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Richard Hooker (25 March 1554 – 2 November 1600) was an English
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
and an influential
theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...
.''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' by F. L. Cross (Editor), E. A. Livingstone (Editor) Oxford University Press, USA; 3 edition p.789 (13 March 1997) He was one of the most important English theologians of the sixteenth century.Breward, Ian. "Hooker, Richard" in J. D. Douglas. ''The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church'' Exeter: The Paternoster Press (1974) His defence of the role of redeemed
reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...
informed the theology of the seventeenth-century Caroline Divines and later provided many members of the Church of England with a theological method which combined the claims of
revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
, reason and tradition. Scholars disagree regarding Hooker's relationship with what would later be called "
Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
" and the Reformed theological tradition. Traditionally, he has been regarded as the originator of the Anglican '' via media'' between
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
and
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. However, a growing number of scholars have argued that he should be considered as being in the mainstream Reformed theology of his time and that he only sought to oppose the extremists (
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
s), rather than moving the Church of England away from Protestantism. The term "Anglican" is not found in his writings and indeed first appears early in the reign of Charles I as the Church of England moved towards an
Arminian Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the Christian theology, theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remo ...
position doctrinally and a more "Catholic" look liturgically under the leadership of Archbishop
William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...
.


Youth (1554–1581)

Details of Hooker's life come chiefly from Izaak Walton's biography of him. Hooker was born in the village of Heavitree in
Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
, Devon sometime around
Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...
(March) 1554. He attended Exeter Grammar School until 1569. Richard came from a good family, but one that was neither noble nor wealthy. His uncle John Hooker was a success and served as the chamberlain of
Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
. Hooker's uncle was able to obtain for Richard the help of another Devon native, John Jewel,
bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...
. The bishop saw to it that Richard was accepted to Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he became a fellow of the society in 1577. In addition to his assistance securing admittance, Jewel also agreed to fund Hooker's education. On 14 August 1579 Hooker was ordained a priest by Edwin Sandys, then
bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...
. Sandys made Hooker tutor to his son Edwin, and Richard also taught George Cranmer, the great nephew of
Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, 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 is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...
. In 1580 he was deprived of his fellowship for "contentiousness" having campaigned for the losing candidate (
John Rainolds John Rainolds (or Reynolds) (1549 – 21 May 1607) was an English academic and churchman, of Puritan views. He is remembered for his role in the Authorized Version of the Bible, a project of which he was initiator. Life He was born about ...
, a lifelong friend who would become a leader of the
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
party and participate in the Hampton Court Conference of 1604) in a contested election to the presidency of the college. However, he recovered it when Rainolds finally assumed the post".


London and marriage (1581–1595)

In 1581, Hooker was appointed to preach at St Paul's Cross and he became a public figure, more so because his sermon offended the
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
by diverging from their theories of
predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby Go ...
. Some ten years before Hooker arrived in London, the Puritans had produced an "Admonition to Parliament" together with "A view of Popish Abuses" and initiated a long debate which would last beyond the end of the century.
John Whitgift John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) 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 8 ...
(soon to become Archbishop of Canterbury) produced a reply, and Thomas Cartwright a reaction to the reply. Hooker was drawn into the debate through the influence of Edwin Sandys and George Cranmer. He was also introduced to John Churchman, a distinguished London merchant who became Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company. It was at this time, according to his first biographer Walton, that Hooker made the "fatal mistake" of marrying his landlady's daughter, Jean Churchman. As Walton put it: "There is a wheel within a wheel; a secret sacred wheel of Providence (most visible in marriages), guided by His hand that allows not the race to the swift nor bread to the wise, nor good wives to good men: and He that can bring good out of evil (for mortals are blind to this reason) only knows why this blessing was denied to patient Job, to meek
Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
, and to our as meek and patient Mr Hooker." However, Walton is described by Christopher Morris as an "unreliable gossip" who "generally moulded his subjects to fit a ready-made pattern","Introduction" to the Everyman edition of ''Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity'' (London, Dent, 1907, 1958 reprint), pp v-vi. and both he and John Booty give the date of the marriage as 1588. Hooker seems to have lived on and off with the Churchmans until 1595 and, according to Booty, he "seems to have been well treated and considerably assisted by John Churchman and his wife".
Hooker became rector of St. Mary's Drayton Beauchamp, Buckinghamshire, in 1584, but probably never lived there. The following year, he was appointed Master of the Temple in London by the Queen (possibly as a compromise candidate to those proposed by Lord Burleigh and Whitgift). There, Hooker soon came into public conflict with Walter Travers, a leading Puritan and Reader (lecturer) at the Temple, partly because of the sermon at Paul's Cross four years before, but mainly because Hooker argued that salvation was possible for some Roman Catholics. The controversy abruptly ended when Travers was silenced by the Archbishop in March 1586 and the Privy Council strongly supported the decision. About this time, Hooker began to write his major work ''Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity'', a critique of the Puritans and their attacks on the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
and particularly the ''
Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...
''. In 1591, Hooker left the Temple and was presented to the
living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...
of St Andrew's, Boscombe, Wiltshire to support him while he wrote. He seems to have lived mainly in London but apparently did spend time in Salisbury where he was subdean of Salisbury Cathedral and made use of the Cathedral Library. The first four volumes of the major work were published in 1593, with a subsidy from Edwin Sandys, and apparently the last four were held back for further revision by the author.


Last years (1595–1600)

In 1595, Hooker became rector of the parishes of St. Mary the Virgin in
Bishopsbourne Bishopsbourne is a mostly rural and wooded village and civil parish in Kent, England. It has two short linear settlement, developed sections of streets at the foot of the Little Stour, Nailbourne valley south-east of Canterbury and centred ...
and St. John the Baptist in Barham, both in Kent, and left London to continue his writing. He published the fifth book of the ''Laws'' in 1597. It is longer than the first four taken together. He died on 3 November 1600 at his
rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...
in Bishopsbourne and was buried in the chancel of the church, being survived by his wife and four daughters. His will includes the following provision: "Item, I give and bequeth three pounds of lawful English money towards the building and making of a newer and sufficient pulpitt in the p'sh of Bishopsbourne." The pulpit can still be seen in Bishopsbourne church, along with a statue of him. Subsequently, a monument was erected there by William Cowper in 1632 which described him as "judicious".


Works

Apart from the ''Laws'', Hooker's lesser writings, which are few in number, fall into three groups: those related to the Temple Controversy with Travers (including three sermons); those connected with the last writing of the last books of the ''Laws''; and other miscellaneous sermons (four complete plus three fragments).


''Learned Discourse of Justification''

This sermon from 1585 was one of those that triggered Travers' attack and appeal to the Privy Council. Travers accused Hooker of preaching doctrine favourable to the Church of Rome when in fact he had just described their differences, emphasising that Rome attributed to works "a power of satisfying God for sin". For Hooker, works were a necessary expression of thanksgiving for unmerited justification by a merciful God. Hooker defended his belief in the doctrine of justification by faith, but argued that even those who did not understand or accept this could be saved by God. Hooker also expresses in this work the classic ''ordo salutis'' that recognises the distinction between justification and sanctification as two forms of righteousness while at the same time emphasising the role the sacraments have in justification. Hooker's approach to this topic is seen as a classic example of the Anglican ''via media''.


''Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity''

''Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity'' (original spelling, ''Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie'') is Hooker's best-known work, with the first four books being published in 1594. The fifth book was published in 1597, while the final three were published posthumously, and indeed may not all be his own work. Structurally, the work is a carefully worked out reply to the general principles of Puritanism as found in the " Admonition" and Thomas Cartwright's follow-up writings, more specifically: # Scripture alone is the rule that should govern all human conduct; # Scripture prescribes an unalterable form of Church government; # The English Church is corrupted by Roman Catholic orders, rites, and ceremonies; # The law is corrupt in not allowing lay elders; # "There ought not to be in the Church Bishops". The ''Laws'' has been characterised as "probably the first great work of philosophy and theology to be written in English". The book is far more than a negative rebuttal of the puritan claims: it is (here McAdoo quotes John S. Marshall) "a continuous and coherent whole presenting a philosophy and theology congenial to the Anglican ''Book of Common Prayer'' and the traditional aspects of the Elizabethan Settlement". Quoting C. S. Lewis, Stephen Neill underlines its positive side in the following terms: hitherto, in England, "controversy had involved only tactics; Hooker added strategy. Long before the close fighting in Book III begins, the puritan position has been rendered desperate by the great flanking movements in Books I and II. ... Thus the refutation of the enemy comes in the end to seem a very small thing, a by-product." It is a massive work that deals mainly with the proper governance of the churches ("
polity A polity is a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of political Institutionalisation, institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any group of people org ...
"). The Puritans advocated the demotion of clergy and ecclesiasticism. Hooker attempted to work out which methods of organising churches are best. What was at stake behind the theology was the position of
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...
as the Supreme Governor of the Church. If doctrine were not to be settled by authorities, and if
Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
's argument for the
priesthood of all believers The priesthood of all believers is the common Priest, priesthood of all Christians (a concept broadly accepted by all churches), while the term can also refer to a specific Protestantism, Protestant understanding that this universal priesthood pre ...
were to be followed to its extreme with government by the Elect, then having the monarch as the governor of the church was intolerable. On the other side, if the monarch were appointed by God to be the governor of the church, then local parishes going their own ways on doctrine were similarly intolerable. In political philosophy, Hooker is best remembered for his account of law and the origins of government in Book One of the ''Laws''. Drawing heavily on the legal thought of
Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
, Hooker distinguishes seven forms of law: eternal law ("that which God hath eternally purposed himself in all his works to observe"), celestial law (God's law for the angels), nature's law (that part of God's eternal law that governs natural objects), the law of reason (dictates of Right Reason that normatively govern human conduct), human positive law (rules made by human lawmakers for the ordering of a civil society), divine law (rules laid down by God that can be known only by special revelation), and ecclesiastical law (rules for the governance of a church). Like
Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
, whom he frequently quotes, Hooker believes that humans are naturally inclined to live in society. Governments, he claims, are based on both this natural social instinct and on the express or implied
consent of the governed In political philosophy, consent of the governed is the idea that a government's political legitimacy, legitimacy and natural and legal rights, moral right to use state power is justified and lawful only when consented to by the people or society o ...
. The ''Laws'' is remembered not only for its stature as a monumental work of
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
thought, but also for its influence in the development of theology, political theory, and English prose.


Scholastic thought in a latitudinarian manner

Hooker worked largely from
Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
, but he adapted scholastic thought in a latitudinarian manner. He argued that church organisation, like political organisation, is one of the "things indifferent" to God. He wrote that minor doctrinal issues were not issues that damned or saved the soul, but rather frameworks surrounding the moral and religious life of the believer. He contended there were good monarchies and bad ones, good democracies and bad ones, and good church hierarchies and bad ones: what mattered was the piety of the people. At the same time, Hooker argued that authority was commanded by the Bible and by the traditions of the early church, but authority was something that had to be based on piety and reason rather than automatic investiture. This was because authority had to be obeyed even if it were wrong and needed to be remedied by right reason and the
Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...
. Notably, Hooker affirmed that the power and propriety of bishops need not be in every case absolute.


Legacy

King James I is quoted by Izaak Walton, Hooker's biographer, as saying, "I observe there is in Mr. Hooker no affected language; but a grave, comprehensive, clear manifestation of reason, and that backed with the authority of the Scriptures, the fathers and schoolmen, and with all law both sacred and civil."*Walton, Izaac, ''The Life of Mr Rich. Hooker''. In ''Walton's Lives''. Edited by
George Saintsbury George Edward Bateman Saintsbury, FBA (23 October 1845 – 28 January 1933), was an English critic, literary historian, editor, teacher, and wine connoisseur. He is regarded as a highly influential critic of the late 19th and early 20th cent ...
and reprinted in Oxford World's Classics, 1927.
Hooker's emphasis on Scripture, reason, and tradition considerably influenced the development of Anglicanism, as well as many political philosophers, including
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
. Locke quotes Hooker numerous times in the '' Second Treatise of Civil Government'' and was greatly influenced by Hooker's natural-law ethics and his staunch defence of human reason. As Frederick Copleston notes, Hooker's moderation and civil style of argument were remarkable in the religious atmosphere of his time. In the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
he is celebrated with a lesser festival on 3 November and the same day is also observed in the calendars of other parts of the Anglican Communion.


See also

*
High church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...
* Low church * Broad church * Central churchmanship * Anglican doctrine


References


Further reading

* Atkinson, Nigel, ''Richard Hooker and the Authority of Scripture, Tradition and Reason'' (Regent, 2005) * Brydon, Michael, ''The Evolving Reputation of Richard Hooker: An Examination of Responses, 1600–1714'' (Oxford, 2006) * Davies, E.T., ''The political ideas of Richard Hooker'' (London, 1946) * Dominiak, Paul, ''Richard Hooker. The Architecture of Participation '' (T&T Clark, 2020) * Faulkner, Robert K., ''Richard Hooker and the Politics of a Christian England'' (1981) * Graves, Daniel F., & Scott N. Kindred-Barnes (eds), ''Richard Hooker and the Christian Virtues'' (Brill, 2024) * Grislis, Egil, ''Richard Hooker: A Selected Bibliography'' (1971) * Hooker, Richard, ''A Learned Discourse of Justification''. 1612. * Hooker, Richard, ''Works'' (Three volumes). Edited by John Keble, Oxford, 1836; Revised by R. W. Church and F. Paget, Oxford, 1888. Reprint by Burt Franklin, 1970 and by Via Media Publications. * Hughes, Phillip Edgecumbe (1982), ''Faith and Works: Cranmer and Hooker on Justification'' (1982). * * Littlejohn, W. Bradford, ''The Peril and Promise of Christian Liberty: Richard Hooker, the Puritans, and Protestant Political Theology'' (Eerdmans, 2017) * A. C. McGrade, ed., ''Richard Hooker and the Construction of Christian community'' (1997) * Munz, Peter, ''The Place of Hooker in the History of Thought'' (1952, repr. 1971). * http://www.johnjayinstitute.org/resources/publications/three-things-conservatives-could-learn-from-richard-hooker/


External links


Hooker's works online (in 10-page pdfs)
at Project Canterbury
Hooker's works online (in HTML, Kindle, facsimile PDF, including all 8 books of the ''Laws'')

Richard Hooker
at Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Biography and articles about Hooker


* * * ttp://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/64.html Biographical sketch
Archbishop Rowan Williams' lecture on ''The Laws''





Hooker at Bishopsbourne Church including summary of his dates and writings
* This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain
Wood, James, ed. ''The Nuttall Encyclopædia''. London and New York: Frederick Warne, 1920.
s. v. "Hooker, Richard" and "Ecclesiastical Polity, the Law of".
Richard Hooker Modernization Project--The Davenant InstituteFind-a-Grave: Richard HookerGeni: Richard Hooker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooker, Richard 1554 births 1600 deaths 16th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 16th-century English Anglican priests 16th-century English theologians Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Anglican saints Burials in Kent English Calvinist and Reformed theologians English Christian theologians Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Masters of the Temple Writers from Exeter People of the Elizabethan era Systematic theologians 16th-century Anglican theologians Anglican liturgists