Benjamin Lany (or Laney; 1 January 1591 – 24 January 1675) was an English academic and bishop.

Early life

The son of John Laney, Benjamin Lany was born in Ipswich. He entered Christ's College, Cambridge in 1608, graduating B.A. 1612, M.A. 1615, B.D. 1622, D.D. 1630. He became a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge in 1616.

Career (pre Civil War)

He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

on 21 February 1619. After a curacy at Madingley he held livings at Hambledon, Hampshire, Bishops Waltham and Buriton. He was also Chaplain to the Bishop of Winchester from 1628. He became Master of Pembroke in 1630. By Richard Neile he was appointed to the rectory of Buriton with Petersfield,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, and on 31 July 1631. He became

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of the University of Cambridge in 1632.

Civil War years

Lany was appointed on 19 June 1639 to a prebendal stall in

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, on the king's nomination. As a devoted royalist and high churchman, Lany on the outbreak of the civil wars become the subject of fierce hostility to the puritan party. He was denounced by Prynne as "one of the professed Arminians, Laud's creatures to prosecute his designs in the university of Cambridge", who, when one Adams was brought before the authorities for preaching in favour of confession to a "priest, had united with the majority of the doctors in acquitting him". When the parliament exercised supreme power he was deprived of all his preferments, his rectory of Buriton being sequestered "to the use of one Robert Harris, a godly and orthodox divine, and member of the Assembly of Ministers" In 1643 Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester and Simeon Ashe led a visitation to the

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on behalf of

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. This saw Lany deprived of his position. He went into exile with the future Charles II of England.''Concise Dictionary of National Biography''

Career (post Civil War)

After the Restoration of 1660, he became Dean of Rochester — he was instituted on 8 August. He became Bishop of Peterborough the same year — he was elected to the See on 20 October 1660, confirmed 17 November, and consecrated a bishop on 2 December 1660. He then served as Bishop of Lincoln from 1663 — elected 10 March and confirmed 2 April — and Bishop of Ely from 1667. He was elected to that See on 24 May and confirmed 12 June. He became a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1666.

Notes and references

Citations

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laney, Benjamin 1591 births 1675 deaths 17th-century Church of England bishops Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Arminian ministers Arminian theologians Bishops of Ely Bishops of Lincoln Bishops of Peterborough Deans of Rochester Fellows of Pembroke College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Masters of Pembroke College, Cambridge People from Buriton Clergy from Ipswich Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge Burials at Ely Cathedral