THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF SAINT PETER IN EXETER THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF SAINT PETER IN EXETER
BIOGRAPHICAL HIGHLIGHTS
Born Exeter (Heavitree) about Easter, 1554
Attended Exeter Grammar School, c. 1562-69
Student, tutor and fellow at Corpus Christi, Oxford, 1569-84
Ordained by Bishop of London, 14 August, 1579
Preached at Paul's Cross, London, 1584
Rector, St. Mary's Drayton Beauchamp, 1584-85
Appointed Master of Temple Church, March, 1585
Married Jean Churchman, 13 February, 1588
Subdean of Salisbury Cathedral and Rector, St. Andrew's Boscomb, 1591-95
Published first four Books of Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, 1593
Rector, St. Mary's Bishopsbourne, 1695-1600
Published Book V of Laws, 1597
Died, November 3, 1600 at Bishopsbourne
Books VI and VIII of Laws published posthumously in 1648; Book VII in 1662
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(1554-1600)
Richard Hooker is one of most influential sons of Exeter and Devon. The other is the better-known, Sir Walter Raleigh. The only outdoor statue of Hooker in the world is here in our Cathedral close. (See picture below.) Hooker is important because he was the co-founder (with Thomas Cranmer, the author of The Book of Common Prayer) of the Anglican religious tradition which started here in England during the Reformation and today has over 70 million members around the world. Hooker is the closest counterpart in the Anglican-Episcopal denomination to Luther for Lutherans or Calvin for Presbyterians or Wesley for Methodists.
Hooker's great writing which explains and defends every aspect of Anglican worship and religious theory and practice is called Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. It is still required reading in seminaries all over the world. Hooker is also famous as a literary figure. His Elizabethan prose style is regarded as so important that excerpts from his books are still included in anthologies of English literature. He is also important as an early proponent of the Anglo-American system of constitutional law. His writings on law are, in fact, some of the most profound ever written in the English language.
Hooker was born in 1554 in the village of Heavitree, just a few miles to the east of the city. His father, Roger, was a steward to some of the great families in Devon including the Carews, whose estates in Ireland he managed for much of his adult life. Richard was raised by his wealthy and famous uncle, John Hooker, who was Chamberlain of Exeter and one of the earliest historians in England. The Hookers were a prominent and wealthy family here in Exeter, serving as mayors and members of parliament for more than a century before Richard's birth. The Hooker home, where Richard spent many days visiting as a small boy, was adjacent to the Cathedral, next door to St. Mary Major church, which was torn down in 1971.
Richard attended Grammar school here in Exeter and then at age 15 went to Corpus Christi College, Oxford under the patronage of Bishop John Jewel of Salisbury. At Oxford, he excelled in his studies and soon became a tutor to the sons of many important English families. He came to the attention of Queen Elizabeth who appointed him as Master (rector) of the Temple Church in London. That church was, except for St Paul's, the most important in London because it was where lawyers, judges, and many members of parliament attended. In his sermons at the Temple Church, Hooker worked out the ideas that he would later write out more fully in his book.
Hooker's major idea was that the church should be a broad, tolerant, inclusive body - a via media between Roman Catholicism and the more extreme forms of Protestantism - in which as many as possible could worship God. He emphasized the importance of corporate worship and reading of the Bible. He stressed the Sacrament of Holy Communion as the best way for the believer to participate with Christ in God's Incarnation.
In 1588, the year of the Armada, Hooker made a very fortunate marriage to a wealthy, precocious young woman named Joan Churchman. Her father, John Churchman, was one of the leading merchants of London with a large home next door to St. Paul's Cathedral. He provided handsomely for his daughter and son-in-law, assuring Hooker the financial security he needed to pursue his career as a writer. Richard and Joan had six children, only two of whom survived beyond the age of 21. He died on November 3rd at Bishopsbourne in Kent, just a few miles south of Canterbury. He had been named vicar there by the Queen in 1595. Hooker is honoured with a special prayer throughout the Anglican world each year on the anniversary of his death.
Shortly after Hooker died he became even more famous than he was while alive. The Pope, learning that he was dead said that when the entire world ended, Hooker's ideas would remain. King James I read Hooker's writings, had his sons tutored in his works, and began a tradition of Hooker study that soon made Hooker the premier theologian of the Anglicanism.
Hooker's statue on the Cathedral Green
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NOTE: Of possible interest to Americans:
Richard Hooker is not related to your Civil War General Joe Hooker or to the Congregationalist, Thomas Hooker, who founded your State of Connecticut.
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These notes were prepared by Philip B. Secor, author of Richard Hooker Prophet of Anglicanism. London: Burns & Oates, 1999 and The Sermons of Richard Hooker: A Modern Edition. London, SPCK, 2001
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