William Greenhill
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William Greenhill (1591–1671) was an English nonconformist clergyman, independent minister, and member of the
Westminster Assembly The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and the Assembly's work was adopt ...
.


Life

He was born probably in
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primaril ...
. At the age of thirteen he matriculated at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
on 8 June 1604 and was elected a demy of Magdalen College, Oxford, on 8 January 1605. He graduated B.A. on 25 January 1609, and M.A. on 9 July 1612, in which year he resigned his demyship. From 1615 to 1633 William Greenhill held the Magdalen College living of New Shoreham, Sussex. He appears to have officiated in some ministerial capacity in the
diocese of Norwich The Diocese of Norwich is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England that forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. History It traces its roots in an unbroken line to the diocese of the Bishop of the Eas ...
, when
Matthew Wren Matthew Wren (3 December 1585 – 24 April 1667) was an influential English clergyman, bishop and scholar. Life He was the eldest son of Francis Wren (born 18 January 1552 at Newbold Revell), citizen and mercer of London, only son of Cuth ...
was bishop; he got into trouble for refusing to read '' The Book of Sports''. He then moved to London, and was chosen afternoon preacher to the congregation at
Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...
, while Jeremiah Burroughes ministered in the morning. He was a member of the
Westminster Assembly The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and the Assembly's work was adopt ...
of Divines, convened in 1643, and was one of the Independents. In the same year, on 26 April, he preached before the House of Commons of England on occasion of a public fast, and his sermon was published by command of the house, with the title ''The Axe at the Root''. In 1644 he was present at the formation of Stepney Meeting House, the congregational church in Stepney, and was appointed first pastor. In 1649, after the death of Charles, he was appointed by the parliament chaplain to three of the late king Charles's children: James, Duke of York (afterwards James II);
Henry, Duke of Gloucester Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, (Henry William Frederick Albert; 31 March 1900 – 10 June 1974) was the third son and fourth child of King George V and Queen Mary. He served as Governor-General of Australia from 1945 to 1947, the only mem ...
; and the Lady Henrietta Anne. In 1654 he was appointed by
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...
one of the 'commissioners for approbation of public preachers,' known as 'triers.' In 1658 he was on the committee drawing up the
Savoy Declaration The Savoy Declaration is a Congregationalist confession of Faith. Its full title is ''A Declaration of the Faith and Order owned and practised in the Congregational Churches in England.'' It was drawn up in October 1658 by English Independents a ...
.Francis J. Bremer, Tom Webster, ''Puritans and Puritanism in Europe and America: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia'' (2006), p. 534. It was also probably by Cromwell that he was appointed vicar of St. Dunstan and All Saints, the old parish church of Stepney, while he continued pastor of the independent church. This post he held for about seven years, till he was ejected immediately after the Restoration in 1660, but he retained the pastorate of the independent church till his death on 27 September 1671. He was succeeded by Matthew Mead.


Works

His chief work is his ''Exposition of the Prophet Ezekiel'', a full commentary. It was published in five volumes between 1645 and 1662. The last volume is said to be scarce, and it is supposed that many copies were destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666. The first volume is dedicated to the Princess Elizabeth, second daughter to Charles I, then nine years old. He calls her 'the excellent princess and most hopeful lady.' The connection may have been through his friend Henry Burton, acquainted with the royal family. The whole work was reprinted (with some omissions and alterations) in 1837-9. Greenhill also published (besides editing books by several of his friends) two volumes of sermons, one called ''Sermons of Christ, His Discovery of Himself'', &c., 1656; the other called ''The Sound-hearted Christian'', &c., by W. G., 1670 (in some copies 1671).


Notes


References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenhill, William 1591 births 1671 deaths English Caroline nonconforming clergy English independent ministers of the Interregnum (England) Westminster Divines Ejected English ministers of 1662 Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford