The Bangorian Controversy was a theological argument within the Church of England in the 18th century. The origins of the controversy lay in the 1716 posthumous publication of George Hickes's Constitution of the Christian Church, and the Nature and Consequences of Schism. In it, Hickes, Bishop of Thetford, excommunicated all but the non-juror churchmen. Benjamin Hoadly, the Bishop of Bangor, wrote a reply entitled, Preservative against the Principles and Practices of Non-Jurors, in which his own Erastian position was sincerely proposed as the only test of truth. However, the controversy kicked off most visibly and vocally when Hoadly delivered a sermon on March 31, 1717 to George I of England on The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ. His text was John 18:36, "My kingdom is not of this world," and from that Hoadly deduced, supposedly at the request of the king himself, that there is no Biblical justification for any church government of any sort. He identified the church with the kingdom of Heaven--it was therefore not of this world, and Christ had not delegated His authority to any representatives. Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It can also refer to the study of other religious topics. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... // Events August 5 - In the Battle of Peterwardein 40. ... For the politician in Manitoba, Canada, see George Hickes (politician) George Hickes (June 20, 1642 O.S. - December 15, 1715 O.S.), English divine and scholar, was born at Newsham near Thirsk, Yorkshire. ... A non-juror is a person who refuses to swear a particular oath. ... Benjamin Hoadly, painted by William Hogarth, c. ... The Bishop of Bangor heads the Church in Wales diocese of Bangor centred upon Bangor Cathedral. ... Thomas Erastus (September 7, 1524 - December 31, 1583), German-Swiss theologian, whose surname was Liber, Lieber, or Liebler, was born of poor parents, probably at Baden, canton of Aargau, Switzerland. ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... // Events January 4 — The Netherlands, Britain & France sign Triple Alliance February 26-March 6 What is now the northeastern United States was paralyzed by a series of blizzards that buried the region. ... George I King of Great Britain and Ireland George I (George Ludwig von Guelph-dEste) (28 May 1660–11 June 1727) was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) from 23 January 1698, and King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 1 August 1714, until his death. ... The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the sequence of the canon as printed in the New Testament, and scholars agree it was the fourth to be written. ... The Bible (Hebrew תנ״ך tanakh, Greek η Βίβλος [hÄ“ biblos] ) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Good Book, Word of God, The Word Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the classical name for the Hebrew Bible of Judaism or the combination of the Old Testament and New Testament of Christianity (The... This page is about the title, for the Christian figure, see Jesus Christ is the English representation of the Greek word Χριστός The Christian religion takes its name from Christ, as a title given to Jesus of Nazareth, always capitalized as a singularly descriptive title meaning literally The Anointed One. ...

The sermon was immediately published and instantly drew counter-attacks. William Law (Three Letters to the Bishop of Bangor) and Thomas Sherlock (dean of Chichester), in particular, gave vigorous defenses of church polity. Hoadly himself wrote A Reply to the Representations of Convocation to answer Thomas Sherlock, Andrew Snape, provost of Eton, and Francis Hare, then dean of Worcester. These three men, and another opponent, Robert Moss, dean of Ely, were deprived of their royal chaplaincies by the king. Hoadly did not, however, attempt to answer William Law. William Law (1686 – April 9, 1761), English divine, was born at Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire. ... Thomas Sherlock (1678 - July, 1761) was an English divine who served as a Church of England Bishop for 33 years. ... The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a prestigious and internationally known independent school for boys. ...

In May of 1717, the Convocation appointed a committee to study the sermon. When the report was ready for synodal sanction against Hoadly, the king dismissed the convocation, which did not meet again for over 130 years. A Convocation is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose. ...

The controversy may seem esoteric to contemporary observers, but the stakes were quite high. Two competing visions of government were in play. On the one hand, there was a vision of God appointing the king and the bishops to be leaders, selecting them from all others and imbuing them with special characters, either through grace or in creation. This view held that the king, as the head of the Established Church, was not merely a secular leader of a state, but also a religious primate. Power and regulation flowed downward from God to the people. This was the aristocratic model that was favored by the Tory party and which had been used to propose the divine right of kings. The other view was that power flowed up from the people to the leaders, that leaders were no more intrinsically better than those led, and that God gives out revelation freely. This Whig view was also the view of the Puritans and the "Independents" (i.e. the various Baptist churches, Quakers, etc.). Michelangelos depiction of God in the painting Creation of the Sun and Moon in the Sistine Chapel This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and derived henotheistic forms. ... Divine grace is believed by Christians to be the sovereign favor of God exercised in the bestowment of blessings upon those who have no merit in them. ... In English history, the Established Church is the Church of England, the church which is established by the Government, supported by it, and of which the monarch is the titular head; until 1920 it also held the same position in Wales. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Divine Right of Kings is a European political and religious doctrine of political absolutism. ... While the Whigs (along with the Tories) are often described as one of the two political parties in late 17th to mid 19th century Great Britain, it is more accurate to describe them as loose political groupings or tendencies. ... The Puritans were members of a group of English Protestants seeking further reforms or even separation from the established church during the Reformation. ... A Baptist is a member of a Baptist church. ... The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ...

George I favored the Whig party in Parliament and favored a latitudinarian ecclesiastical policy in general. This was probably not due to any desire to give up royal prerogative, but rather to break the power of the aristocracy and the House of Lords. A significant obstacle to all kings of England had been the presence of bishops in Lords. While a king could create peers, he had a much harder time of moving bishops in and out of Lords. Insert non-formatted text hereInsert non-formatted text here:This article is about the legislative institution. ... Latitudinarian was initially a pejorative term applied to a group of 17th century British theologians who believed in conforming to official Church of England practices but who felt that matters of doctrine, liturgical practice, and ecclesiastical organization were of relatively little importance. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ...

Bibliography

• Cross, F. A., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 1964. London: Oxford University Press.
• Encyclopedia Britannica 1911 edition, unsigned article.