- John Potter (archbishop)
Infobox Archbishop of Canterbury
Full name = John Potter
caption =
birth_name =
began = 1737
term_end = 1747
predecessor =William Wake
successor =Thomas Herring
birth_date = c.1674
birthplace =Wakefield ,Yorkshire
death_date =10 October 1747
deathplace =
tomb = Anglican PortalJohn Potter (c. 1674 –
10 October 1747 ) wasArchbishop of Canterbury .Life
He was the son of a linen-draper at
Wakefield ,Yorkshire . At the age of fourteen he enteredUniversity College, Oxford , and in 1693 he published notes onPlutarch 's "De audiendis poetis" and Basil's "Oratio ad juvenes". In 1694 he was elected fellow ofLincoln College, Oxford and in 1697 his edition of "Lycophron" appeared. It was followed by his "Archaeologia graeca" (2 vols. 8vo, 1697–1798), the popularity of which endured till the advent of Dr William Smith's dictionaries. A reprint of his "Lycophron" in 1702 was dedicated toGraevius , and the "Antiquities" was afterwards published in Latin in the "Thesaurus of Gronovius".Besides holding several livings he became, in 1704, chaplain to Archbishop Tenison, and shortly afterwards was made chaplain-in-ordinary to Queen Anne. From 1708 he was
Regius Professor of Divinity and canon ofChrist Church, Oxford ; and from 1715 he wasBishop of Oxford . In the latter year appeared his edition ofClement of Alexandria . In 1707 he published a "Discourse on Church Government," and he took a prominent part in the controversy withBenjamin Hoadly ,Bishop of Bangor . Even though Potter was a notable Whig, he was a High Churchman and had opposed Hoadly.In January 1737 Potter was unexpectedly appointed to succeed
William Wake in the see of Canterbury. While in that seat, he continued to represent a High Church position, but he was also ineffective at restoring theConvocation .Alexander Pope attacked him in the 1743 version of his "The Dunciad " (book II, 323). He died onOctober 10 1747 . His "Theological Works", consisting of sermons, charges, divinity lectures and the "Discourse on Church Government," were published in three volumes.References
*1911
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