Joseph Bingham (September 1668 – 17 August 1723) was an English scholar and

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

, who wrote on ecclesiastical history.

Life

He was born at

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 ...

. He was educated at Wakefield Grammar School and

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 ...

, of which he was made fellow in 1689 and tutor in 1691. A sermon preached by him from the university pulpit in St Mary's church, on the meaning of the terms ''Person and Substance in the Fathers'', brought upon him an accusation of

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

. He was compelled to give up his fellowship and leave the university; but he was immediately presented by Dr John Radcliffe to the rectory of Headbourne Worthy, near

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

(1695). In this country retirement he began his extensive work entitled ''Origines Ecclesiasticae, or Antiquities of the Christian Church'', the first volume of which appeared in 1708 and the tenth and last in 1722. His design, learnedly, exhaustively and impartially executed, was to give such a methodical account of the antiquities of the

Christian Church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...

as others have done of the Greek and Roman and Jewish antiquities, by reducing the ancient customs, usages and practices of the church under certain proper heads, whereby the reader may take a view at once of any particular usage or custom of

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

for four or five centuries. Notwithstanding his learning and merit, Bingham received no higher preferment than that of Headbourne Worthy until 1712, when he was collated to the rectory of

Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England. Nearby places include Portsmouth to the south-west, Southampton to the west, Waterlooville to north, Chichester to the east and Hayling Island to the south. The wider borough ...

, near Portsmouth, by Sir Jonathan Trelawney,

bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

. Nearly all his little property was lost in the great

South Sea Bubble South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

of 1720. A grandson was Bishop Richard Mant of Down and Dromore. He is buried in the churchyard of St Swithun's, Headbourne Worthy.

References

Attribution: *

External links

Works by Joseph Bingham at the Post Reformation Digital Library
1668 births 1723 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford Fellows of University College, Oxford People from Wakefield People educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield Historians of Christianity British historians of religion 17th-century Anglican theologians 18th-century Anglican theologians {{christianity-historian-stub