Richard Hooker

Richard Hooker (25 March 1554 – 2 November 1600) was an English priest in the Church of England and possibly one of the most influential theologians and saints in the history of that church and the entire Anglican Communion. His defense of the Elizabethan Settlement set the groundwork for the later Caroline Divines. His seminal work "On the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity" remained the closest approximation to a totalizing dogmatic work within the Church of England for centuries to come, and was respected by the likes of C.S. Lewis into the 20th century.

Hooker was firmly Protestant and defended the traditional view on Justification in his "A Learned Discourse on Justification", while also being remembered for his defense of the established Church of England's liturgy, ceremony, and episcopacy, over and against Puritan detractors.

On the Calendar of Saints, he is commemorated on November 3.

Life

Richard Hooker was born in Heavitree, Exeter. He was noticed for his intelligence and piety by John Jewel, the then Bishop of Salisbury, who arranged for Richard to attend Corpus Christ College, at Oxford University. In 1579 he was ordained to the priesthood by Edwyn Sandys, Bishop of London.