William Edward Addis, also known as Edward Addis and William Addis, (9 May 1844 – 20 February 1917) was a Scottish-born

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n colonial

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 ...

. He was born in Edinburgh, Mid-Lothian, Scotland, and was

Snell Exhibitioner The Snell Exhibition is an annual scholarship awarded to students of the University of Glasgow to allow them to undertake postgraduate study at Balliol College, Oxford. The award was founded by the bequest of Sir John Snell in a will made in 167 ...

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

. He matriculated on 12 October 1861, and took a first class in

Classical Moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ...

in 1863, and a first class in the final classical schools in 1865. He took his B.A. degree in 1866, and very shortly afterwards became a convert to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and a member of the congregation of St. Philip Neri at the

Brompton Oratory Brompton Oratory, also known as the London Oratory, is a neo-classical late-Victorian Catholic parish church in the Brompton area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, neighbouring Knightsbridge, London. Its name stems from Oratorian ...

. He left the Oratory, and became priest in charge of

Lower Sydenham Sydenham () is a district of south-east London, England, which is shared between the London boroughs of Lewisham, Bromley and Southwark. Prior to the creation of the County of London in 1889, Sydenham was located in Kent, bordering Surrey. Histo ...

. In 1888 he resigned the priesthood, after issuing a circular to his parishioners announcing his abjuration of Roman Catholic

doctrines Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymolo ...

, and was married, at St. John's,

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, to Miss Mary Rachel Flood. At the end of the year he accepted the post of assistant to the Rev.

Charles Strong Charles Strong (26 September 1844 – 12 February 1942) was a Scottish-born Australian preacher and first minister of the Australian Church. Early life Strong was the third son of the Rev. David Strong and Margaret Paterson, ''née'' Roxburg ...

, of the Australian Church,

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. There was a strained relationship between Addis and Strong, the former was conservative and fond of ceremony. Addis did not seek reappointment and left Australia early in 1893. Addis was then minister of the

High Pavement Chapel High Pavement Chapel is a redundant church building in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It is now the Pitcher and Piano public house and is Grade II listed. It was built as, and for most of its existence operated as, a Unitarian place of w ...

(Unitarian), Nottingham, from 1893 to 1898. In 1899 he became professor of Old Testament criticism in Manchester College, Oxford, and in 1900 also Master of Addis Hall, a

private hall of the University of Oxford The private halls of the University of Oxford were educational institutions within the University. They were introduced by the statute ''De aulis privatis'' ("On private halls") in 1855 to provide a less expensive alternative to the colleges and ...

. He left Oxford in 1910 to become Vicar of All Saints, Ennismore Gardens in London. Addis was the author of ''

Anglicanism 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 ...

and the Fathers'', ''Anglican Misrepresentation'', and of the "Catholic Dictionary" (London, 1883) compiled in conjunction with

Thomas Arnold Thomas Arnold (13 June 1795 – 12 June 1842) was an English educator and historian. He was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. As headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841, he introduced several reforms that were widel ...

,. Mr. Addis has published some articles on

Biblical criticism Modern Biblical criticism (as opposed to pre-Modern criticism) is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible without appealing to the supernatural. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical c ...

, displaying an acquaintance with the more advanced school of

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theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

s of his time. He died on 20 February 1917 in Twickenham, London, England.

References

External links

*
A Catholic dictionary, by W.E. Addis and T. Arnold
digitized copy {{DEFAULTSORT:Addis, William Edward 1844 births 1917 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Masters of private halls of the University of Oxford Converts to Calvinism from Roman Catholicism Laicized Roman Catholic priests