Andrewes, Lancelot [key], 1555–1626, Anglican divine, bishop of Chichester (1605), Ely (1609), and Winchester (1619). One of the most learned men of his time (his knowledge encompassed 16 centuries of Christian culture and he knew 15 modern and six ancient languages), he was among the first to be selected to create what became the Church of England's Authorized Version of the Bible (the King James Version). He was royal chaplain to Elizabeth I, James I, and Charles I. His preaching gained him great favor with King James. The great theologian of the High Church party of the 17th cent., Andrewes was opposed to Puritanism, his position being somewhat similar to that of Laud. His XCVI Sermons were edited (1629) by bishops Laud and Buckeridge; his Private Devotions, translated (1647) from his prayers in Greek and Latin, passed through a number of editions. Richard Crashaw, the poet, paid him a beautiful tribute in “Upon Bishop Andrewes' Picture before His Sermons,” and Milton, a Puritan, wrote a Latin elegy on his death.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Protestant Christianity: Biographies
