Ephraim Pagit (Pagitt) (c. 1575 – April 1647) was an English clergyman and

heresiographer In theology or the history of religion, heresiology is the study of heresy, and heresiographies are writings about the topic. Heresiographical works were common in both medieval Christianity and Islam. Heresiology developed as a part of the emerg ...

. His ''Heresiography'' of 1645 was a precursor of the better-known '' Gangraena'', and is a well-referenced account of contemporary sectarian Protestantism in England. The ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'' indicates that the title of this book was a neologism, derived by analogy from ''Christianography'', an earlier title, to indicate a catalogue or classification of

heretics Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

. By political conviction, Pagit was a royalist, but he was sufficiently opposed to the religious Independents to support

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Life

The son of Eusebius Pagit, he was born in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, probably at Lamport, about 1575. He matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

on 25 May 1593, being eighteen years old. There is no evidence of his graduation, but he is said to have been a great linguist, writing in fifteen or sixteen languages. On 19 August 1601, he was admitted to the rectory of St. Edmund the King, Lombard Street. :s:Pagit, Ephraim (DNB00) In May 1638, he wrote a series of letters addressed to

Cyril Lucaris Cyril I of Constantinople (''Cyril Lucaris'' or ''Kyrillos Loukaris'' (; 13 November 1572 – 27 June 1638) was a Greek prelate and theologian, and a native of Heraklion, Crete (then under the Republic of Venice). He later became the Greek Pa ...

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as ...

, and other patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox church. In them he commended to their notice his own ''Christianographie'', the translation of the English prayer-book into Greek by Elias Petley, and

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 ...

's conference with

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1504 to 1535 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Chu ...

. On the outbreak of the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

, Paget was silenced and retired to Deptford, Kent. He was always a strong royalist and in favour of the prayer-book; but he took the

Covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

, and in 1645 he joined in a petition to Parliament for the establishment of presbyterianism, probably as a preferable alternative to independency. His standard of doctrine he found in the articles of 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 died at Deptford in April 1647 and was buried in the churchyard. He married the widow of Sir Stephen Bord of Sussex.

Works

In his accounts of sectaries, he makes it a rule to give authorities; and they take a wide range, since he treats every deflection from

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

as heresy, and every approach to independency as faction. He published: * ''Christianographie; or, a Description of the sundrie Sorts of Christians in the World'', &c, 1635, (many reprints); * ''Heresiography; or a description of the Hereticks and Sectaries of these latter times'', &c, 1645; sixth edition, 1662. * ''The Mystical Wolf'', &c., 1645, (sermon on Matthew vii. 15 : reissued with new title-page, ''The Tryall of Trueth'', &c.) His nine letters to the patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Moscow, and of the Maronites, also to Prince Radziwil of Poland and John Tolnai of Transylvania, are in Harleian MS. 825. All are duplicated in Greek and Latin; two are also in English, and one in Syriac.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pagit, Ephraim 1575 births 1647 deaths 17th-century English Anglican priests English subscribers to the Solemn League and Covenant 1643 People from West Northamptonshire District