John Ernest Grabe (10 July 1666 – 3 November 1711), Anglican divine, was born at

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, where his father, Martin Sylvester Grabe, was professor of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

Life

In his theological studies Grabe succeeded in persuading himself of the

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

atical character of the Reformation, and accordingly he presented to the Lutheran

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistor ...

of Samland in

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

a memorial in which he compared the position of the evangelical

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

churches with that of the Novatians and other ancient schismatics. He had resolved to join the Church of Rome when a commission of

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

divines pointed out flaws in his written argument and called his attention to the English Church as apparently possessing that

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the Christian ministry, ministry of the Christian Church is considered by some Christian denominations to be derived from the Twelve Apostles, apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been ...

and manifesting that fidelity to ancient institutions which he desired. He came to England, settled in Oxford, and made heavy use of the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

. He was ordained in 1700, and became chaplain of Christ Church. His inclination was towards the party of the Nonjurors. The learned labours to which the remainder of his life was devoted were rewarded with an Oxford degree (DD) and a royal pension. He died on 3 November 1711. He was buried in

St Pancras Old Church St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church on Pancras Road, Somers Town, London, Somers Town, in the London Borough of Camden. Somers Town is an area of the ancient parish and later Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras, London, St ...

, London on 9 November 1711. His name is listed on the Burdett Coutts Memorial as one of the important graves lost. In 1726 a monument by

Francis Bird Francis Bird (1667–1731) was one of the leading English sculptors of his time. He is mainly remembered for sculptures in Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral. He carved a tomb for the dramatist William Congreve in Westminster Abbey and s ...

was erected to him by Edward Harley, Earl of Oxford, in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. Some account of Grabe's life is given in Robert Nelson's ''Life of George Bull'', and by

George Hickes George Hickes may refer to: * George Hickes (divine) (1642–1715), English divine and scholar * George Hickes (Manitoba politician) (born 1946), Canadian politician * George Hickes (Nunavut politician) (born 1968/69), Canadian politician, son of t ...

in a discourse prefixed to the pamphlet against

William Whiston William Whiston (9 December 166722 August 1752) was an English theologian, historian, natural philosopher, and mathematician, a leading figure in the popularisation of the ideas of Isaac Newton. He is now probably best known for helping to inst ...

's ''Collection of Testimonies against the True Deity of the Son and of the Holy Ghost''. Dr George Smalridge (who also granted him his degree) wrote a biography of Grabe.London and Its Environs: Pancras 1795

Works

His works, which show him to have been learned and laborious but somewhat deficient in critical acumen, include a ''Spicilegium SS. Patrum et haereticorum'' (1698-1699), which was designed to cover the first three centuries of the Christian church, but was not continued beyond the close of the second. A second edition of this work was published in 1714. He brought out editions of: *

Justin Martyr Justin, known posthumously as Justin Martyr (; ), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and Philosophy, philosopher. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue did survive. The ''First Apolog ...

, ''Apologia prima'' (1700) *

Irenaeus Irenaeus ( or ; ; ) was a Greeks, Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christianity, Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the development of Christian theology by oppos ...

, '' Adversus omnes haereses'' (1702) * Bishop Bull's Latin works (1703). * ''Septuaginta interpretum.'' tomus 1. Oxford 1707 His edition of the ''

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

'' was based on the ''

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...

''; it appeared in four volumes (1707–1720), and was completed by Francis Lee and by George Wigan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grabe, John Ernest 1666 births 1711 deaths Clergy from Königsberg People from the Duchy of Prussia German Anglicans