James Ussher

James Ussher around 1654, portrait by Peter Lely

James Ussher (also Usher ) (born  January 4, 1581 in Dublin , † March 21, 1656 in Reigate , Surrey ) was an Irish Anglican theologian . He was Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland (from 1625) and author of a variety of theological and historical works. Best known is its world history, in which the time of creation was on Sunday, October 23, 4004 BC. Chr. ( Julian calendar ) is dated; this corresponds to the 21 September in the currently valid Gregorian calendar , such as the autumn - Equinox .

Life

Ussher came from a wealthy Anglo-Irish family. A gifted linguist , he entered Trinity College, Dublin, which had recently been founded in 1592, on January 9, 1594, at the age of thirteen . He graduated there in 1600 and received his master's degree in 1601 . In 1602 he was ordained as a deacon and priest in the Chapel of Trinity College by his uncle, Henry Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland.

In the following years he became a fellow (college member) and 1607 professor of theology and two-time vice chancellor of Trinity College, in 1614 and 1617. He published his 104 Irish articles in 1615 , with which he wanted to mediate between the Anglican and the Calvinist direction. In 1621 he was made Bishop of Meath and in 1625 called by James I Archbishop of Armagh. Along with this office he became Primate of Ireland, d. H. Head of the Protestant Church of Ireland , then as now a highly contentious position on the predominantly Catholic island. Like many of his contemporaries, he took a strongly anti-Catholic stance and frequently voiced charges against Catholics. For example, his Judgment of the Arch-Bishops and Bishops of Ireland , published in 1626, begins as follows:

“The religion of the papists is superstitious and idolatrous; their faith and doctrine erroneous and heretical; their church […] apostatical; to give them therefore a toleration, or to consent that they may freely exercise their religion […] is a grievous sin. "

“The papist religion is superstitious and idolatrous; their beliefs and teaching erroneous and heretical; their church […] apostatic ; To show them forbearance or to consent to the free practice of their religion [...] is therefore a grave sin. "

Ussher had extensive debates with Catholic theologians and urged that tough measures be taken against Irish Catholics. The usual picture of Ussher shows him as a slightly unworldly scholar who was a mediocre politician and administrator at best. Indeed, he was a bishop and archbishop of perfect effectiveness, and his scholarship earned him considerable prestige in political circles.

Ussher spent the last sixteen years of his life in England . He traveled there in 1640 and was unable to return to Ireland as a result of the Catholic uprising in Ireland (1641), the English Civil War (1642) and the establishment of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth government (from 1649). He was appointed Bishop of Carlisle in 1641 and was a member of the Westminster Synod from 1643 . Although courted by Parliament, he remained on the side of King Charles I during the Civil War and therefore fell out of favor with Cromwell. He died in 1656 at the age of 75 and received a state funeral at Westminster Abbey despite his royalist sentiments .

James Ussher left behind an extensive library, including around 700 Bible manuscripts. Her showed Cardinal Mazarin and King Frederick III. of Denmark interest. After the decision of Oliver Cromwell and his son Henry, she finally came to Trinity College.

Works

See also : Ussher Lightfoot Calendar

Title page of the Annales

Ussher's best-known work is his Annales veteris testamenti, a prima mundi origine deducti ( Annals of the Old Testament, derived from the earliest beginnings of the world ), which he published in 1650. It justified today than Ussher chronology known era that rely solely on Bible passages based. According to this, the act of creation took place in the year 4004 before the birth of Christ on the eve of October 23rd, so according to the view at that time - the sunset was previously considered the beginning of the day - at the beginning of October 23rd, today one would say October 22nd. According to this calculation, the Flood took place in 2349 BC. Chr. Instead. The exact time given for the act of creation is wrongly attributed to Ussher, it goes back to John Lightfoot . When calculating the data, the trees of descent and lifetimes of the patriarchs given in the Old Testament (e.g. the 969-year-old Methuselah ) were mainly used. The work will u. a. consulted by young earth creationists who believe the earth is actually about 6,000 years old; however, it was often ridiculed as a symbol of religious obscurantism . In the late 17th century, however, this pre-critical way of calculating time was widespread. Isaac Newton wrote a similar chronicle .

In relation to Irish history, Ussher's main contribution was to equate the Protestant Church of Ireland with the early Irish Church of St. Patrick , a " founding myth " that the Church of Ireland boasted well into the 20th century .

literature

• R. Buck Knox: James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh. University of Wales Press, 1967.
• Stephen Jay Gould : Fall in the House of Ussher , in: Eight Little Piggies , Penguin Books, 1993.

Web links

Commons : James Ussher  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Publications by and about James Ussher in VD 17 .
• Ussher Bibliography and List of Secondary Sources
• Annals of the World Urtext at archive.org : https://archive.org/details/AnnalsOfTheWorld

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ussher Gospels Schøyen Collection, see Ussher Gospels

predecessor	Office	successor
Barnaby Potter	Bishop of Carlisle 1641–1655	Richard Stars