John Mullins or Molyns (died 1591) was an English churchman and

Marian exile The Marian exiles were English Protestants who fled to continental Europe during the 1553–1558 reign of the Catholic monarchs Queen Mary I and King Philip.Christina Hallowell Garrett (1938) ''Marian Exiles: A Study in the Origins of Elizabeth ...

archdeacon of London The Archdeacon of London is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England. They are responsible for the eastern Archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of London) of the Two Cities (London and Westminster) in the Diocese of London, an area with ...

from 1559.

Life

Born in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, Mullins was made a probationary Fellow of

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

in 1541; and proceeded B.A. 1541, M.A. 1545, D.D. 1565–6. At this period Magdalen and Christ Church were the two leading Protestant colleges of the University of Oxford. Magdalen had an evangelical group around

Thomas Bentham Thomas Bentham (1513/14–1579) was a scholar and a Protestant minister. One of the Marian exiles, he returned to England to minister to an underground congregation in London. He was made the first Elizabethan bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, ser ...

John Foxe John Foxe (1516/1517 – 18 April 1587) was an English clergyman, theologian, and historian, notable for his martyrology '' Foxe's Book of Martyrs'', telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the sufferings of En ...

, and

Lawrence Humphrey Lawrence Humphrey (or Laurence Humfrey) DD (1525/7? – 1 February 1589) was an English theologian, who was President of Magdalen College, Oxford, and Dean successively of Gloucester and Winchester. Biography Humphrey was born at Newport Pag ...

. Mullins was involved in the 1550 petition against the Catholic President of Magdalen,

Owen Oglethorpe Owen Oglethorpe ( – 31 December 1559) was an English academic and Bishop of Carlisle, 1557–1559. Childhood and Education Oglethorpe was born in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England (where he later founded a school), the third son of George Ogl ...

, one of ten signatories who included also Walter Bower, Michael Reninger and Arthur Saul. In Queen Mary's reign Mullins left for

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, after Bishop

Stephen Gardiner Stephen Gardiner (27 July 1483 – 12 November 1555) was an English Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I. Early life Gardiner was born in Bury St Ed ...

's visitation of Magdalen College. At

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

he was reader in Greek to the exiled English. He was one of those, with his associate

Alexander Nowell Alexander Nowell (13 February 1602), also known as Alexander Noel, was an Anglican priest and theologian who served as Dean of St Paul's during much of Elizabeth I's reign, and is now remembered for his catechisms, written in Latin. Early lif ...

, who shared the Frankfurt house of Thomas Watts. Mullins returned to England early in

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

's reign, and was appointed in 1559 canon of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

and

. In February 1561 he was collated to the rectory of

Theydon Garnon Theydon Garnon is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district, in the county of Essex, England. The parish also includes the hamlet of Hobbs Cross. History Also recorded as Thoydon Garnon and Coopersale, "Theydon" is thought to m ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, and in May 1577 to the rectory of

Bocking, Essex Bocking is a suburban village on the northern side of Braintree, Essex, Braintree, in Essex, England. Bocking village was historically in two parts; the original settlement around the parish church became known as Bocking Churchstreet, while a ...

. He was made dean of Bocking in October 1583, along with

John Still John Still (c. 1543 – 26 February 1607/1608) was Master of two Cambridge colleges and then, from 1593, Bishop of Bath and Wells. He enjoyed considerable fame as an English preacher and disputant. He was formerly reputed to be the author of an ...

. In 1573 Mullins brought up the "

troubles at Frankfurt The Troubles at Frankfurt was a name given retrospectively to internal quarrels of the Marian exiles in Frankfurt am Main in the mid-1550s, involving also the Scottish reformer John Knox. Politically, Frankfurt was a Free Imperial City of the Holy ...

"—the theological contention between Richard Cox and

John Knox John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...

in 1555–6—in a sermon. He himself had been an external observer, moving from Zürich to Frankfurt after Knox had departed. The historical issue once raised, Thomas Wood published '' A Brieff Discours off the Troubles Begonne at Franckford'' (1575, anonymous, attribution by

Patrick Collinson Patrick "Pat" Collinson (10 August 1929 – 28 September 2011) was an English historian, known as a writer on the Elizabethan era, particularly Elizabethan Puritanism. He was emeritus Regius Professor of Modern History, University of Cambrid ...

). It aimed to rebut the views of Mullins and

John Young John Young most commonly refers to: *John Young (astronaut) (1930–2018), American astronaut * John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar (1807–1876), British diplomat and politician John Young may also refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) ...

, and to reach back to the 1550s for precedents to the contemporary English debates.

Death and legacy

Mullins died in June 1591, and was buried in the north aisle of St Paul's Cathedral. By his will he left money to purchase lands to endow an

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

for two scholars at Magdalen College.

Works

Mullins published a Greek poem in ''Carmina Latina et Graeca in Mortem duorum fratrum Suffolciensium, Henrici et Caroli Brandon'', 1552.

Family

Mullins was married, and his daughter Mary was the wife of

Walter Chetwynd Walter Chetwynd Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (1 May 1633 – 21 March 1693), of Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire was an English antiquary and politician. Life He was the only child of Walter Chetwynd (1598–1669), the eldest son of Walter Ch ...

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Molyns, John Year of birth missing 1591 deaths 16th-century English Anglican priests Archdeacons of London Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge Deans of Bocking