John Phillips (bishop of Sodor and Man)

John Phillips (1555? – 7 August 1633)[1] was the Anglican Bishop of Sodor and Man between 1604/5 and 1633. His most notable contribution to society was the writing down of the Manx Language.

Styles of
John Phillips
Reference styleThe Right Reverend
Spoken styleMy Lord
Religious styleBishop

Early life

He was born in Wales and educated at St Mary Hall, Oxford, graduating B.A. in 1579 and M.A. in 1584.[2]

Career

In 1579 he became rector of Sessay in the North Riding of Yorkshire and in 1583 rector of Thorpe Bassett in the East Riding of Yorkshire. He was collated Archdeacon of Man in 1587 and made rector of Andreas in the Isle of Man. In 1590 he was appointed chaplain to Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby. In 1591 he was made rector of Slingsby in the North Riding of Yorkshire and in 1601 appointed archdeacon of Cleveland. In 1605 he followed George Lloyd as bishop of Sodor and Man, retaining in commendam the archdeaconry of Man and his English preferments.

In 1617, Phillips presided as a judge over the witchcraft trial of Margaret Quaine and her son Robert. When the jury had reached their verdict of not-guilty, Phillips was instructed to leave the room before the witches were sentenced to death, as the Bishop's position in the church prevented him from direct involvement in the legal shedding of blood.[3]

He died in 1633 at Bishop's Court, in the parish of Ballaugh and was buried in St Germans Cathedral, Peel.

Writing Manx

In order to preach to the Manx peasantry, he dictated that the Book of Common Prayer, and later the Bible be translated, and a new writing system was invented.

It is thought to be based on phonetic of Yorkshire English, which suggests it was written by someone else as opposed to him, as he was Welsh born.

Portrayal in media

Bishop Phillips was portrayed by Wayne Kelsall in the movie Solace in Wicca,[4] a biographical drama about the execution of Margaret Quaine and her son Robert; the filmmaker's decision to portray Phillips as a villain was met with some criticism from Manx language enthusiasts.[5]

References
  1. Horn, Joyce M.; Smith, David M.; Mussett, Patrick (2004), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857, 11, pp. 146–150
  2. Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714, Phanne-Popejoy
  3. Qualtrough, J.K (2013). "Castletown - Sorcery and Witchcraft" (PDF). Exploring the Past: 7 – via Qualtrough.org.
  4. "Film of 'Witch' Burning at Stake". TraaDyLiooar. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  5. Adrian Cain (2014-02-17), Solace: a film in Manx Gaelic, retrieved 2018-07-26

Sources
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