Stephen Charnock (1628 – 27 July 1680),

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

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 ...

, was an English Puritan

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

born at the St Katherine Cree parish of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Life

Charnock studied at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

, where he was converted to the Christian faith, beginning his spiritual journey as a

. After leaving the college, he possibly held a position as either a private teacher or tutor, then moved on to become a minister of the faith in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

for a short time, converting individuals to Christianity. He continued on to

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, where he earned a fellowship and gained a position as senior proctor In 1656, Charnock moved to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

where he became a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Henry Cromwell Henry Cromwell (20 January 1628 – 23 March 1674) was the fourth son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier, and an important figure in the Parliamentarian regime in Ireland. Biography Early life Henry Cromwell was born at Huntingdon on ...

, governor of Ireland. In

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, he began a regular ministry of preaching to other believers. Those who came to hear him were from different classes of society and differing denominations, and he became widely known for the skill by which he discharged his duties. In 1660, the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

of England was restored after its brief time as the

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...

, and Charles II ascended the throne of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Due to new restrictions, Charnock was now legally prevented from practicing public ministry in Ireland, and in England where he returned. Nevertheless, he continued to study and to minister in non-public ways. Charnock began a co-pastorship at Crosby Hall in London in 1675; this was his last official place of ministry before his death in 1680.

Works

Nearly all of the numerous writings attributed to him were transcribed after his death. Charnock's theological fame rests chiefly in his ''Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God'', a series of lectures delivered to the members of his congregation at Crosby Hall; unfortunately, however, the ''Discourses'' were cut short by Charnock's death in 1680. The treatise is preserved today as ''The Existence and Attributes of God'', first published posthumously in 1682.

References

* *Richard L. Greaves, ‘Charnock, Stephen (1628–1680)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 4 Dec 2016
/ref>

External links

Sermons by Stephen Charnock and othersStephen Charnock Project
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Charnock, Stephen 1628 births 1680 deaths Ejected English ministers of 1662 Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Alumni of New College, Oxford Converts to Christianity English Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Irish Congregationalist ministers 17th-century English Presbyterian ministers 17th-century Protestant theologians

Life

Works

References

Further reading

External links