William Sancroft (30 January 1617 – 24 November 1693), was the 79th
Archbishop of CanterburyAlso see Leaders of ChristianityThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the see that churches must be in communion with in order to be...
.
Life
Sancroft was born at
FressingfieldFressingfield is a small village in Suffolk, England, located 12 miles east of Diss, Norfolk and the A140 and just 40 minutes drive from the coast at Southwold. It has a population of over 900, With 2 shops: Fressingfield Stores and The Pottery, a Medical Centre and 3 churches with Anglican,...
in
SuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, son of Francis Sandcroft (1580-1647) and Margaret Sandcroft née Butcher (1594-1631). He was educated at Bury St Edmunds school before being admitted to
Emmanuel College, CambridgeEmmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
in September 1633 and matriculating there in 1634. He became M.A. in 1641 and fellow in 1642, but was ejected in 1649 for refusing to accept the "Engagement." He then remained abroad till the
RestorationThe English Restoration, often shortened to the Restoration, began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Commonwealth of England that followed the English Civil War...
, after which he was chosen one of the university preachers, and in 1663 was nominated to the deanery of York. He became
Dean of St Paul'sThe Dean of St Paul's is the head of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London, England and an extremely influential position in the Church of England. The current Dean is Graeme Knowles, formerly Bishop of Sodor and Man. He was installed on 1 October 2007...
in 1664, greatly assisting with the rebuilding after the
Great Fire of LondonThe Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
, towards which he contributed £1400. He also rebuilt the deanery, and improved its revenue.
In 1668 he was admitted
archdeacon of CanterburyThe Archdeacon of Canterbury is an office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury in the Church of England. Like other archdeacons, he or she is an administrator in the diocese at large and is a Canon Residentiary of the cathedral.Furthermore, the Archdeacon of Canterbury has an additional role beyond...
upon the king's presentation, but he resigned the post in 1670. In 1677, being now prolocutor of the
ConvocationThe Convocation of the English Clergy is a synodical assembly of the Church of England consisting of bishops and clergy. Since the church is divided into two provinces, there are properly speaking two convocations, the Convocation of Canterbury and the Convocation of York...
, he was unexpectedly advanced to the archbishopric of Canterbury. He attended
Charles IICharles II was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father King Charles I was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War. The English Parliament did not proclaim Charles II king at this time. Instead they passed a statute making such a...
upon his deathbed, and "made to him a very weighty exhortation, in which he used a good degree of freedom." He crowned King James II in 1685. Sancroft wrote with his own hand the petition presented in 1687 against the reading of the
Declaration of IndulgenceThe Declaration of Indulgence was made by King Charles II of Great Britain, on the April 4, 1687. It was a first step at establishing freedom of religion in England. It was later revised, by King James II, on April 27, 1688 to include further text...
, which was signed by himself and six of his suffragans (collectively known as the
Seven Bishopsthumb|200px|A portrait of the Seven Bishops.The Seven Bishops were seven bishops of the Church of England. When James II issued his second Declaration of Indulgence in 1688 - which granted expansive religious freedoms by suspending penal laws enforcing conformity to the Church of England, allowing...
). For this they were all committed to the
Tower of LondonHer Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London , is a historic fortress and scheduled monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames...
, but were acquitted.
Nonjuring schism
Upon the withdrawal of
James IIJames II & VII was King of England and Ireland as James II, and Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
he concurred with the
LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons , and the Lords...
in a declaration to the
Prince of OrangeWilliam III was a sovereign Prince of Orange by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland, and as William II over Scotland...
for a free parliament, and due indulgence to the Protestant dissenters. But, when that prince and his consort were declared king and queen, he
refused to take the oathThe nonjuring schism was a split in the Church of England in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, over whether William of Orange and his wife Mary could legally be recognised as King and Queen of England.-History:...
to them, and was accordingly suspended and deprived in 1690.
Many years after it was composed,
John OverallJohn Overall , the 38th bishop of the see of Norwich from 1618 until his death one year later. He had previously served as Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield , as Dean of St Pauls Cathedral from 1601, as Master of Catharine Hall from 1598, and as Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University...
's
Convocation Book was published by Sancroft, to justify the
principles of his
Nonjuring partyThe nonjuring schism was a split in the Church of England in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, over whether William of Orange and his wife Mary could legally be recognised as King and Queen of England.-History:...
. The book was “on the subject of
Government, the divine institution of which was very positively asserted.” It consisted partly of canons and partly of introductory and explanatory dissertations on the matter of the canons and had been duly sanctioned in the
Convocation of 1610. It was, however, a strange oversight in Sancroft's party to publish the book, as there are several canons in it which clearly lay down that a de facto government is, when completely established, to be held in the light of a de jure government; and it was upon the very grounds set forth in this book that Dr. Sherlock took the oaths to King William.
Sancroft was a patron of
Henry WhartonHenry Wharton was an English writer and librarian.-Life:He was descended from Thomas, 2nd Baron Wharton , being a son of the Rev. Edmund Wharton, vicar of Worstead, Norfolk. Born at Worstead, Wharton was educated by his father, and then at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge...
(1664-1695), the divine and church historian, to whom on his deathbed he entrusted his manuscripts and the remains of
Archbishop LaudArchbishop William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism...
(published in 1695). From 5 August 1691 till his death two years later, he lived a very retired life in his home village. He was buried in the churchyard of Fressingfield, where there is a Latin epitaph to his memory.