Henry Leslie (bishop)
Encyclopedia
Henry Leslie was a Scottishman who became the Church of Ireland
Bishop of Down and Connor
from 1635 to 1661 and briefly Bishop of Meath
from January to April 1661.
, born at Leslie, Fife
in 1580. The father, apparently a Catholic, was the second surviving son of George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes
. Henry Leslie was educated at Aberdeen
, and went to Ireland in 1614, where he was ordained priest 8 April 1617. He became prebendary of Connor in 1619, and rector of Muckamore in 1622, in which year he was selected by Primate Christopher Hampton
to preach at Drogheda
on Whit Sunday before the royal commissioners. The sermon was printed next year at Hampton's request, as 'a treatise tending to unity'; Leslie had proposed that no one should be allowed to go beyond seas for education, and that no popish schoolmaster should be allowed at home.
Leslie did curate's duty at Drogheda from 1622 to 1626. He preached before Charles I at Windsor
on 9 July 1625, and at Oxford
the same year; and on 30 October, being then one of his majesty's chaplains in ordinary, he delivered 'a warning to Israel' in Christ Church, Dublin, dedicated to Lord-deputy Falkland.
In 1627 Leslie again preached before the king at Woking
, and in the same year he was made dean
of Down
. In 1628 he was made precentor of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, three other livings being added to the dignity, and in 1632 he became treasurer also, and he seems to have held all these preferments in addition to his deanery.
In the Irish convocation of 1634 Leslie was prolocutor of the Lower House, and came into immediate contact with Lord-deputy Wentworth
. In Irish church politics he belonged to the party of John Bramhall
rather than to that of James Ussher
. Leslie was consecrated bishop of Down and Connor in St. Peter's Church, Drogheda, on 4 October 1635, when he resigned his other preferments, except the prebend of Mullaghbrack in Armagh. During the six years which elapsed between the consecration and the beginning of the great rebellion, Laslie was chiefly engaged in conflicts with the presbyterian Ulster Scots, becoming a member of the high commission court in February 1636. In May he preached at Newtownards
on the death of Hugh Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery, and in July he held his primary visitation at Lisburn
. Five ministers, including Viscount Clandeboye
's nephew, James Hamilton
, there refused subscription to the new canons. Urged on by Bramhall, he preached at Belfast
on 10 August on the text, 'If he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.' This sermon, in defence of Anglican orders and of kneeling at the communion, was printed in the following year as A Treatise of the Authority of the Church, and dedicated to Wentworth. Leslie says that presbyterianism made most progress among women. On the day after the sermon a disputation took place between the bishop and Hamilton as spokesman for his brethren. The result was that the five ministers were deposed, the bishop expressing his sorrow at having to proceed so far. Leslie was now regarded as a champion of Laudian episcopacy, and works by John Corbet
were attributed to him.
Developments in Scotland gave confidence to presbyterians in Ulster, and on 26 September 1638 Leslie preached at Lisburn against the solemn league and covenant
; a Latin version of this sermon, entitled Examen Conjurationis Scoticae, was published by his chaplain, James Portus, in 1639. Along with his namesake, John Leslie
, Leslie was one of those who signed the petition resulting in the proclamation of 1639. This imposed the "black oath", by which every Scot, of either sex and of any age over sixteen, might be made to renounce the covenant and to swear unquestioning obedience to all the king's commands. The bishop was active in the proceedings against Robert Adeir of Ballymena, who had subscribed the covenant as a Scottish laird, and whose Irish estate was confiscated by Wentworth. Leslie found that his communications with Scotland were interrupted, and was isolated; he believed his life to be in danger. A viceregal commission giving him summary power of imprisoning those who refused to appear in his court furnished the ninth article of the impeachment of Strafford (as Wentworth had become).At the beginning of 1640 Leslie was seriously ill and was unable to attend the parliament which met on 16 March; from his sick bed he wrote a memorandum for Strafford as to the best means of increasing the royal revenues in Ulster. In the following month Strafford left Ireland, and the system which he had laboriously built up soon began to crumble away.
The Irish Rebellion of 1641
then followed, finding Leslie on 23 October 1641 at Lisburn, writing letters to Lord Montgomery for help, as the news came in of the loss of Charlemont
and Newry
, and the advance of Sir Phelim O'Neill to Tanderagee. Lisburn became the main refuge of the Antrim Protestants, and fifteen hundred men assembled in and around the bishop's house. His sons James and William both led royalist companies. North-east Ulster escaped O'Neill only to fall into the hands of the Covenanters, and Leslie lost everything, leaving for England.
He preached at Oxford on the Fast-day 9 February 1644, before a great many members of the House of Commons, and again on 27 March before some peers and many of the lower house. Afterwards he joined James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
, in Dublin. He was one of eight Anglican prelates who, on 2 August 1645, there refused to forgo the power of the keys over Roman Catholics. Ormonde surrendered Dublin to the parliament in 1647, and Leslie went abroad either before or just after the king's execution. In June 1649 he preached at Breda
on the royal martyrdom before Charles II and the Princess of Orange
; in drawing an elaborate parallel between Charles I and Jesus, Leslie compared presbyterianism and independency to the two thieves between whom Christ was crucified. The sermon was printed at the Hague and translated into Dutch, and there was an English reprint the following century.
He had an Irish pension of 120l. in 1654 and 1655; the diocese of Meath was vacant, and the exiled hierarchy made attempts to keep all sees nominally filled. Leslie was in Ireland for some time before the Restoration
, and preached in 1659 at Hillsborough
in his own diocese. The sermon, on praying with the spirit and the understanding, was printed, and the title-page describes the preacher as 'maugre all anti-Christian opposition, Bishop of Down and Connor.' There is a prefatory letter by Jeremy Taylor
; the sermon itself condemns extempore prayers. He was translated to Meath in January 1661, his friend Taylor succeeding him in Down, but he died in Dublin on 9 April, and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
, Raphoe
, and Clogher
, and died 10 August 1672. James, the second son, was taken prisoner fighting for Charles II at the battle of Worcester
; the third son, William, was also a royalist officer.
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
Bishop of Down and Connor
Bishop of Down and Connor
The Bishop of Down and Connor is an episcopal title which takes its name from the town of Downpatrick and the village of Connor in Northern Ireland...
from 1635 to 1661 and briefly Bishop of Meath
Bishop of Meath
The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric.-History:...
from January to April 1661.
Life
He was the eldest son of James Leslie and his wife, Jean Hamilton of EvandaleEvandale
Evandale may refer to:*Evandale, New Brunswick*Evandale, South Australia*Evandale, Tasmania...
, born at Leslie, Fife
Leslie, Fife
Leslie is a large village on the northern tip of the River Leven Valley, to the west of Glenrothes in Fife. According to the population estimates , the village has a population of 3,092. The village was granted burgh of barony status by James II in 1458 for George Leslie who became the first Earl...
in 1580. The father, apparently a Catholic, was the second surviving son of George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes
George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes
George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes was a Scottish nobleman and diplomat.George became Earl of Rothes after his father's death at the Battle of Flodden. The title had previously been possesed by his uncle, William Leslie, the 2nd Earl...
. Henry Leslie was educated at Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, and went to Ireland in 1614, where he was ordained priest 8 April 1617. He became prebendary of Connor in 1619, and rector of Muckamore in 1622, in which year he was selected by Primate Christopher Hampton
Christopher Hampton (archbishop)
Christopher Hampton was an Englishman who became the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh from 1613.-Life:He is called John in the printed Patent Rolls, and was born at Calais in 1552 of English parents. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduate B.A. 1572, M.A. 1575, B.D....
to preach at Drogheda
Drogheda
Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea....
on Whit Sunday before the royal commissioners. The sermon was printed next year at Hampton's request, as 'a treatise tending to unity'; Leslie had proposed that no one should be allowed to go beyond seas for education, and that no popish schoolmaster should be allowed at home.
Leslie did curate's duty at Drogheda from 1622 to 1626. He preached before Charles I at Windsor
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
on 9 July 1625, and at Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
the same year; and on 30 October, being then one of his majesty's chaplains in ordinary, he delivered 'a warning to Israel' in Christ Church, Dublin, dedicated to Lord-deputy Falkland.
Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland
Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland ; son of a Hertfordshire knight; said to have studied at Oxford; served abroad; gentleman of the bedchamber to King James I; K.B., 1608; controller of the household, 1617-21; created Viscount Falkland in the Scottish peerage, 1620; lord-deputy of Ireland, 1622;...
In 1627 Leslie again preached before the king at Woking
Woking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, and in the same year he was made dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
of Down
Down Cathedral
Down Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of Ireland cathedral located in the town of Downpatrick in Northern Ireland. It stands on Cathedral Hill overlooking the town.-History:...
. In 1628 he was made precentor of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, three other livings being added to the dignity, and in 1632 he became treasurer also, and he seems to have held all these preferments in addition to his deanery.
In the Irish convocation of 1634 Leslie was prolocutor of the Lower House, and came into immediate contact with Lord-deputy Wentworth
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1632 to 1639 he instituted a harsh rule as Lord Deputy of Ireland...
. In Irish church politics he belonged to the party of John Bramhall
John Bramhall
John Bramhall was an Archbishop of Armagh, and an Anglican theologian and apologist. He was a noted controversialist who doggedly defended the English Church from both Puritan and Roman Catholic accusations, as well as the materialism of Thomas Hobbes.-Early life:Bramhall was born in Pontefract,...
rather than to that of James Ussher
James Ussher
James Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–56...
. Leslie was consecrated bishop of Down and Connor in St. Peter's Church, Drogheda, on 4 October 1635, when he resigned his other preferments, except the prebend of Mullaghbrack in Armagh. During the six years which elapsed between the consecration and the beginning of the great rebellion, Laslie was chiefly engaged in conflicts with the presbyterian Ulster Scots, becoming a member of the high commission court in February 1636. In May he preached at Newtownards
Newtownards
Newtownards is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. Newtownards is the largest town in the Borough of Ards. According to the 2001 Census, it has a population of 27,821 people in...
on the death of Hugh Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery, and in July he held his primary visitation at Lisburn
Lisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
. Five ministers, including Viscount Clandeboye
James Hamilton, 1st Viscount Claneboye
James Hamilton, 1st Viscount Claneboye was a Scot who became owner of large tracts of land in County Down, Ireland, and founded a successful Protestant Scots settlement there several years before the Plantation of Ulster...
's nephew, James Hamilton
James Hamilton (minister)
James Hamilton was a Scottish minister of presbyterian views, active in Ireland until deposed from his living.-Life:He was second son of Gawen Hamilton, third son of Hans Hamilton, vicar of Dunlop. After receiving a liberal education at Glasgow he was appointed by his uncle, James Hamilton, 1st...
, there refused subscription to the new canons. Urged on by Bramhall, he preached at Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
on 10 August on the text, 'If he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.' This sermon, in defence of Anglican orders and of kneeling at the communion, was printed in the following year as A Treatise of the Authority of the Church, and dedicated to Wentworth. Leslie says that presbyterianism made most progress among women. On the day after the sermon a disputation took place between the bishop and Hamilton as spokesman for his brethren. The result was that the five ministers were deposed, the bishop expressing his sorrow at having to proceed so far. Leslie was now regarded as a champion of Laudian episcopacy, and works by John Corbet
John Corbet (theologian)
-Life:He was son of William Corbet, a 'portioner' of Glasgow, born about 1603. He graduated at the University of Glasgow in 1623, and after acting for some time as schoolmaster at Renfrew was ordained minister of Bonhill in 1637...
were attributed to him.
Developments in Scotland gave confidence to presbyterians in Ulster, and on 26 September 1638 Leslie preached at Lisburn against the solemn league and covenant
Solemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians. It was agreed to in 1643, during the First English Civil War....
; a Latin version of this sermon, entitled Examen Conjurationis Scoticae, was published by his chaplain, James Portus, in 1639. Along with his namesake, John Leslie
John Leslie (bishop of Clogher)
John Leslie was a combative Scottish royalist bishop of Clogher, who became known as the "fighting bishop" for his resistance to the Irish rebellion of 1641 and the parliamentarian forces.-Life:...
, Leslie was one of those who signed the petition resulting in the proclamation of 1639. This imposed the "black oath", by which every Scot, of either sex and of any age over sixteen, might be made to renounce the covenant and to swear unquestioning obedience to all the king's commands. The bishop was active in the proceedings against Robert Adeir of Ballymena, who had subscribed the covenant as a Scottish laird, and whose Irish estate was confiscated by Wentworth. Leslie found that his communications with Scotland were interrupted, and was isolated; he believed his life to be in danger. A viceregal commission giving him summary power of imprisoning those who refused to appear in his court furnished the ninth article of the impeachment of Strafford (as Wentworth had become).At the beginning of 1640 Leslie was seriously ill and was unable to attend the parliament which met on 16 March; from his sick bed he wrote a memorandum for Strafford as to the best means of increasing the royal revenues in Ulster. In the following month Strafford left Ireland, and the system which he had laboriously built up soon began to crumble away.
The Irish Rebellion of 1641
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for the Catholics living under English rule...
then followed, finding Leslie on 23 October 1641 at Lisburn, writing letters to Lord Montgomery for help, as the news came in of the loss of Charlemont
Charlemont
Charlemont is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 150 people in the 2001 Census. It is situated within the Armagh City and District Council area...
and Newry
Newry
Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...
, and the advance of Sir Phelim O'Neill to Tanderagee. Lisburn became the main refuge of the Antrim Protestants, and fifteen hundred men assembled in and around the bishop's house. His sons James and William both led royalist companies. North-east Ulster escaped O'Neill only to fall into the hands of the Covenanters, and Leslie lost everything, leaving for England.
He preached at Oxford on the Fast-day 9 February 1644, before a great many members of the House of Commons, and again on 27 March before some peers and many of the lower house. Afterwards he joined James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde PC was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the second of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom. He was the friend of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who appointeed him commander of the Cavalier forces in Ireland. From 1641 to 1647, he...
, in Dublin. He was one of eight Anglican prelates who, on 2 August 1645, there refused to forgo the power of the keys over Roman Catholics. Ormonde surrendered Dublin to the parliament in 1647, and Leslie went abroad either before or just after the king's execution. In June 1649 he preached at Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
on the royal martyrdom before Charles II and the Princess of Orange
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
; in drawing an elaborate parallel between Charles I and Jesus, Leslie compared presbyterianism and independency to the two thieves between whom Christ was crucified. The sermon was printed at the Hague and translated into Dutch, and there was an English reprint the following century.
He had an Irish pension of 120l. in 1654 and 1655; the diocese of Meath was vacant, and the exiled hierarchy made attempts to keep all sees nominally filled. Leslie was in Ireland for some time before the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, and preached in 1659 at Hillsborough
Hillsborough, County Down
Hillsborough is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland, situated from the city of Belfast. It is within the Lisburn City Council area....
in his own diocese. The sermon, on praying with the spirit and the understanding, was printed, and the title-page describes the preacher as 'maugre all anti-Christian opposition, Bishop of Down and Connor.' There is a prefatory letter by Jeremy Taylor
Jeremy Taylor
Jeremy Taylor was a clergyman in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression and was often presented as a model of prose writing...
; the sermon itself condemns extempore prayers. He was translated to Meath in January 1661, his friend Taylor succeeding him in Down, but he died in Dublin on 9 April, and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
Family
Leslie married Jane Swinton of Swinton, Peebles. Their eldest son, Robert Leslie, was successively bishop of DromoreBishop of Dromore
The Bishop of Dromore is an episcopal title which takes its name after the market town of Dromore in County Down, Northern Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church the title still continues as a separate bishopric, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bishoprics.-History:The...
, Raphoe
Bishop of Raphoe
The Bishop of Raphoe is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Raphoe in County Donegal, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric.-History:...
, and Clogher
Bishop of Clogher
The Bishop of Clogher is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Clogher in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Following the Reformation, there are now parallel apostolic successions: one of the Church of Ireland and the other of the Roman Catholic Church.-History:Clogher is one...
, and died 10 August 1672. James, the second son, was taken prisoner fighting for Charles II at the battle of Worcester
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
; the third son, William, was also a royalist officer.