Bishop of Rochester

“ From London, in 1510, he was invited by Bishop Fisher to come and teach at Cambridge, where by his influence he had been appointed Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity and Regius Reader of Greek. “Unless I am much mistaken,” Erasmus writes, “the Bishop of Rochester is a man without an equal at this time, both as to integrity of life, learning, or broad-minded sympathies. One only do I except, as a very Achilles, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Warham) , who alone keeps me in London, though I confess not very unwillingly.” ”

“ Tobias, who died bishop of Rochester in 726, is also described as “a most learned man, for he was a pupil of Theodore and Hadrian, and so, together with a knowledge of literature ecclesiastical and general, Greek and Latin were as familiar to him as his native tongue.” We may therefore credit Rochester with its school at least as early as Toby’s episcopate. ”

“ A contemporary of the respectable Bishop of Rochester, at Wadham, was the wicked Earl, who bore the title of Rochester. He went up in 1660, at the age of twelve; he was dubbed a Master of Arts when he was fourteen, and he eloped with a very rich wife at the age of eighteen, to die, when he was thirty-two, owing bad debts to everybody, even to posterity. He was, perhaps, too young in his Wadham days to have developed a great deal of evil, although no doubt he tried his best to be wicked even then. ”

“ The royal city of Canterbury continued to be the centre of St. Augustine’s labours, but only seven years passed, Bede tells us, ere he deemed it necessary to found other sees at Rochester and at London. Rochester therefore claims to be the second, or at most the third oldest of English bishoprics.
Justus, one of the band sent by St. Gregory to help the mission in 601, was consecrated as its first bishop in 604. A church was built for him by the king and dedicated to St. Andrew, the patron saint of the monastery on the Cælian Hill in Rome, from which St. Augustine and his companions had come. ”

“ During the latter part of the seventeenth century and the greater part of the eighteenth, the deanery of Westminster was, in this way, almost continuously attached to the bishopric of Rochester. Such pluralities are, of course, no longer allowed, the estates of this, as of other sees, being administered by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, through whom the bishop receives the regular and more adequate income that he now enjoys. Poor though the see has been, we find many distinguished men among those who have held it. ”

“ On the death of Anselm on 21 April 1109, Ralph, as bishop of Rochester, became administrator of the diocese of Canterbury, and filled that post with diligence and care for the dignity of the church, consecrating churches on the estates of the see, in whatever diocese they were, on his own authority. He attended the council that Henry held at London at Whitsuntide, and joined the other bishops of the southern province in determining to resist at all cost any attempt to override the decision of the late archbishop with regard to the York pretensions ”

“ The Status of the Catholic Clergy in the United States. Bishop McQuaid!—Father O'Flaherty!—The Imbroglio in the Diocess of Rochester.
This vile anonymous pamphlet, printed without any publisher's name and signed, "Priests of the Diocese of Rochester," is a disgrace to its authors, especially if they are really priests. A publication of this kind, which is in itself a grievous offence, cannot claim even a hearing for any thing it may contain. ”

“ The Bishop of Rochester, by a mandate addressed to the archdeacon of Rochester, on the 27th of June, 1349, orders all these, on pain of suspension, to serve such cures;" [187] "and some priests and clerics refuse livings, now vacant in law and fact," writes the Bishop, "because they are slenderly provided for; and some, having poor livings, which they had long ago obtained, are now unwilling to keep them, because their stipend, on account of the death of their parishioners, is so notoriously diminished that they cannot get a living and bear the burden of their cure. ”

“ The bishop of Rochester strongly advised him to read the controverted points between the Protestant and the Catholic church, to suffer his unprejudiced reason to determine for him, and he made no doubt, but a separation from the Romish communion would soon ensue. To this Mr. Pope very candidly answered, 'Whether the change would be to my spiritual advantage, God only knows: This I know, that I mean as well in the religion I now profess, as ever I can do in any other. Can a man who thinks so, justify a change, even if he thought both equally good? ”

“ And if any man will know the source from which they flowed, they can judge by his answer to the bishop of Rochester, when the latter in friendly conversation warned him after his recovery that he should in all things behave more circumspectly towards God: “Be sure,48 bishop,” he said, “by the Holy Cross of Lucca, that God shall never have me good because of the evil He has brought upon me.”
THE QUARREL OF WILLIAM RUFUS AND ANSELM (1093–94) . Source.—Eadmer, Historia Novorum in Anglia, ed. Rule, p. 47. ”

“ He appears early to have gained the notice of Fisher, bishop of Rochester, to whom he was chaplain, and through whose influence he was constituted archdeacon of Rochester in 1515. On 30 July 1517 he was presented to the living of Woodham Ferris in Essex, and in the following year was elected master of St. John's College, Cambridge. In this capacity he greatly contributed to the advancement of that society as a home of scholarship and learning, and attracted to it numerous benefactions. ”

“ Putta the bishop of Rochester, after that his church was spoiled and defaced by the enimies, went to Sexvulfe bishop of Mercia, and there obteining of him a small cure, and a portion of ground, remained in that countrie, not once labouring to restore his church of Rochester to the former state, but went about in Mercia to teach song, and instruct such as would learne musicke, wheresoeuer he was required, or could get intertainment. ”

“ The nearest place of public worship was Beckingham in Kent, about a mile distant.
[1] An alteration has been made in the Diocesan arrangement. Since 1877, Battersea together with other parishes in East and Mid-Surrey has been added to the See of Rochester, and therefore is under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of that Diocese. The See of Rochester was founded A.D. 604. St. Augustin or Austin (the first Bishop of Canterbury A.D. 598) . Consecrated Justus, the first Bishop of Rochester. The See of West Saxons (afterwards Winchester, A.D. 705) was founded A.D. 635. ”

“ Hugh was against this too vigorous gentleman, who was clearly indefensible; but it was by no means because he was blindly prejudiced in favour of monks, for he seems to have supported the Bishop of Rochester against his monks. These disputes of astonishing detail, are very important in the history of the church, as by their means the Papal Empire grew to a great height of power; and however little the bishops’ methods commend themselves, the monasteries, which became rebel castles in every diocese, were very subversive of discipline, and their warfare equally worldly. ”

“ In 1713 he was made bishop of Rochester and dean of Westminster, two posts which, according to the objectionable custom of the times, always went together. 'Thus,' says his enemy, Bishop Burnet, 'he was promoted and rewarded for all the flame he had raised in our church.' As a debater and public speaker he had long held the highest rank among the representatives of the clergy in convocation, and he soon became almost as prominent a figure in the House of Lords. ”

“ The suffragan bishops, however, opposed the scheme, for they were afraid that Faricius as an Italian and a strict churchman would involve the church in fresh disputes. This feeling was not expressed openly, but the Bishops of Lincoln and Salisbury alleged that it would be unseemly that a physician who attended women should be made archbishop. The king gave up the point, and Ralph, bishop of Rochester, was elected. The historian of Abingdon seems to have been mistaken in asserting that Faricius was elected to the archbishopric. Faricius died at Abingdon on 23 Feb. ”

“ The very room with its rough walls, its cobwebbed roof, its uneven flooring, its dreadful chill and gloom, seemed alive with a warm, redolent, spiritual atmosphere generated by this keen, pure soul. Chris had never been near so real a sanctity before.
"You have seen nothing of my Rochester folk, I suppose?" went on the bishop to the Prior.
The Prior shook his head.
"I am very downcast about them sometimes; I saw many of them at the court the other day. I forget that the Good Shepherd can guard His own sheep. And they were so faithful to me that I know they will be faithful to Him." ”

“ I happened to be in London just at the time when the Diocese of St. Alban's was created, and when Bishop Claughton, then Bishop of Rochester, had his choice between Rochester and St. Alban's, but had not decided which to be. I went to dine with Canon Erskine Clarke and met there old Mr. Philip Cazenove, who took me in his carriage to a reception at Bishop Woodford's. Mr. Cazenove knew both his Bible and his Horace thoroughly. Almost the first person we met at the reception was Bishop Claughton, and Mr. ”

“ The Mayor and Corporation of Rochester still have the right of entry in their robes and with their insignia of office by the great west door. We find the privilege of having their insignia borne in the cathedral on record as early as 1448 in indentures between Bishop Lowe on the one part, and the bailiff and townspeople of Rochester on the other. The titles “mayor” and “citizens” were only granted later by Edward IV., in a charter dated December 14th, 1461. ”

“ Lanfranc had the matter in his own hands, for the see of Rochester was dependent on Canterbury, and the bishop was appointed by the monks under the influence of the archbishop. He was anxious to make the chapter a monastic body, and in order to accomplish this it was necessary to give the bishopric to a monk. Accordingly, he appointed Gundulf to the see, and secured the assent of the king before he announced the appointment to the Rochester clergy. ”

“ The Bishop of London, Roger Niger, was so called from his dark complexion, and people whimsically noted his being confronted with the Cardinal Otto Albus. Bishop Roger, before his episcopate, was Archdeacon of Rochester, a very wise and energetic administrator. He was now on the side of Rich, bent on defending his clergy from being over-ridden by the foreigners. He exerted himself as bishop not only to repair the mischief done by the storm, but to enlarge and beautify the still unfinished structure. ”

“ He is described as archbishop of Canterbury in the history of the abbots of Abingdon, and as archbishop in the attestations of three charters, where his name has precedence of that of the archbishop of York; but in another charter simply as bishop, his name coming after the archbishop of York's. One Abingdon writer says that he was consecrated to Rochester, which, as that see was dependent on the archbishop, might be taken for granted, though the statement nevertheless appears to be incorrect. For six years he acted in all things in Eadsige's place. ”

“ And, verily, such is his aspiring nature, that he will under-work any man in the world! so that he may gain by it.
This man, who believeth so well of himself, framed an Answer to my Exceptions.
But to give some countenance to it; he must call in three other Bishops, that is to say, Durham, Rochester, and Oxford, tried men for such a purpose! and the style of the Speech runneth, "We, and We." This seemed so strong a Confutation, that, for reward of their service, as well as for hope that they would do more, Doctor Neyle, Bishop of Durham, and the Bishop of Bath, were sworn of the Privy Council. ”

“ Both, however, were ultimately committed to the Tower (Fisher on 16 April) , and their fate now began to be regarded as sealed. On the 27th an inventory of the bishop's goods at Rochester was taken, which has recently been printed in 'Letters and Papers' (u. s. pp. 221-2) . His library, which he had destined for St. John's College, and, according to Baily, the finest in Christendom, was seized at the same time. ”

“ We met on the 24th day of September, the first indiction, at a place called Hertford, myself, Theodore, the unworthy bishop of the see of Canterbury, appointed by the Apostolic See, our fellow priest and most reverend brother, 32Bisi, bishop of the East Angles; also by his proxies, our brother and fellow priest, Wilfrid, bishop of the nation of the Northumbrians, as also our brothers and fellow priests, Putta, bishop of the Kentish castle, called Rochester; Eleutherius, bishop of the West Saxons, and Winfrid, bishop of the province of the Mercians. ”

“ Owing to a readjustment of the diocesan boundaries, the court of chancery decided that the funds raised for the Wilberforce Mission must be devoted to the diocese of Rochester. Wilberforce retained his canonry and devoted himself with conspicuous success to mission work in Portsmouth and Aldershot. In 1882 he was appointed, on the recommendation of Gladstone, to the newly created see of Newcastle, of which he was consecrated the first bishop on 25 July in Durham cathedral. ”

“ In the floor are still to be seen many Memorial slabs, but more have been either covered up or lost. In the centre of the south transept there still remains the matrix of what was once a splendid brass, representing a bishop, in his episcopal robes and with his crozier, beneath a rich canopy with a shield of arms on either side of his head. In the great recess in the north transept there is placed against the wall, lozenge-wise, the matrix of a brass of several figures. ”