George Browne (archbishop of Dublin)
Encyclopedia
George Browne D.D. was an English Augustinian who was appointed by Henry VIII of England
to the vacant Episcopal see
of Dublin. He became the king's main instrument in his desire to establish the state church in the Kingdom of Ireland.
, the provincial of the Dominican Order
, to minister the 1534 oath of succession to all the friars of London and the south of England. He is said to have recommended himself to the king by advising the poor in distress about the religious changes to make their applications solely to Christ. Within a year he was nominated to the see of Dublin, vacant by the murder of Archbishop John Alen
in the rising of Kildare
in 1534; but it was not until another year had elapsed that he arrived in Ireland on July 1536. He received the degree of D.D. at Oxford in 1535.
, by the appointment of George Browne. He was consecrated by Thomas Cranmer
, March 19, 1535-6, and took up his residence in Dublin in August, 1536. The antecedents of Browne and the schismatical character of his appointment did not recommend him to the Dublin clergy. He complained of their resistance to his injunctions and was compelled to send round his own servants in order to cancel the pope's name in the service-books. A warning from the king stirred him up to more demonstrative action, and he had all holy relics preserved in Christ Church cathedral
, including St. Patrick's crosier known as the "Staff of Jesus", gathered into a heap and burned. He cooperated in the suppression of all the religious houses, in changing the prior and convent of Christ Church into a secular dean and chapter, and in the total suppression of St. Patrick's chapter.
The Irish parliament, which had been sitting for two months, accepted all the principal acts by which England had declared herself independent of Rome. Opposition to these measures was offered by the clergy, who claimed the power of voting in their own house upon bills which had passed the Irish commons. Under the leadership of the primate George Cromer
their obstruction had succeeded, and they were deprived of their privilege. A speech made by Browne on this occasion, declaring his vote for the king as supreme head of the Irish church, has been preserved; and it was through him,that a separate act was passed granting the first-fruits of all abbeys to the King, thus paving the way for the suppression of the Irish monasteries, which quickly followed. Browne also held a commission from Thomas Cromwell, to further 'the king's advantage;' and in this cause he journeyed into various parts, preaching, publishing the royal articles and injunctions, and collecting the first-fruits and twentieths of the spiritualties which had been decreed to the king. He put forth a form of prayer, which is the earliest document in which the church of Ireland
is joined with the church of England
under royal supremacy.
Browne had a rough reception in Ireland, with open hostility of many colleagues, especially Edward Staples
, the bishop of Meath, and suspicions on the Irish council. The Lord Deputy
Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane
was his enemy, and treated him with contempt, on one occasion putting him in prison. The king wrote him a severe letter after receiving complaints.
Browne had success with the hierarchy: the prelates who had followed George Dowdall
gradually conformed; and when, in the middle of the same year, 1550, Dowdall went from his see at Armgah, declaring that he would not be bishop where there was no mass, he was isolated. Hugh Goodacre
, an Englishman sent by Cranmer, was consecrated by Browne at Christ Church as Dowdall's replacement. At the same time the primacy of all Ireland, the ancient dignity of the see of Armagh, was claimed by Browne, and transferred by royal patent to Dublin. He made less progress with evangelism, and the churches were emptier than ever. John Bale
, who arrived in Ireland as Bishop of Ossory
at the same time as Goodacre, thought Browne himself remiss, and they quarrelled as soon as he was consecrated.
- Browne introduced that monarch's new liturgy into the cathedral - the first Book of Common Prayer
. He finished by taking a wife. In Edward's first years the royal policy for the regulation of the Church in Ireland languished and Browne was under a cloud. From 1550, the attempt was resumed to impose on Ireland the English alterations of religion. By that time Edward Bellingham
had been succeeded by the second administration as Lord Deputy of Anthony Santleger. His instructions were to order the clergy to use the English service, and he summoned a convention of the bishops and clergy at Dublin. The Lord Deputy read the royal order for the service to be in English. The primate George Dowdall was indignant and left the meeting, followed by most of the bishops. Santleger then handed the order to Browne, who advised submission. On the following Easter Sunday, the English service was used for the first time in the cathedral church of Dublin, Browne preaching the sermon.
in 1553, Bale was forced to quit Ossory and fly for his life to Dublin. Browne refused to allow him to preach there. In the revolution under Mary, Dublin's primacy was revoked and Dowdall was reinstated in his see and title of primate of all Ireland. By Dowdall Browne was then deposed from his see on the grounds that was then a married man, contrary to his ordination oath. Two years later, in September 1555, his successor, Hugh Carwin, was appointed. When Carwin later changed allegiances, he became the only Archbishop of Dublin to be recognised as such by both the Roman Catholic and Anglican successions. Browne's death followed shortly after his deposition.
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
to the vacant Episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of Dublin. He became the king's main instrument in his desire to establish the state church in the Kingdom of Ireland.
Life
As provincial of the suppressed Augustinian Hermits in England, (of the order of Austin Friars), he was employed, in conjunction with John HilseyJohn Hilsey
John Hilsey was an English Dominican, prior provincial of his order, then an agent of Henry VIII and his church reformation, and Bishop of Rochester.-Life:...
, the provincial of the Dominican Order
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, to minister the 1534 oath of succession to all the friars of London and the south of England. He is said to have recommended himself to the king by advising the poor in distress about the religious changes to make their applications solely to Christ. Within a year he was nominated to the see of Dublin, vacant by the murder of Archbishop John Alen
John Alen
John Alen was an English canon lawyer, Archbishop of Dublin, and Chancellor of Ireland.-Life:He was born in Cotteshall, Norfolk.The Alans were a numerous clan and six of his cousins settled in Ireland including his namesake John, who was Lord Chancellor in his turn...
in the rising of Kildare
Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare
Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare , also known in Irish as Gearóid Óg , was a figure in Irish History. In 1513 he inherited the title of Earl of Kildare and position of Lord Deputy of Ireland from his father.-Family:...
in 1534; but it was not until another year had elapsed that he arrived in Ireland on July 1536. He received the degree of D.D. at Oxford in 1535.
Henry's religious policy
The murder of Alen afforded the king an opportunity of introducing his religious agenda into Ireland. He kept the see vacant for nearly a year, and then filled it without any reference to the PopePope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
, by the appointment of George Browne. He was consecrated by Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...
, March 19, 1535-6, and took up his residence in Dublin in August, 1536. The antecedents of Browne and the schismatical character of his appointment did not recommend him to the Dublin clergy. He complained of their resistance to his injunctions and was compelled to send round his own servants in order to cancel the pope's name in the service-books. A warning from the king stirred him up to more demonstrative action, and he had all holy relics preserved in Christ Church cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral is the name of many Anglican cathedrals around the world, and may refer to:-Canada:*Christ Church Cathedral , New Brunswick*Christ Church Cathedral , Quebec*Christ Church Cathedral , Ontario...
, including St. Patrick's crosier known as the "Staff of Jesus", gathered into a heap and burned. He cooperated in the suppression of all the religious houses, in changing the prior and convent of Christ Church into a secular dean and chapter, and in the total suppression of St. Patrick's chapter.
The Irish parliament, which had been sitting for two months, accepted all the principal acts by which England had declared herself independent of Rome. Opposition to these measures was offered by the clergy, who claimed the power of voting in their own house upon bills which had passed the Irish commons. Under the leadership of the primate George Cromer
George Cromer
George Cromer was Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland in the reign of Henry VIII of England, from 1521/2.Caught up in Henry's reformation of the Church of England, he was deprived of his see, Armagh...
their obstruction had succeeded, and they were deprived of their privilege. A speech made by Browne on this occasion, declaring his vote for the king as supreme head of the Irish church, has been preserved; and it was through him,that a separate act was passed granting the first-fruits of all abbeys to the King, thus paving the way for the suppression of the Irish monasteries, which quickly followed. Browne also held a commission from Thomas Cromwell, to further 'the king's advantage;' and in this cause he journeyed into various parts, preaching, publishing the royal articles and injunctions, and collecting the first-fruits and twentieths of the spiritualties which had been decreed to the king. He put forth a form of prayer, which is the earliest document in which the church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
is joined with the church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
under royal supremacy.
Browne had a rough reception in Ireland, with open hostility of many colleagues, especially Edward Staples
Edward Staples
-Life:Born probably about 1490, he is said to have been a native of Lincolnshire or Lancashire. He was educated first at Oxford and then at Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1511, and M.A. in 1514. In 1525 he was made canon of Cardinal College, Oxford, and on 9 March 1526 he supplicated for...
, the bishop of Meath, and suspicions on the Irish council. The Lord Deputy
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and later the Kingdom of Ireland...
Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane
Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane
Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane , known as Lord Leonard Grey prior to 1536, served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1536 to 1540....
was his enemy, and treated him with contempt, on one occasion putting him in prison. The king wrote him a severe letter after receiving complaints.
Browne had success with the hierarchy: the prelates who had followed George Dowdall
George Dowdall
George Dowdall was twice Archbishop of Armagh.He was appointed Primate of All Ireland by Henry VIII in 1543 to succeed George Cromer. However, this was not recognised by the Pope, who had earlier replaced Cromer with Robert Wauchope...
gradually conformed; and when, in the middle of the same year, 1550, Dowdall went from his see at Armgah, declaring that he would not be bishop where there was no mass, he was isolated. Hugh Goodacre
Hugh Goodacre
Hugh Goodacre was an English Protestant clergyman, briefly Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland.-Life:He was vicar of Shalfleet, Isle of Wight, and chaplain to John Ponet, Bishop of Winchester...
, an Englishman sent by Cranmer, was consecrated by Browne at Christ Church as Dowdall's replacement. At the same time the primacy of all Ireland, the ancient dignity of the see of Armagh, was claimed by Browne, and transferred by royal patent to Dublin. He made less progress with evangelism, and the churches were emptier than ever. John Bale
John Bale
John Bale was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English , and developed and published a very extensive list of the works of British authors down to his own time, just as the monastic libraries were being...
, who arrived in Ireland as Bishop of Ossory
Bishop of Ossory
The Bishop of Ossory is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bishoprics.-History:The diocese of Ossory...
at the same time as Goodacre, thought Browne himself remiss, and they quarrelled as soon as he was consecrated.
Edward's religious policy
Under Henry's immediate successor - Edward VI of EnglandEdward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
- Browne introduced that monarch's new liturgy into the cathedral - the first Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
. He finished by taking a wife. In Edward's first years the royal policy for the regulation of the Church in Ireland languished and Browne was under a cloud. From 1550, the attempt was resumed to impose on Ireland the English alterations of religion. By that time Edward Bellingham
Edward Bellingham
Sir Edward Bellingham , lord deputy of Ireland, was a son of Edward Bellingham of Erringham, Sussex, his mother being Jane Shelley of the Shelley family....
had been succeeded by the second administration as Lord Deputy of Anthony Santleger. His instructions were to order the clergy to use the English service, and he summoned a convention of the bishops and clergy at Dublin. The Lord Deputy read the royal order for the service to be in English. The primate George Dowdall was indignant and left the meeting, followed by most of the bishops. Santleger then handed the order to Browne, who advised submission. On the following Easter Sunday, the English service was used for the first time in the cathedral church of Dublin, Browne preaching the sermon.
Mary's religious policy
On the accession of Queen MaryMary 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...
in 1553, Bale was forced to quit Ossory and fly for his life to Dublin. Browne refused to allow him to preach there. In the revolution under Mary, Dublin's primacy was revoked and Dowdall was reinstated in his see and title of primate of all Ireland. By Dowdall Browne was then deposed from his see on the grounds that was then a married man, contrary to his ordination oath. Two years later, in September 1555, his successor, Hugh Carwin, was appointed. When Carwin later changed allegiances, he became the only Archbishop of Dublin to be recognised as such by both the Roman Catholic and Anglican successions. Browne's death followed shortly after his deposition.