Job Orton (4 September 1717 – 1783) was an English

dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to ...

ing

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

Life

He was born at

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'S ...

, Shropshire. He entered the academy of Dr Philip Doddridge at

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, became minister of a congregation formed by a fusion of Presbyterians and Independents at

High Street Chapel High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...

, Shrewsbury (1741), received Presbyterian ordination there (1745), resigned in 1766 owing to ill-health, and lived in retirement at

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it h ...

, Worcestershire, until his death. Between 1745-1747 he served as the first board secretary, as well as a trustee, of the Salop Infirmary in Shrewsbury. He was buried in Shrewsbury in the churchyard of old St Chad's Church.

Work

He exerted great influence both among dissenting ministers and among clergy of the established church. He was deeply read in

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...

divinity, and adopted Sabellian doctrines on the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the ...

. Old-fashioned in most of his views, he disliked the tendencies alike of the Methodists and other revivalists and of the rationalizing dissenters, yet he had a good word for

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted e ...

and

Theophilus Lindsey Theophilus Lindsey (20 June 1723 O.S.3 November 1808) was an English theologian and clergyman who founded the first avowedly Unitarian congregation in the country, at Essex Street Chapel. Early life Lindsey was born in Middlewich, Cheshire, ...

Writings

Among his numerous works which include sermons, discourses and essays are ''Memoirs of Doddridge'' (published 1766), ''Letters to Dissenting Ministers'' (ed by S. Palmer, 2 vols., 1806), and ''Practical Works'' (2 vols., with letters and memoir, 1842). He was also involved in editting the unpublished works of Philip Doddridge after he died in 1851. He was encouraged in this work by his widow,

Mercy Doddridge Mercy Doddridge born Mercy Maris (4 September 1709 – 4 April 1790) was a British dissenting laywoman and letter-writer. Life Doddridge was born in Worcester in 1709. She was the daughter of Richard Maris, a baker and maltster in the city, and hi ...

References

;Attribution *

External links

Portrait at NPG
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orton, Job 1717 births 1783 deaths Clergy from Shrewsbury English Christian religious leaders 18th-century Christian clergy