William Bishop
Encyclopedia
William Bishop was the first Roman Catholic
bishop after the English Reformation
. Officially, he was the titular
bishop of Chalcedon, his territory included all of England
, Wales
and Scotland
.
Roman Catholicism had been banned in England in 1559. William Bishop was appointed bishop over the whole of England, Wales and Scotland in 1623. As Roman Catholicism was officially illegal in England at the time, his title was bishop of Chalcedon. He arrived in England secretly on 31 July 1623 at age 70 and had to walk 12 miles to find refuge. He identified and selected 20 archdeacon
s to take charge over geographical districts. He is the only recorded Bishop Bishop.
in Warwickshire
in or about 1554. He was sent to the University of Oxford
aged 16 around 1570. After remaining there three or four years he settled his paternal estate, which was considerable, on his younger brother, and went over to the English College at Rheims, where he began his theological studies; he then spent time at Rome. He then returned to Rheims, was ordained priest at Loan in May 1583, and was sent on the English mission.
Arrested on his landing, he was taken before secretary Francis Walsingham
and was imprisoned in the Marshalsea
with other priests. Towards the close of the year 1584 he was released, and went to Paris, where he studied for several years, and was made a licentiate of divinity. He returned to England on the mission, 15 May 1591; after about two years he returned to Paris to complete the degree of D.D., and then came back to England.
Bishop was drawn into the Archpriest Controversy. When a dispute arose between George Blackwell
, the archpriest, and a number of his clergy, who appealed against him for maladministration and exceeding his commission, Bishop and John Charnock were sent to Rome by their brethren to remonstrate against him. On their arrival they were both taken into custody by order of Cardinal Henry Cajetan, the protector of the English nation, who had been informed that they were turbulent persons and the head of a factious party. They were confined in the English College, Rome under the inspection of Robert Parsons, the jesuit. After a time they regained their liberty and returned to England.
English Catholics in the new King James's reign were faced by a novel oath of allegiance
. In the subsequent troubles Bishop was committed to the Gatehouse Prison
; he and twelve other priests had declared civil allegiance, published by them in the last year of Queen Elizabeth's reign. He was examined on 4 May 1611, when he said he was opposed to the Jesuits, but declined to take the oath of allegiance, as Blackwell and others had done, because he wished to uphold the credit of the secular priests at Rome, and to get the English College there out of the hands of the Jesuits. On being again set at liberty he went to Paris and joined the small community of controversial writers which had been formed in Arras College
.
According to the Catholic view, the episcopal hierarchy in England had come to an end when Thomas Goldwell
died. the holy see had been frequently importuned to appoint a bishop for England. William Bishop became vicar-apostolic and bishop-elect of Chalcedon in February 1623. In the following month a papal bull
was issued for his consecration, followed almost immediately by a brief, conferring on him episcopal jurisdiction over the Catholics of England and Scotland. Thus Bishop had ordinary jurisdiction over the Catholics of England and Scotland, but it was revocable at the pleasure of the pope; in the language of the Papal Curia he was vicar-apostolic with ordinary jurisdiction. He instituted a dean and a chapter as a standing council for his own assistance, with power, during the vacancy of the see, to exercise episcopal ordinary jurisdiction. The appointment of this chapter, in time known as the Old Chapter
, was a controversial matter, dividing the secular priests from the regular clergy
.
Bishop was consecrated at Paris on 4 June 1623, and he landed at Dover
on 31 July. The summer he spent in administering the sacrament of confirmation to the catholics in and near London. He passed most of the winter in retirement; falling sick at the residence of Sir Basil Brook, at Bishop's-court near London, he died on 13 April 1624.
His post was filled by Father Richard Smith
.
In the second part of Thomas Scott
's ‘Vox Populi, or Newes from Spayne’ (1624), there is an illustration of Bishop presiding at a meeting of the ‘Iesuits and prists: as they vse to sitt at Counsell in England to further ye Catholicke Cause.’
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
bishop after the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. Officially, he was the titular
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
bishop of Chalcedon, his territory included all of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Roman Catholicism had been banned in England in 1559. William Bishop was appointed bishop over the whole of England, Wales and Scotland in 1623. As Roman Catholicism was officially illegal in England at the time, his title was bishop of Chalcedon. He arrived in England secretly on 31 July 1623 at age 70 and had to walk 12 miles to find refuge. He identified and selected 20 archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
s to take charge over geographical districts. He is the only recorded Bishop Bishop.
Life
The son of John Bishop, who died in 1601 at the age of 92, he was born at BrailesBrailes
Brailes is a civil parish about east of Shipston-on-Stour in Warwickshire, England. It comprises the two villages of Lower and Upper Brailes but is often referred to as one village as the two adjoin each other...
in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
in or about 1554. He was sent to the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
aged 16 around 1570. After remaining there three or four years he settled his paternal estate, which was considerable, on his younger brother, and went over to the English College at Rheims, where he began his theological studies; he then spent time at Rome. He then returned to Rheims, was ordained priest at Loan in May 1583, and was sent on the English mission.
Arrested on his landing, he was taken before secretary Francis Walsingham
Francis Walsingham
Sir Francis Walsingham was Principal Secretary to Elizabeth I of England from 1573 until 1590, and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence methods both for espionage and for domestic security...
and was imprisoned in the Marshalsea
Marshalsea
The Marshalsea was a prison on the south bank of the River Thames in Southwark, now part of London. From the 14th century until it closed in 1842, it housed men under court martial for crimes at sea, including those accused of "unnatural crimes", political figures and intellectuals accused of...
with other priests. Towards the close of the year 1584 he was released, and went to Paris, where he studied for several years, and was made a licentiate of divinity. He returned to England on the mission, 15 May 1591; after about two years he returned to Paris to complete the degree of D.D., and then came back to England.
Bishop was drawn into the Archpriest Controversy. When a dispute arose between George Blackwell
George Blackwell
Father George Blackwell was Roman Catholic Archpriest of England from 1597 to 1608.-Biography:Blackwell was born in Middlesex, England about 1545, perhaps the son of the pewterer Thomas Blackwell. He was admitted as a scholar to Trinity College, Oxford on 27 May 1562...
, the archpriest, and a number of his clergy, who appealed against him for maladministration and exceeding his commission, Bishop and John Charnock were sent to Rome by their brethren to remonstrate against him. On their arrival they were both taken into custody by order of Cardinal Henry Cajetan, the protector of the English nation, who had been informed that they were turbulent persons and the head of a factious party. They were confined in the English College, Rome under the inspection of Robert Parsons, the jesuit. After a time they regained their liberty and returned to England.
English Catholics in the new King James's reign were faced by a novel oath of allegiance
Oath of Allegiance of James I of England
The Oath of Allegiance of 1606 was an oath required of subjects of James I of England from 1606, the year after the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 ; it was also called the Oath of Obedience . Whatever effect it had on the loyalty of his subjects, it caused an international controversy lasting a...
. In the subsequent troubles Bishop was committed to the Gatehouse Prison
Gatehouse Prison
Gatehouse Prison was a prison in Westminster, built in 1370 as the gatehouse of Westminster Abbey and first used as a prison by the Abbot, a powerful churchman who held considerable power over the precincts and sanctuary...
; he and twelve other priests had declared civil allegiance, published by them in the last year of Queen Elizabeth's reign. He was examined on 4 May 1611, when he said he was opposed to the Jesuits, but declined to take the oath of allegiance, as Blackwell and others had done, because he wished to uphold the credit of the secular priests at Rome, and to get the English College there out of the hands of the Jesuits. On being again set at liberty he went to Paris and joined the small community of controversial writers which had been formed in Arras College
Arras College
Arras College was a Catholic foundation in Paris, a house of higher studies associated with the University of Paris, set up in 1611. It was intended for English priests, and had a function as a House of Writers, or apologetical college...
.
According to the Catholic view, the episcopal hierarchy in England had come to an end when Thomas Goldwell
Thomas Goldwell
Thomas Goldwell was an English bishop, the last of those who had refused to accept the English Reformation.-Life:He began his career as rector of Cheriton in 1532, after graduating BA and then MA at All Souls College, Oxford.He became chaplain to Cardinal Pole and lived with him at Rome, was...
died. the holy see had been frequently importuned to appoint a bishop for England. William Bishop became vicar-apostolic and bishop-elect of Chalcedon in February 1623. In the following month a papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
was issued for his consecration, followed almost immediately by a brief, conferring on him episcopal jurisdiction over the Catholics of England and Scotland. Thus Bishop had ordinary jurisdiction over the Catholics of England and Scotland, but it was revocable at the pleasure of the pope; in the language of the Papal Curia he was vicar-apostolic with ordinary jurisdiction. He instituted a dean and a chapter as a standing council for his own assistance, with power, during the vacancy of the see, to exercise episcopal ordinary jurisdiction. The appointment of this chapter, in time known as the Old Chapter
Old Chapter
The Old Chapter was the body in effective control of the Roman Catholic Church in England, from 1623 to 1850 .-Origin:...
, was a controversial matter, dividing the secular priests from the regular clergy
Regular clergy
Regular clergy, or just regulars, is applied in the Roman Catholic Church to clerics who follow a "rule" in their life. Strictly, it means those members of religious orders who have made solemn profession. It contrasts with secular clergy.-Terminology and history:The observance of the Rule of St...
.
Bishop was consecrated at Paris on 4 June 1623, and he landed at Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
on 31 July. The summer he spent in administering the sacrament of confirmation to the catholics in and near London. He passed most of the winter in retirement; falling sick at the residence of Sir Basil Brook, at Bishop's-court near London, he died on 13 April 1624.
His post was filled by Father Richard Smith
Father Richard Smith
Richard Smith , , was the second Bishop over England, Wales and Scotland after Catholicism was banned in England in 1559. He followed Father William Bishop who died in 1624.-Early life:Richard Smith was born in Lincolnshire, England...
.
Works
His works are:- ‘Reformation of a Catholic deformed by Will. Perkins,’ 2. parts, 1604–7.
- ‘A Reproofe of M. Doct. Abbot's Defence of the Catholike Deformed by M. W. Perkins. Wherein his sundry abuses of Gods sacred word, and most manifold mangling, misaplying, and falsifying the auncient Fathers sentences, be so plainely discouered, euen to the eye of euery indifferent reader, that whosouer hath any due care of his owne saluation, can neuer hereafter giue him more credit, in matter of faith and religion,’ 2 parts, Lond. 1608.
- ‘Disproof of Dr. R. Abbots counter-proof against Dr. Bishops reproof of the defence of Mr. Perkins' reform. Cath.,’ Paris 1614, part i.
- ‘Defence of the King's honour and his title to the Kingdom of England.’
- Pieces concerning the archpriest's jurisdiction.
- Preface to John Pits's book, ‘De illustribus Angliæ Scriptoribus,’ Paris, 1619.
- ‘An Account of the Faction and Disturbances in the Castle of Wisbech, occasioned by Father Weston, a Jesuit,’ manuscript.
In the second part of Thomas Scott
Thomas Scott (preacher)
Thomas Scott was an English preacher, a radical Protestant known for anti-Spanish and anti-Catholic pamphlets.-Life:He was born about 1580, and occurs as one of the chaplains to James I in 1616, being then B.D...
's ‘Vox Populi, or Newes from Spayne’ (1624), there is an illustration of Bishop presiding at a meeting of the ‘Iesuits and prists: as they vse to sitt at Counsell in England to further ye Catholicke Cause.’