John Sharp English divine, Archbishop of York

Archbishop of York

The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...

, was born at Bradford

Bradford

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

, and educated at Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...

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Biography

Sharp was ordained deacon and priest on 12 August 1667, and until 1676 was chaplain and tutor in the family of Sir Heneage Finch at Kensington House. Meanwhile he became archdeacon of Berkshire (1673), prebendary of Norwich, rector of St Giles's-in-the-Fields, and in 1681 dean of Norwich

Dean of Norwich

The Dean of Norwich is the head of the Chapter of Norwich Cathedral in Norwich, England. The current Dean is the Very Revd Graham Charles Morell Smith.*1538-1539 William Castleton, first dean*1539-1554 John Salisbury*1554-1557 John Christopherson...

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In 1686, when chaplain to James II

James II of England

James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of 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 was suspended for ten months on a charge of having made some reflections on the king, and in 1688 was cited for refusing to read the Declaration of Indulgence

Declaration of Indulgence

The Declaration of Indulgence was two proclamations made by James II of England and VII of Scotland in 1687. The Indulgence was first issued for Scotland on 12 February, and then for England on 4 April 1687...

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Under William and Mary

William and Mary

The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the coregency over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, of King William III & II and Queen Mary II...

 he succeeded Tillotson

John Tillotson

John Tillotson was an Archbishop of Canterbury .-Curate and rector:Tillotson was the son of a Puritan clothier at Haughend, Sowerby, Yorkshire. He entered as a pensioner of Clare Hall, Cambridge, in 1647, graduated in 1650 and was made fellow of his college in 1651...

 as Dean of Canterbury

Dean of Canterbury

The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The office of dean originated after the English Reformation, and its precursor office was the prior of the cathedral-monastery...

 in 1689, and (after declining a choice of sees

Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...

 vacated by non-jurors who were his personal friends) followed Thomas Lamplugh

Thomas Lamplugh

Thomas Lamplugh was an English churchman who ended up being Archbishop of YorkHe was the son of Christopher Lamplugh of Little Riston, Yorkshire and his wife Anne, daughter and coheir of Thomas Roper of Octon in the East Riding of Yorkshire...

 as archbishop of York in 1691. He made a thorough investigation of the affairs of his see, and regulated the disordered chapter of Southwell

Southwell, Nottinghamshire

Southwell is a town in Nottinghamshire, England, best known as the site of Southwell Minster, the seat of the Church of England diocese that covers Nottinghamshire...

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He preached at the coronation of Queen Anne

Anne of Great Britain

Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...

 and became her almoner and confidential adviser in matters of church and state. He welcomed the Arminian bishops who came to England in 1713, and corresponded with the Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

n court on the possibility of the Anglican liturgy as a means of reconciliation between Lutherans and Calvinists. He died at Bath on 2 February 1714.
He was the grandfather of the English surgeon William Sharp

William Sharp (surgeon)

William Sharp was an English physician reported to have acted as surgeon to King George III. With his brother Granville Sharp, he was an active supporter of the early campaign against slavery in Britain....

 and his brother the abolitionist Granville Sharp

Granville Sharp

Granville Sharp was one of the first English campaigners for the abolition of the slave trade. He also involved himself in trying to correct other social injustices. Sharp formulated the plan to settle blacks in Sierra Leone, and founded the St. George's Bay Company, a forerunner of the Sierra...

 and the great-great-grandfather of American politician Solomon P. Sharp

Solomon P. Sharp

Solomon Porcius Sharp was attorney general of Kentucky and a member of the United States Congress and the Kentucky General Assembly. His murder at the hands of Jereboam O...

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His works (chiefly sermons) were published in 7 volumes in 1754, and in 5 volumes at Oxford in 1829.