Warner, John (1581-09-05 - 1666-10-21)

Baptized at St. Clement Danes, London, in 1581. Son of Harman Warner. Enrolled in Magdalen Hall, Oxford, in 1598. Migrated to Magdalen College, Oxford in 1599. Graduated BA in 1602, and went on to MA in 1605. Made a fellow at Magdalen College in 1604, a position he held until 1610. Ordained deacon and priest in London in January 1607. Received his BD in 1613 and his DD in 1616. Licensed to preach in November 1613. His first parish may have been St Paul Cray, Kent, 1609-1614 (CCEd). Rector of St Michael Crooked Lane, London, 1614-1619. Prebendary of Canterbury in 1616-1638. Rector of Bishopsbourne with Barham chapel, Kent, 1619-ca. 1642. Possibly also rector of Chiddingstone, Kent, 1619-ca. 1623 or 1625 (CCEd). Rector of St. Dionis Backchurch, London, 1625-ca. 1642. Served as proctor of the diocese of Canterbury in the early 1620s. Supporter of Laudian reforms in the 1630s. Dean of Lichfield, 1633-1638. Chaplain-in-ordinary to Charles I, 1633-. Possibly married Bridget Bloye at Norwich in 1634 (ODNB). Rector of Hollingbourne with Hucking chapel, Kent, 1635 (possibly 1624/5, CCEd, AO)-1638. Bishop of Rochester, 1637-1646 (when the see was abolished), 1660-1666. Rector of Bromley, Kent, 1638-until sequestered by Westminster Assembly, ca. 1646. In 1640, attended the convocation that was held along with the Short Parliament and helped to draft the new canons. Part of Charles I’s council of peers held at York in 1640. Nearly impeached from bishopric in 1641 because of his support for the new canons and a benevolence for Charles I. In 1643, his lands and possessions were sequestered, and he was forced to flee to Oxford and later to the Welsh border and Bromfield, Shropshire. Returned to Kent in the late 1640s, but was forced out of Bromley Palace in 1648. He was a staunch supporter of Charles I and preached several sermons in his defense, including one on Matthew 11:38 in 1626/7, one on Psalm 74: 23 in March 1640 and one on Luke 18:31-3 in February 1649. Continued quietly conducting services and preaching in the 1650s. Played little role in the Restoration, but was one of eight surviving bishops to resume their roles in 1660 and one of five bishops to consecrate new bishops in October 1660. He held the bishopric of Rochester until his death in October 1666 and was buried in Rochester Cathedral.