Lancelot Andrewes 		September 26
Bishop of Winchester
Lancelot Andrewes was a devout and learned scholar who brought great stability to the Church of England in the early seventeenth century. He was a fellow of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, and as well as his theological scholarship was master of fifteen languages. 
Andrewes was born in Barking in 1555. He studied at Merchant Taylor’s School and Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, of which he became a fellow in 1576. He became vicar of St Giles, Cripplegate, in 1589 and master of Pembroke Hall. His duties included preaching at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, where his great ability as a preacher was first noticed. In 1601 he became dean of Westminster. During the reign of James I, having already declined two bishoprics under Elizabeth, he was appointed bishop of Chichester in 1605, then Ely in 1609 and Winchester in 1619. 
Andrewes attended the Hampton Court Conference in 1604, at which leading Puritans aired their plans for further reform of the church. Andrewes was appointed one of the translators of what became the Authorised Version of the Bible, being responsible for much of the early part of the Old Testament. He was a strong proponent of the Oath of Allegiance to the king, imposed after the gunpowder plot of 1605. The oath was required of the clergy before taking office, and Andrewes conducted a vigorous debate with Cardinal Bellarmine on the issue. Andrewes also served on a number of influential ecclesiastical committees and commissions. In 1617 he joined James I on his journey to Scotland to try to persuade the Scots to accept episcopacy. 
Andrewes was a student of moral theology as well as being learned in the early church fathers. His three authorities were the Bible, the wisdom of antiquity, and the judgement of the contemporary church. He did much to form a distinctively Anglican theology in the tradition of Richard Hooker. He disliked the rigidity of Puritanism and was opposed to the prevailing Calvinism in theology in England. He insisted on a high standard of personal holiness among the clergy and expected all servants of the church to be dedicated and diligent in their service. 
Lancelot Andrewes was a man of deep prayer himself and compiled Preces Privatae, a book of his own devotions, which was published in 1648 and has been re-issued over the years. His own gentle nature, mature wisdom, and kindly wit endeared him to all. He loved the English Church and defended it vigorously from all detractors. He used ceremonial in his worship and had a high appreciation of the sacrament of the eucharist. He died in 1626 and was buried in what is now Southwark Cathedral.
For Liturgical Use
Lancelot Andrewes, born in 1555, was the saintly bishop of Winchester who by example, preaching and writing brought to the Church of England high standards of holiness of life and wholehearted service. He was one of the translators of the Authorised Version of the Bible, and did much to foster a distinctive Anglican theology that took account of Scripture, reason and tradition. He died in 1626 and is buried in what is now Southwark Cathedral.
Sentence
My soul truly is still, and waits for God; from whom comes my deliverance.	Psalm 62:1
Collects
Holy and loving God,
from you Lancelot Andrewes received
gifts of scholarship
and a singular power in prayer;
teach us to pray
not only for ourselves
but for your struggling world,
through him who showed us how to pray,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessed are you, God of beauty and order,
in Lancelot the preacher and devoted scholar;
may we too strive for wisdom to serve the church.
Psalms	63:1-9	119:97-104
Readings
Proverbs 3:1-8		Favour and good repute
1 Peter 5:1-4		Examples to the flock
Matthew 13:44-46,52	Things old and new
Post Communion Sentence
Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 		Luke 11:9