John Potter (c. 167410 October 1747) was

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

(1737–1747).

Life

He was the son of a

linen draper In the Middle Ages or 16th and 17th centuries, a cloth merchant was one who owned or ran a cloth (often wool) manufacturing or wholesale import or export business. A cloth merchant might additionally own a number of draper's shops. Cloth was ext ...

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. At the age of fourteen he entered

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, and in 1693 he published notes on

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

's ''De audiendis poetis'' and

Basil Basil (, ; , ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' (, )), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a hardiness (plants), tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" r ...

's ''Oratio ad juvenes''. In 1694 he was elected fellow of

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Flemin ...

and in 1697 his edition of ''

Lycophron Lycophron ( ; ; born about 330–325 BC) was a Hellenistic Greek tragic poet, grammarian, and commentator on comedy, to whom the poem ''Alexandra'' is attributed (perhaps falsely). Life and miscellaneous works He was born at Chalcis in Euboea, a ...

'' appeared. It was followed by his ''Archaeologia graeca'' (2 vols. 8vo, 1697–1698), the popularity of which endured till the advent of Dr

William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...

's dictionaries. A reprint of his ''Lycophron'' in 1702 was dedicated to

Graevius Johann Georg Graevius (originally ''Grava'' or ''Greffe''; Latin: Joannes/Johannes Georgius Graevius; 29 January 1632 – 11 January 1703) was a German classical scholar and critic. He was born in Naumburg (Saale), Naumburg, in the Electorate of S ...

, and the ''Antiquities'' was afterwards published in Latin in the ''Thesaurus of Gronovius''. Besides holding several livings he became, in 1704, chaplain to Archbishop Tenison, and shortly afterwards was made

Chaplain-in-Ordinary The Ecclesiastical Household is a part of the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Reflecting the different constitutions of the churches of England and Scotland, there are separate households in each nation. England The Church ...

to Queen Anne. From 1708 he was

Regius Professor of Divinity The Regius Professorships of Divinity are amongst the oldest professorships at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. A third chair existed for a period at Trinity College Dublin. The Oxford and Cambridge chairs were founded by ...

and canon of

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford Christ Church Cathedral is a cathedral of the Church of England in Oxford, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Oxford and the principal church of the diocese of Oxford. It is also the chapel of Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, a colle ...

. He married Elizabeth Venner in

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 ...

in 1709.Clay, John W., ed. ''Publications of the Harleian Society, Registers, Vol. 26'', London, 1899. p. 26 She being a granddaughter of

Thomas Venner Thomas Venner (died 19 January 1661According to the then prevailing Old Style calendar, the turn of the year occurred on Lady Day, 25 March. As such, Venner died in 1660 according to contemporary accounts, but in 1661 as described by modern hist ...

, a Fifth Monarchy man hanged as a traitor. In 1715 he became

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

. In the same year appeared his edition of

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

. In 1707 he published a ''Discourse on Church Government,'' and he took a prominent part in the controversy with

Benjamin Hoadly Benjamin Hoadly (14 November 167617 April 1761) was an English clergyman, who was successively Bishop of Bangor, of Hereford, of Salisbury, and finally of Winchester. He is best known as the initiator of the Bangorian Controversy. Life ...

Bishop of Bangor The Bishop of Bangor is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Diocese of Bangor of the Church in Wales. The Episcopal see, see is based in the city of Bangor where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Bangor Cathedral, Cathedral Church of Sa ...

. Even though Potter was a notable Whig, he was a

High Church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...

man and had opposed Hoadly. Bishop Potter also

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in the Church of England in September 1725, and ordained him a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1728. In January 1737 Potter was unexpectedly appointed to succeed

William Wake William Wake (26 January 165724 January 1737) was a minister in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 to his death. Life Wake was born in Blandford Forum Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, o ...

in the see of Canterbury. While in that seat, he continued to represent a High Church position, but he was also ineffective at restoring the

Convocation A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a specia ...

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...

attacked him in the 1743 version of his ''

The Dunciad ''The Dunciad'' () is a landmark, mock-heroic, narrative poem by Alexander Pope published in three different versions at different times from 1728 to 1743. The poem celebrates a goddess, Dulness, and the progress of her chosen agents as they ...

'' (book II, 323). Potter died on 10 October 1747. His ''Theological Works'', consisting of sermons, charges, divinity lectures and the ''Discourse on Church Government'', were published in three volumes. He was buried in

Croydon Minster Croydon Minster is the parish and civic church of the London Borough of Croydon, located in the Old Town area of Croydon. There are currently more than 35 churches in the borough, with Croydon Minster being the most prominent. It is Grade I listed ...

in Surrey.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, John 1670s births 1747 deaths People from Wakefield Bishops of Oxford Archbishops of Canterbury 18th-century Anglican archbishops Alumni of University College, Oxford Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain People educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield Burials at Croydon Minster Regius Professors of Divinity (University of Oxford) 18th-century Church of England bishops 17th-century Anglican theologians 18th-century Anglican theologians Year of birth uncertain