John Ellis (1598/9 – December 1665) was a Welsh

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 ...

clergyman and religious writer.

Life

Ellis was born at Gwylan,

Maentwrog Maentwrog () is a village and community in the Welsh county of Merionethshire (now part of Gwynedd), lying in the Vale of Ffestiniog just below Blaenau Ffestiniog, within the Snowdonia National Park. The River Dwyryd runs alongside the vil ...

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

. He was educated at

Hart Hall, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

(

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

1617,

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

1622, M.A. 1625, B.D. (1632); he also received a D.D. from the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

in 1634). He was ordained deacon in 1621 and priest in 1622. He was a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, from 1628 to 1631, when he married. In 1629, he was made rector of

Wheatfield, Oxfordshire Wheatfield is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish and deserted medieval village about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. Wheatfield's Toponymy, toponym is derived from the Old English for "white field", referring to the ripe crops that the A ...

, holding the position for about seventeen years. In about 1646, he added the positions of rector of

Chinnor Chinnor is a large village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, about southeast of Thame and close to the border with Buckinghamshire. The village is a spring line settlement on the Icknield Way below the Chiltern escarpment. Sinc ...

, Oxfordshire and rector of

Dolgellau Dolgellau (; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merion ...

. He had an income of over £200 per year in 1648, from his positions as rector of Dolgellau and of

Towyn Towyn () is a seaside resort in the Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is also an electoral ward to the town and county councils. Location It is located between Rhyl, in Denbighshire, and Abergele in Conwy. Demography According to the 2001 ...

and from the

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

of Y Faenol,

Caernarvonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Geography The county ...

. He was described as "the best paid minister in Wales". In 1657, he argued in correspondence that a national college should be established in Wales. He made his will on 4 December 1665 and died within the week. He left money for a schoolmaster to be employed in Dolgellau, which led to the foundation of Dolgellau Grammar School. He was succeeded as rector of Dolgellau by Thomas Ellis, referred to as his kinsman.

Works

In 1641, Ellis published ''Bellum in idumaeos'', a commentary on the

Book of Obadiah The Book of Obadiah is a book of the Bible whose authorship is attributed to Obadiah. Obadiah is one of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the final section of Nevi'im, the second main division of the Hebrew Bible. The text consists of a single chap ...

, dedicating his work to Thomas Tipping of Wheatfield. ''Clavis fidei'' (1642), on the

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, was dedicated to

John Lisle Sir John Lisle (1610 – 11 August 1664) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1659. He supported the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War and was one of the regicides ...

, and later translated into English. After

the Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state. This may refer to: *Conservation and restoration of cultural property **Audio restoration **Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property **Film restoration ** Image ...

, in September 1660, Ellis published ''Defensio fidei'' on the Thirty-nine Articles, which was reprinted several times in London and in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, John 1590s births Year of birth uncertain 1665 deaths Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford 17th-century Welsh Anglican priests Welsh non-fiction writers Alumni of Hart Hall, Oxford 17th-century Anglican theologians People from Maentwrog