Richard Kidder (1633–1703) was an English Anglican churchman, Bishop of Bath and Wells, from 1691 to his death. He was a noted theologian.

Biography

He was educated at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

, where he was a sizar, from 1649, graduating 1652. He became a Fellow there in 1655, and vicar of

Stanground Stanground is a residential area in the city of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. For electoral purposes it comprises Stanground South and Fletton & Stanground wards in North West ...

, Huntingdonshire, in 1659. He was deprived in 1662. He was rector of

Rayne Parva Rayne is a village of about 2,300 residents in the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. It lies on the Roman road called Stane Street, about two miles (3 km) to the west of Braintree, which is the nearest town. It used to ...

, Essex, from 1664 to 1674, having conformed to the Act of 1662. He was later vicar of St. Martin Outwich, London, and in 1689 a royal chaplain, and dean of Peterborough. His ''A Demonstration of the Messias'' has been identified as a significant influence on the librettist

Charles Jennens Charles Jennens (1700 – 20 November 1773) was an English landowner and patron of the arts. As a friend of Handel, he helped author the libretti of several of his oratorios, most notably ''Messiah''. Life Jennens was brought up at Gopsall H ...

, in writing the words for the Messiah of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

. This book also took up suggestions of Joseph Mede on multiple authorship of the '' Book of Zechariah''. He was killed in the Great Storm of 1703, on 26 November (7 December in today's calendar); he was in bed with his wife in the episcopal palace at Wells when the chimney fell on both of them.Newsletter 35
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Works

* ''The Christian sufferer supported'' (1680) * ''A Demonstration of the Messias. In which the Truth of the Christian Religion is Proved, Against All the Enemies Thereof; But Especially Against the Jews. In Three Parts'' (1684, 1699, 1700) * ''A sermon upon the resurrection'' (1694) *
A Commentary on the Five Books of Moses: With a Dissertation Concerning the Author Or Writer of the said books and a general argument to each of them
' (1694) *
The life of the Reverend Anthony Horneck, late preacher at the Savoy
' (1698) *
The holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments
' (1715) * ''A Discourse Concerning Sins of Infirmity, and Wilful Sins, with Another of Restitution'' (reprint, 2010)

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kidder, Richard 1633 births 1703 deaths English theologians 17th-century Church of England bishops 18th-century Church of England bishops Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Deans of Peterborough Bishops of Bath and Wells Burials at Wells Cathedral Natural disaster deaths in England 17th-century Anglican theologians 18th-century Anglican theologians