Ussher, James

Ussher, James

▪ Anglo-Irish prelate

born Jan. 4, 1581, Dublin, Ire.
died March 21, 1656, Reigate, Surrey, Eng.
 Anglo-Irish prelate of the Anglican church who was memorable for his activity in religious politics and for his work on patristic texts, especially the chronology of the Old Testament.

      Ordained priest in 1601, Ussher became professor (1607–21) and twice vice-chancellor (1614, 1617) at the university where he had received his B.A., Trinity College, Dublin. He was made bishop of Meath in 1621 and archbishop of Armagh in 1625. Ussher became primate of all Ireland in 1634. He was in England in 1642, when the Civil War broke out, and he never returned to Ireland. Having earned the respect of both Anglicans and Puritans, he proposed in 1641 a method for combining the episcopal and presbyterian forms of church government in the Church of England. A Royalist, he vainly counseled Charles I against assenting to the execution in 1641 of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, to appease Parliament. Ussher was briefly bishop of Carlisle in 1642 before moving to Oxford. Declining an invitation to join the Westminster Assembly of Divines (1643–49), he preached against its legality. From 1647 to 1654 he was preacher at Lincoln's Inn, London.

      Ussher wrote widely on Christianity in Asia Minor, on episcopacy, and against Roman Catholicism. An expert in Semitic languages, he argued for the reliability of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament and employed an agent in the Middle East to collect biblical and other manuscripts for him. Scholars still respect him for his correct distinction between the genuine and the spurious epistles of the 2nd-century St. Ignatius of Antioch, on which he published works in 1644 and 1647. The general public may find Bibles perpetuating his chronological researches (published in the 1650s), which dated the creation of the universe at 4004 BC. This date was widely accepted in the Western world until the 19th century. Ussher had a fine library, which is now in the University of Dublin.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Ussher, James — (1581–1658)    Archbishop and Historian.    Ussher was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was ordained in 1601. He was appointed Professor of Divinity at Dublin in 1607; he became Bishop of Meath in 1621 and Archbishop of Armagh in 1625.… …   Who’s Who in Christianity

  • Ussher,James — Ussh·er (ŭshʹər), James. 1581 1656. Irish prelate and scholar who devised a scheme of biblical chronology that placed the Creation in the year 4004 B.C. * * * …   Universalium

  • Ussher, James — (1581 1656)    Divine and scholar, b. in Dublin, the s. of a lawyer there, and ed. at Trinity Coll., took orders, and became Chancellor of St. Patrick s, Dublin, 1605, and Prof. of Divinity, 1607 21. On the Irish clergy, in 1715, deciding to… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Ussher, James — (d. 1656) Irish Anglican archbishop, who produced a scheme of biblical chronology, beginning with Creation [[➝ creation]] in 4004 BCE, a date long perpetuated in editions of AV …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • USSHER, James — (1581 1656)    Irish PROTESTANT Prelate and scholar who added dates to Biblical HISTORY and proposed the date of creation to be 4004 B.C …   Concise dictionary of Religion

  • James Usher — James Ussher um 1654, Porträt von Peter Lely James Ussher (auch Usher) (* 4. Januar 1581 in Dublin; † 21. März 1656 in Reigate, Surrey) war ein irischer anglikanischer Theologe und Verfasser einer Vielzahl theologischer und …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • James Ussher — Infobox Bishop name = James Ussher religion=Church of Ireland see = Armagh bishop of = Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland enthroned = 1625 ended = 1656 consecration = 1626 predecessor = Christopher Hampton successor = John Bramhall… …   Wikipedia

  • Ussher-Lightfoot-Chronologie — Anfang von James Usshers Annales Der Ussher Lightfoot Kalender ist eine Chronologie, die auf ein annalistisches Werk von James Ussher aus dem Jahr 1650 zurückgeht. Er versuchte darin unter anderem, das genaue Datum der Schöpfung aus Angaben der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • James Ussher — El obispo James Ussher, pintado por sir Peter Lely. James Ussher, James Usher, latinizado Jacobus Usserius (Dublín, 4 de enero de 1581 – 21 de marzo de 1656) fue un arzobispo de Armagh …   Wikipedia Español

  • James Usher — noun Irish prelate who deduced from the Bible that Creation occurred in the year 4004 BC (1581 1656) • Syn: ↑Ussher, ↑James Ussher, ↑Usher • Instance Hypernyms: ↑archpriest, ↑hierarch, ↑high priest, ↑prelate, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

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