Richard Hooker's Doctrine of the Royal Supremacy

by W.J. Torrance Kirby

In the eighth book of his treatise Of the Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie , Richard Hooker defends the royal headship of the Church of England in a remarkable series of theological arguments. His apologetic intention was 'to resolve the consciences' of the Disciplinarian-Puritan critics of the Elizabethan Settlement by a demonstration that the Royal Supremacy was wholly consistent with the principles of doctrinal orthodoxy as understood and upheld by the Magisterial Reformation.
This study commences with a look at some current problems of interpretation and then examines Hooker's apologetic aim and methodology. Subsequent chapters demonstrate Hooker's reliance on the teaching of the Magisterial Reformers in the formulation of both the soteriological foundations of his political thought and his ecclesiology. Hooker's appeal to the authority of Patristic Christological and Trinitarian Orthodoxy in support of the Royal Supremacy is also discussed.
The purpose of this book is to uncover the theological roots of a central aspect of Hooker's political thought, and thereby to attempt to shed new light on an important Elizabethan controversy.

Genres: Theology, History, Politics

136 pages, Leather Bound

First published March 1, 1990

About the author

Professor of Ecclesiastical History & Director, Centre for Research on Religion (CREOR)at McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

"In 1988 I received a DPhil degree in Modern History from Oxford University for a thesis on the political theology of Richard Hooker. Previously I received BA and MA degrees in Classics (Greek Philosophy and Literature) from King's College and Dalhousie University. Currently I am Professor of Ecclesiastical History at McGill where I have been a member of the Faculty of Religious Studies since 1997. Since 1996 I have been a member of the Centre of Theological Inquiry, Princeton, and since 2005 of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

My principal field of research is Reformation thought, especially of Richard Hooker, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Heinrich Bullinger, and other 16th-century Protestant thinkers; my most recent publications examine theological links between England and the continent in the sixteenth century (my work here concentrates on the influence in England of the Italian, Swiss and French reformers). My research also focuses on the history of Christian Platonism, in the Patristic as well as in the late-medieval and early-modern periods. Currently I am investigating the emergence of the public sphere in early-modern England in the context of preaching at the outdoor pulpit at Paul's Cross in the City of London."

Reviews

[wyclif · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely outstanding discussion of 2K (two kingdoms) in the theology of the Protestant Reformers, as well as a top-notch treatment of Hooker's defence of the royal headship of the Church of England. This is the published version of Kirby's doctoral dissertation in the Faculty of Modern History at Oxford University.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Besides exploring Richard Hooker's thought regarding the relationship between church and civil government, this book also demonstrates how the questions of political theology run to the core of systematic theology as well. Short and fairly readable to anyone who has a passing acquaintance with reformation thought.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was excellent. History of political thought and historical theology combined, at it's finest. Kirby demonstrates quite convincingly that Hooker was in the magisterial Reformed line.