View source for John Cosin

{{Short description|English Bishop}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Reverend]]
| name = John Cosin
| title = [[Bishop of Durham]]
| image = John Cosin Peterhouse.jpg
| image_size = 
| alt = A portrait of a middle-aged, bearded man in academic robes and cap.
| caption = 
| diocese = [[Diocese of Durham]]
| term = 1660–1672
| predecessor = [[Thomas Morton (bishop)|Thomas Morton]] (before the [[English Interregnum|Interregnum]])
| successor = [[Nathaniel Crew, 3rd Baron Crew|Nathaniel Crew]]
| other_post = [[Archdeacon of the East Riding]] (1625–1660)<br />[[Master of Peterhouse]] (1635–1643, 1660)<br />[[List of Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge|Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University]] (1639–1640)<br />[[Dean of Peterborough]] (November 1640–1660)<br />Master of Peterhouse (1660)
<!---------- Orders ---------->| consecration = 2 December 1660
<!---------- Personal details ---------->| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1594|11|30}}
| birth_place = [[Norwich]], Norfolk, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1672|1|15|1594|11|30}}
| death_place = [[Westminster]], [[Middlesex]], England
| buried = 29 April 1672, [[Auckland Castle]] chapel
| nationality = English
| religion = [[Anglicanism|Anglican]]
| residence = 
| parents = Giles Cosin
| spouse = Frances (m. 1626–1642)
| children = 3 sons & 2 daughters
| profession = theologian, writer
| education = [[Norwich Grammar School]]
| alma_mater = [[Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge]]
| consecrated_by = [[Accepted Frewen]]
}}
[[File:Arms of Bishop Cosin.png|thumb|Arms of Cosin: ''Azure, a fret or'']]
[[File:Auckland Castle chapel, ceiling - geograph.org.uk - 981913.jpg|thumb|Ceiling showing coats of arms of the See of Durham (''Azure, a cross or between four lions rampant argent'') and of Bishop John Cosin (''Azure, a fret or''), Chapel, [[Auckland Castle]]]]
[[File:Almshouses - detail of entrance with inscription and arms.jpg|thumb|left|Entrance to almshouses for 8 paupers established in Durham in 1666 by John Cosin, Bishop of Durham. Arms: [[See of Durham]] impaling Cosin]]
'''John Cosin''' (30 November 1594 – 15 January 1672) was an English bishop.

==Life==
He was born at [[Norwich]], and was educated at [[Norwich School]] and at [[Caius College, Cambridge]], where he was scholar and afterwards fellow.<ref>{{acad|id=CSN610J|name=Cosin, John}}</ref> On taking orders he was appointed secretary to [[John Overall (bishop)|John Overall]], [[Bishop of Lichfield]], and then domestic chaplain to [[Richard Neile]], [[Bishop of Durham]]. In December 1624 he was made a prebendary of Durham, and on 9 September 1625<ref>{{CCEd |type=appointment |id=88002 |name=Cosin, John |location=York |accessed=8 September 2014 }}</ref> [[Archdeacon of the East Riding]] of Yorkshire (until 1660).

In 1630 he received his degree of [[Doctor of Divinity]] (DD). He first became known as an author in 1627, when he published his ''Collection of Private Devotions'', a manual stated to have been prepared by command of King [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], for the use of Queen [[Henrietta Maria]]'s maids of honour. This book, together with his insistence on points of ritual in his cathedral church and his friendship with [[William Laud]], exposed Cosin to the hostility of the Puritans; and the book was criticised by [[William Prynne]] and [[Henry Burton (puritan)|Henry Burton]]. In 1628 Cosin took part in the prosecution of a brother prebendary, [[Peter Smart]], for a sermon against high church practices; and the prebendary was deprived.

On 8 February 1635 Cosin was appointed master of [[Peterhouse, Cambridge]]; and in 1640 he became [[List of Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge|vice-chancellor of the university]]. In October of this year he was promoted to the deanery of Peterborough. A few days before his installation the [[Long Parliament]] had met; and among the complainants who hastened to appeal to it for redress was the ex-prebendary, Smart. His petition against the new dean was considered; and early in 1641 Cosin was sequestered from his benefices. Articles of impeachment were presented against him two months later, but he was dismissed on bail.  For sending the university plate to the king, he was deprived of the mastership of Peterhouse (13 March 1643).<ref>{{cite book|last=Walker|first=John|author-link=John Walker (clerical historian)|title=The sufferings of the clergy of the Church of England during the great rebellion|year=1863|location=London|pages=169|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yuoCAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR169|editor=Robert Whittaker|access-date=26 January 2011}}</ref><ref name="roach">Roach, J.P.C. (ed.) A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3: The City and University of Cambridge. Chapter: The colleges and halls: Peterhouse; section: Masters of Peterhouse. [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66643#s11 Accessed 8 September 2014]</ref> He went to France, preached at Paris, and served as chaplain to some members of the household of the exiled royal family. At the [[English Restoration|Restoration]] he returned to England, was reinstated in the mastership (3 August 1660),<ref name="roach" /> restored to all his benefices, and in a few months raised to the [[Bishop of Durham|see of Durham]] – he therefore resigned from the Mastership of Peterhouse on 18 October 1660.<ref name="roach" />

Cosin noted that [[Auckland Castle]] in the town of [[Bishop Auckland]] was empty and that its chapel was in ruin; he went on to improve the property, renovating the Great Hall and converting it into a new chapel that still stands today.<ref>{{Cite book | last = Lightfoot | first = Joseph Barber | title = Leaders in the Northern Church: Sermons Preached in the Diocese of Durham | url = https://archive.org/details/leadersinnorthe00lighgoog | publisher = Macmillan | year = 1892 |pages =[https://archive.org/details/leadersinnorthe00lighgoog/page/n155 140] }}</ref><ref>Fordyce, p.548</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aucklandproject.org/the-bishops-of-durham-through-time/|title=The Bishops of Durham Through Time|publisher=The Auckland Project|access-date=28 October 2019|archive-date=28 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028142255/https://www.aucklandproject.org/the-bishops-of-durham-through-time/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

He was elected to that See on 5 November, which election was [[Confirmation of bishops|confirmed]] on 22 November;<ref name="FEA">{{Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae |last=Horn |first=Joyce M. |last2=Smith |first2=David M. |last3=Mussett |first3=Patrick |period=1541–1857 |volume=11 |pages=73–77}}</ref> he was duly consecrated a bishop on 2 December<ref name="ODNB">{{Cite ODNB|id=6372|title=Cosin, John}}</ref> and enthroned on 8 December 1660.<ref name="FEA" />

Cosin was responsible for a style of church woodwork unique to [[County Durham]], a sumptuous fusion of gothic and contemporary Jacobean forms. The font cover in [[Durham Cathedral]] is a splendid example of this, as are the displays in the churches at [[Sedgefield]] and elsewhere. The Cosin woodwork at St Brandon’s Church, [[Brancepeth, County Durham|Brancepeth]] has sadly been destroyed by fire.

At the convocation in 1661 Cosin played a prominent part in the revision of the [[Book of Common Prayer]], and endeavoured with some success to bring both prayers and [[rubric]]s into better agreement with ancient liturgies. Ultimately, his efforts produced the [[Book of Common Prayer (1662)|1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'']], established as the authorized [[liturgical book]] of the Church of England by the [[Act of Uniformity 1662]]. He administered his diocese successfully for eleven years; and used a large share of his revenues to promote the interests of the Church, of schools and of charitable institutions.

He died in London in 1672. He had married Frances (d. 25 March 1642), the daughter of Marmaduke Blakiston<ref>{{cite book| title = The baptismal, marriage, and burial registers of the Cathedral church of Christ and Blessed Mary the virgin at Durham, 1609–1896}}</ref> on 15 August 1626 at [[St Margaret's, Durham]].<ref name="ODNB" />

==Attitudes==
Though a classical high churchman and a rigorous enforcer of outward conformity, Cosin was uncompromisingly hostile to [[Roman Catholicism]], and most of his writings illustrate this antagonism. In France he was on friendly terms with [[Huguenot]]s, justifying himself on the ground that their non-episcopal ordination had not been of their own seeking, and at the [[Savoy conference]] in 1661 he tried hard to effect a reconciliation with the [[Presbyterian]]s. He differed from the majority of his colleagues in his strict attitude towards Sunday observance and in favouring, in the case of [[adultery]], both divorce and the remarriage of the innocent party.

On a theological point of view, Cosin is considered to be an [[Arminian]] anti-Calvinist.{{sfn|Tyacke|1990|p=119, 123-24, 126-27, 167, 171-72, 225|ps=. The relevant sources are Cosin, ''Works'', I, pp. 58, 66, 78-79, 96-97; II, p. 115}} In particular, his book of devotions is considered by historians as Arminian and imbued with sacramentalism.{{sfn|Cressy|2006|p=282}}

==Writings==
{{wikisource|works=or}}
Among his writings (most of which were published posthumously) are a ''Historia Transubstantiationis Papalis'' (1675), ''Notes and Collections on the Book of Common Prayer'' (1710) and ''A Scholastical History of the Canon of Holy Scripture'' (1657). A collected edition of his works, forming 5 vols of the Oxford ''[[Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology]]'', was published between 1843 and 1855; and his ''Correspondence'' (2 vols) was edited by [[George Ornsby]] for the Surtees Society (1868–1870).

Among his notable work was the translation of "[[Veni Creator Spiritus]]" included in the 1662 revision of the Book of Common Prayer; written for the Coronation of King [[Charles I of Great Britain]], and sung at every coronation since that time.

{{div col}}
{{poemquote|
1. Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire
and lighten with celestial fire;
thou the anointing Spirit art,
who dost thy seven-fold gifts impart.
}}{{poemquote|
2. Thy blessed unction from above
is comfort, life, and fire of love;
enable with perpetual light
the dullness of our mortal sight.
}}{{poemquote|
3. Teach us to know the Father, Son,
and thee, of both, to be but one,
that through the ages all along
this may be our endless song:
}}{{poemquote|
4. Praise to thine eternal merit,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
}}{{div col end}}

==Library==
[[File:Interior of Cosin's Library September 2022.jpg|thumb|Interior of Cosin's Library September 2022]]
In 1669 Cosin founded one of the earliest public libraries to give local people access to ‘good books.’<ref>[https://cosinslibrary.webspace.durham.ac.uk/ Cousin's Library] Durham University.</ref> A history of the collection of Cosin's books still in the library notes that it is "one of the most important British centres for the study of older books."<ref>Doyle, A.I. "John Cosins (1595-1672) as a Library Maker." ''[[The Book Collector]]'' 40 (no3) Autumn 1991: 335-357.</ref>

==Notes and references==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{cite book |language=en |last=Tyacke |first=Nicholas |title=Anti-Calvinists: the rise of English Arminianism, c. 1590-1640 |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon |year=1990 }}
*{{cite book |language=en |last=Cressy |first=David |title=England on Edge: Crisis and Revolution 1640-1642 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University |year=2006 }}

===Attribution===
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Cosin, John|volume=7|pages=213–214}}

==External links==
*[http://anglicanhistory.org/lact/index.html Project Canterbury: The Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology]
* {{Librivox author |id=18223}}
*[https://cosinslibrary.webspace.durham.ac.uk/ Cousin's Library]

{{s-start}}
{{s-aca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Matthew Wren]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Master of [[Peterhouse, Cambridge]]|years=1635–1643}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Lazarus Seaman]]}}
{{s-bef|before=Lazarus Seaman}}
{{s-ttl|title=Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge|years=1660}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Bernard Hale (priest)|Bernard Hale]]}}
{{s-rel|en}}
|-
{{s-vac|last=[[Thomas Morton (bishop)|Thomas Morton]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Bishop of Durham]]|years=1660–1672}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Nathaniel Crew, 3rd Baron Crew|Nathaniel Crew]]}}
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Thomas Belasyse, 1st Earl Fauconberg|Thomas Belasyse,<br />2nd Viscount Fauconberg]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Lord Lieutenant of Durham]]|years=1661–1672}}
{{s-aft|after=''in Commission''}}
{{s-end}}
{{Bishops of Durham}}
{{Deans of Peterborough}}
{{Archdeacons of the East Riding}}
{{Masters of Peterhouse, Cambridge}}
{{Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosin, John}}
[[Category:1594 births]]
[[Category:1672 deaths]]
[[Category:17th-century Church of England bishops]]
[[Category:Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Archdeacons of the East Riding]]
[[Category:Arminian ministers]]
[[Category:Arminian writers]]
[[Category:Bishops of Durham]]
[[Category:Deans of Peterborough]]
[[Category:Doctors of Divinity]]
[[Category:Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Fellows of Peterhouse, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Lord-lieutenants of Durham]]
[[Category:Masters of Peterhouse, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Participants in the Savoy Conference]]
[[Category:People educated at Norwich School]]
[[Category:Clergy from Norwich]]
[[Category:Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge]]
[[Category:17th-century English theologians]]
[[Category:17th-century Anglican theologians]]