Thomas Sampson
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Thomas Sampson (c. 1517–1589) was an English
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 ...
theologian. A Marian exile, he was one of the
Geneva Bible The Geneva Bible, sometimes known by the sobriquet Breeches Bible, is one of the most historically significant translations of the Bible into English, preceding the Douay Rheims Bible by 22 years, and the King James Version by 51 years. It was ...
translators. On his return to England, he had trouble with conformity to the
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
practices. With Laurence Humphrey, he played a leading part in the
vestments controversy The vestments controversy or vestarian controversy arose in the English Reformation, ostensibly concerning vestments or clerical dress. Initiated by John Hooper (bishop), John Hooper's rejection of clergy, clerical vestments in the Church of En ...
, a division along religious party lines in the early years of the reign of
Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...
.


Life

He was said to have been born at Playford, Suffolk, but possibly came from Binfield in Berkshire.Alec Ryrie, ‘Sampson, Thomas (c.1517–1589)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 25 Feb 2011
/ref> He was educated at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge. In 1547 he joined the
Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...
. He married a niece of
Hugh Latimer Hugh Latimer ( – 16 October 1555) was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and Bishop of Worcester during the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555 under the Catholic Queen Mary I he was burned at the ...
; Latimer and Sampson influenced the conversion of
John Bradford John Bradford (1510–1555) was an English English Reformation, Reformer, prebendary of Old St Paul's Cathedral, St. Paul's, and martyr. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for alleged crimes against Queen Mary I. He was burned at the stak ...
, a Marian Protestant martyr. He has been described as ''perhaps the most eloquent of all the new generation of evangelical preachers''. After Sampson's conversion to
Protestantism 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 ...
in 1551, he became rector of All Hallows, Bread Street, London. When the dean of Chichester, Bartholomew Traheron, resigned in December 1552, he recommended Sampson to succeed him, calling him ''a preacher … of such integrity as I would be glad to see placed here'' and he was duly preferred to the post the following February. However Sampson was never installed: Mary Tudor's accession intervened. His arrest was ordered as early as August 1553, however, he did not move out of the country until May 1554 when he went to Strasburg. His successor as rector at All Hallows, Laurence Saunders, was burned at the stake. Sampson was strongly anti-Catholic throughout the rest of his life. He communicated to his parishioners his distaste for Catholic prayers for the dead.


Elizabethan era

He did not return immediately upon Elizabeth's accession, waiting until 1560. In that year he became canon of Durham, and in 1561
Dean of Christ Church, Oxford The Dean of Christ Church is the dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and head of the governing body of Christ Church, a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England Diocese of ...
. In the controversy over clerical dress,
Matthew Parker Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 to his death. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with Thomas Cranmer ...
ordered the Anglican clergy to wear
surplice A surplice (; Late Latin ''superpelliceum'', from ''super'', "over" and ''pellicia'', "fur garment") is a liturgical vestment of Western Christianity. The surplice is in the form of a tunic of white linen or cotton fabric, reaching to the kn ...
and caps. Sampson attempted to give the debate a broader Protestant dimension, involving correspondence with
Heinrich Bullinger Heinrich Bullinger (18 July 1504 – 17 September 1575) was a Swiss Reformer and theologian, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Church of Zürich and a pastor at the Grossmünster. One of the most important leaders of the Swiss Re ...
. He was ultimately unsuccessful, since Bullinger sided with Parker. The
Court of High Commission A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts gene ...
ruled against Sampson, after summoning him in 1565. He was deprived of his position as Dean, despite being thought a very effective administrator. He subsequently held other positions. He was
prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...
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 ...
in 1570. He became Master of Whittington College. The old College of St. Spirit and St. Mary and almshouse set up by
Richard Whittington Richard Whittington ( March 1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal,Will of Richard Whittington: " I leave to my executors named below the entire tenement in which I live in the parish of St. Michael Paternoster Royal, Londo/ ...
at St. Michael Paternoster Royal had been shut down, first by Edward VI and then for good by Elizabeth, but he lectured there regularly. The spectacular case of Peter Birchet, who wounded John Hawkins in 1573, mistaking him for
Christopher Hatton Sir Christopher Hatton (12 December 1540 – 20 November 1591) was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England. He was one of the judges who found Mary, Queen of Scots guilty of treason. Early ...
, brought attention to Sampson, since Birchet had heard him preach on the morning of the attack. Afflicted by bad health, Sampson gave that post up. He was then appointed Master of the Hospital of William de Wygston, at Leicester. Sampson continued to argue his position. He prepared a summary of
Martin Bucer Martin Bucer (; Early German: ; 11 November 1491– 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Anglican doctrines and practices as well as Reformed Theology. Bucer was originally a memb ...
's ''De Regno Christi'', which he passed to Lord Burghley during the 1570s. He died in Leicester in 1589, and was buried in St. Ursula's Chapel, attached to the Hospital, where his sons erected a memorial to him.Basil Hall, ''Martin Bucer in England'', in David F. Wright, ''Martin Bucer: Reforming Church and Community'' (1994), p. 158. He had a daughter, Anne.


References

* Benjamin Brook (1813), ''The Lives of the Puritans'', pp. 375–384


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Thomas 1517 births 1589 deaths Deans of Christ Church, Oxford Deans of Chichester 16th-century English Puritan ministers Marian exiles 16th-century English theologians English expatriates in Switzerland 16th-century Anglican theologians