Background
Lancelot Andrewes's family was an ancient Suffolk one, his father, Thomas, became master of Trinity House.
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Lancelot Andrewes's family was an ancient Suffolk one, his father, Thomas, became master of Trinity House.
Andrewes attended the Cooper's free school, Ratcliff, in the parish of Stepney and then the Merchant Taylors' School under Richard Mulcaster. In 1571 he entered Pembroke Hall, Cambridge and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, proceeding to a Master of Arts degree in 1578.
After a residence in the north as chaplain to Henry Hastings, earl of Huntingdon, President of the North, he was made vicar of St Giles's, Cripplegate, in 1588, and there delivered his striking sermons on the temptation in the wilderness and the Lord's prayer.
In a great sermon on the ioth of April (Easter week) 1588, he stoutly vindicated the Protestantism of the Church of England against the Romanists, and, oddly enough, adduced " Mr Calvin " as a new writer, with lavish praise and affection.
From 1589 to 1609 he was also prebendary of Southwell.
On the 4th of March 1590, as one of the chaplains of Queen Elizabeth, he preached before her a singularly outspoken sermon, and in October gave his introductory lecture at St Paul's, undertaking to comment on the first four chapters of Genesis.
These seem to have been worked up later into a compilation called The Orphan Lectures (1657).
He delighted to move among the people, and yet found time to meet with a society of antiquaries, of which Raleigh, Sidney, Burleigh, Arundel, the Herberts, Saville, Stow and Camden were members.
In 1598 he declined the two bishoprics of Ely and Salisbury, as the offers were coupled with a proposal to alienate part of the revenues of those sees.
On the 23rd of November 1600 he preached at Whitehall a remarkable sermon on justification, which gave rise to a memorable controversy.
On the 4th of July 1601 he was appointed dean of Westminster and gave much attention to the school there.
He assisted at the coronation of James I and in 1604 took part in the Hampton Court conference.
His name is the first on the list of divines appointed to make the authorized version of the Bible.
In 1609 he published Tortura Torti, a learned work which grew out of the Gunpowder.
Another work, Pattern of Catechistical Doctrine, based on lectures he delivered at Pembroke Hall, was also published posthumously, in 1630.
His learning enabled him to engage in the controversy, on behalf of James I, with Cardinal Bellarmine on the question of the Roman claims.
Andrewes wrote two works for this purpose--Tortura Torti (1609) and Responsio ad Apologiam Cardinalis Bellarmini (1610).
This became a norm of Anglican apologetics for future ages.
Andrewes also took part in the Hampton Court Conference in 1604, which was a meeting between the English bishops and the Puritan leaders to consider the Puritan demands for reform in the Church.
Andrewes, who was bishop of Winchester at the time of his death, died there on September 26, 1626.
By his appeal to the early Christian Church, Andrewes demonstrated that the Church of England had its own theology and historical continuity, and he thus established its claim to be a true part of the universal church--the Church Catholic.
As a bishop Andrewes held a high view of the episcopal office; he was generous and hospitable, and no rumor of criticism of his administration has survived.
He was concerned with the restoration of decency and order to the worship of the Church, but he was unwilling to enforce his views.