churchman, archdeacon of Cleveland and an activist against the requirement of subscription to the Thirty Nine Articles.
, Hawkshead
, and Sedbergh School
, and was admitted in May 1722 at Catherine Hall, Cambridge. Blackburne was a follower of John Locke
's politics and theology, and was refused a fellowship. He was ordained deacon 17 March 1728, and became ‘conduct’ of his college.
He left his college and lived with an uncle in Yorkshire till 1739, when he was ordained priest to take the rectory of Richmond in Yorkshire, which had been promised to him on the first vacancy. He resided there till his death. He was collated to the archdeaconry of Cleveland in July 1750, and in August 1750 to the prebend of Bilton, by Archbishop Matthew Hutton
; but his principles prevented any further preferment, and he made up his mind never again to subscribe the Thirty-nine Articles. In 1772 a meeting was held at the Feathers Tavern, and a petition signed by 200 persons for giving effect to Blackburne's proposal in the Confessional. It was rejected by 217 to 71 after a speech in condemnation by Edmund Burke
, published in his Works.
Theophilus Lindsey
, who married a stepdaughter of Blackburne's, and John Disney
, who married his eldest daughter, joined in this agitation, and both of them afterwards left the church of England to become unitarians. Blackburne was supposed to sympathise with their views. He was said to have declined an offer to succeed the nonconformist Samuel Chandler
at the Old Jewry at a salary of £400.
In 1787 he performed his thirty-eighth visitation in Cleveland, and died, 7 August 1787, a few weeks later.
, published his ‘Free and Candid Disquisitions relating to the Church of England,’ proposing modifications of the church services and ritual with a view to meeting difficulties of the latitudinarian
s. Blackburne had read the book in manuscript, but denied that he had any share in the composition. He defended it in an apology (1750). In 1752 he published anonymously an attack on Bishop Joseph Butler
's well-known charge (1751), called A Serious Inquiry into the Use and Importance of External Religion, and accusing Butler of deficient Protestantism. This was first printed with his name in 1767 in the Pillars of Priestcraft and Orthodoxy shaken, a collection by Richard Baron
. He supported the semi-materialist theory of the ‘sleep of the soul’ of his college friend Bishop Edmund Law
, in a tract called ‘No Proof in the Scriptures of an Intermediate State,’ &c., 1755; and in 1758 he argued against the casuistry which would permit subscription to the articles to be made with latitude of meaning, in ‘Remarks on the Rev. Dr. Powell's Sermon in Defence of Subscriptions.’
The controversy led to his best-known work. He studied the history of the tests imposed by Protestant churches, and his studies resulted in the composition of ‘The Confessional, or a full and free inquiry into the right, utility, and success of establishing confessions of faith and doctrine in protestant churches.’ The manuscript remained unpublished for some years, when a friend who had seen it mentioned it to the republican Thomas Hollis
, through whom Andrew Millar
the bookseller, was introduced to the author, and published the book anonymously in May 1766; a second edition appeared in June 1767. The ‘Confessional’ argues, as a corollary from William Chillingworth
's principle—‘The Bible is the religion of protestants’—that a profession of belief in the scriptures as the word of God, and a promise to teach the people from the scriptures, should be the sole pledges demanded from Protestant pastors. This is supported by historical considerations, and the device of lax interpretation of the articles is denounced as a casuistical artifice of William Laud
's in defence of Arminianism
. A controversy arose. A list of the pamphlets is given in the Gentleman's Magazine, xli. 405, xlii. 263, and in a ‘Short View of the Controversy’ (by John Disney), 1773. A third edition of the ‘Confessional’ appeared in 1770.
On Disney's secession he drew up a paper called ‘An Answer to the Question, Why are you not a Socinian?’ He declares his belief in the divinity of Christ, though he confesses to certain doubts and guards his assertions.
He had made some preparations for a life of Martin Luther
, but abandoned his plan in order to write the memoirs of his friend Thomas Hollis. These appeared in 1780. His ‘Works, Theological and Miscellaneous, including some pieces not before printed,’ with a memoir, were published by his son Francis in 1804, in seven volumes. The ‘Confessional’ occupies the fifth volume. The third volume contains ‘A Historical View of the Controversy concerning an Intermediate State,’ of which the first edition appeared in 1765, and the second, much enlarged, in 1772. It brought him into collision with Bishop William Warburton
, and prompted his ‘Remarks on Dr. Warburton's Account of the Sentiments of the Jews concerning the Soul’. The fourth volume of the Works contains his charges, as archdeacon, in 1765, 1766, 1767, 1769, 1771, and 1773. They show that he was not prepared to extend full toleration to Catholics. The other volumes contain miscellaneous pamphlets.
Other works
Life
He was born at Richmond, Yorkshire, on 9 June 1705. He was educated at KendalKendal
Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
, Hawkshead
Hawkshead
Hawkshead is a village and civil parish in the Cumbria, England. It is one of the main tourist honeypots in the South Lakeland area, and is dependent on the local tourist trade...
, and Sedbergh School
Sedbergh School
Sedbergh School is a boarding school in Sedbergh, Cumbria, for boys and girls aged 13 to 18. Nestled in the Howgill Fells, it is known for sporting sides, such as its Rugby Union 1st XV.-Background:...
, and was admitted in May 1722 at Catherine Hall, Cambridge. Blackburne was a follower of John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
's politics and theology, and was refused a fellowship. He was ordained deacon 17 March 1728, and became ‘conduct’ of his college.
He left his college and lived with an uncle in Yorkshire till 1739, when he was ordained priest to take the rectory of Richmond in Yorkshire, which had been promised to him on the first vacancy. He resided there till his death. He was collated to the archdeaconry of Cleveland in July 1750, and in August 1750 to the prebend of Bilton, by Archbishop Matthew Hutton
Matthew Hutton (Archbishop of Canterbury)
Matthew Hutton was a high churchman in the Church of England, serving as Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury...
; but his principles prevented any further preferment, and he made up his mind never again to subscribe the Thirty-nine Articles. In 1772 a meeting was held at the Feathers Tavern, and a petition signed by 200 persons for giving effect to Blackburne's proposal in the Confessional. It was rejected by 217 to 71 after a speech in condemnation by Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
, published in his Works.
Theophilus Lindsey
Theophilus Lindsey
Theophilus Lindsey was an English theologian and clergyman who founded the first avowedly Unitarian congregation in the country, at Essex Street Chapel.-Life:...
, who married a stepdaughter of Blackburne's, and John Disney
John Disney (Unitarian)
John Disney was an English Unitarian minister and biographical writer, initially an Anglican clergyman active against subscription to the Thirty Nine Articles.-Life:...
, who married his eldest daughter, joined in this agitation, and both of them afterwards left the church of England to become unitarians. Blackburne was supposed to sympathise with their views. He was said to have declined an offer to succeed the nonconformist Samuel Chandler
Samuel Chandler
Samuel Chandler was an English Nonconformist minister.-Life:He was born at Hungerford in Berkshire, where his father was a minister. He was sent to school at Gloucester, where he began a lifelong friendship with Bishop Butler and Archbishop Secker; and he afterwards studied at Leiden...
at the Old Jewry at a salary of £400.
In 1787 he performed his thirty-eighth visitation in Cleveland, and died, 7 August 1787, a few weeks later.
Works
In 1749 John Jones, vicar of AlconburyAlconbury
Alconbury is a village in the English county of Cambridgeshire.-Geography:It is in the district of Huntingdonshire and gives its name to RAF Alconbury. It is near to the point where a major north/south road, the A1, crosses the only major east/west road: the A14...
, published his ‘Free and Candid Disquisitions relating to the Church of England,’ proposing modifications of the church services and ritual with a view to meeting difficulties of the latitudinarian
Latitudinarian
Latitudinarian was initially a pejorative term applied to a group of 17th-century English theologians who believed in conforming to official Church of England practices but who felt that matters of doctrine, liturgical practice, and ecclesiastical organization were of relatively little importance...
s. Blackburne had read the book in manuscript, but denied that he had any share in the composition. He defended it in an apology (1750). In 1752 he published anonymously an attack on Bishop Joseph Butler
Joseph Butler
Joseph Butler was an English bishop, theologian, apologist, and philosopher. He was born in Wantage in the English county of Berkshire . He is known, among other things, for his critique of Thomas Hobbes's egoism and John Locke's theory of personal identity...
's well-known charge (1751), called A Serious Inquiry into the Use and Importance of External Religion, and accusing Butler of deficient Protestantism. This was first printed with his name in 1767 in the Pillars of Priestcraft and Orthodoxy shaken, a collection by Richard Baron
Richard Baron (dissenting minister)
Richard Baron was a dissenting minister, Whig pamphleteer, and editor of Locke, Milton and others.-Life:He was born at Leeds, and educated at the University of Glasgow from 1737 to 1740, which he left with a testimonial signed by Francis Hutcheson and Robert Simson...
. He supported the semi-materialist theory of the ‘sleep of the soul’ of his college friend Bishop Edmund Law
Edmund Law
Edmund Law was a priest in the Church of England. He served as Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, as Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy in the University of Cambridge from 1764 to 1769, and as bishop of Carlisle from 1768 to 1787....
, in a tract called ‘No Proof in the Scriptures of an Intermediate State,’ &c., 1755; and in 1758 he argued against the casuistry which would permit subscription to the articles to be made with latitude of meaning, in ‘Remarks on the Rev. Dr. Powell's Sermon in Defence of Subscriptions.’
The controversy led to his best-known work. He studied the history of the tests imposed by Protestant churches, and his studies resulted in the composition of ‘The Confessional, or a full and free inquiry into the right, utility, and success of establishing confessions of faith and doctrine in protestant churches.’ The manuscript remained unpublished for some years, when a friend who had seen it mentioned it to the republican Thomas Hollis
Thomas Hollis
Thomas Hollis was an English political philosopher and author.-Early life:Hollis was educated at Adams Grammar School until the age 10, and then in St. Albans until 15, before learning French, Dutch and accountancy in Amsterdam. After the death of his father in 1735, his guardian was a John...
, through whom Andrew Millar
Andrew Millar
Andrew Millar was a British publisher.About 1729, he started business as a bookseller and publisher in the Strand, London. His own judgment in literary matters was small, but he collected an excellent staff of literary advisers, and did not hesitate to pay what at the time were considered large...
the bookseller, was introduced to the author, and published the book anonymously in May 1766; a second edition appeared in June 1767. The ‘Confessional’ argues, as a corollary from William Chillingworth
William Chillingworth
William Chillingworth was a controversial English churchman.-Early life:He was born in Oxford, where his father served as mayor; William Laud was his godfather. In June 1618 he became a scholar of Trinity College, Oxford, of which he was made a fellow in June 1628...
's principle—‘The Bible is the religion of protestants’—that a profession of belief in the scriptures as the word of God, and a promise to teach the people from the scriptures, should be the sole pledges demanded from Protestant pastors. This is supported by historical considerations, and the device of lax interpretation of the articles is denounced as a casuistical artifice of William Laud
William Laud
William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism...
's in defence of Arminianism
Arminianism
Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought within Protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic followers, the Remonstrants...
. A controversy arose. A list of the pamphlets is given in the Gentleman's Magazine, xli. 405, xlii. 263, and in a ‘Short View of the Controversy’ (by John Disney), 1773. A third edition of the ‘Confessional’ appeared in 1770.
On Disney's secession he drew up a paper called ‘An Answer to the Question, Why are you not a Socinian?’ He declares his belief in the divinity of Christ, though he confesses to certain doubts and guards his assertions.
He had made some preparations for a life of Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
, but abandoned his plan in order to write the memoirs of his friend Thomas Hollis. These appeared in 1780. His ‘Works, Theological and Miscellaneous, including some pieces not before printed,’ with a memoir, were published by his son Francis in 1804, in seven volumes. The ‘Confessional’ occupies the fifth volume. The third volume contains ‘A Historical View of the Controversy concerning an Intermediate State,’ of which the first edition appeared in 1765, and the second, much enlarged, in 1772. It brought him into collision with Bishop William Warburton
William Warburton
William Warburton was an English critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759.-Life:He was born at Newark, where his father, who belonged to an old Cheshire family, was town clerk. William was educated at Oakham and Newark grammar schools, and in 1714 he was articled to Mr Kirke, an...
, and prompted his ‘Remarks on Dr. Warburton's Account of the Sentiments of the Jews concerning the Soul’. The fourth volume of the Works contains his charges, as archdeacon, in 1765, 1766, 1767, 1769, 1771, and 1773. They show that he was not prepared to extend full toleration to Catholics. The other volumes contain miscellaneous pamphlets.
Other works
- No proof in the Scriptures for an intermediate state of happiness or misery between death and the resurrection (1755).