| Richard Kidder | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Bath and Wells | |
 Kidder by Mary Beale | |
| Church | Church of England |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | Bath and Wells |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | November 1658 by Ralph Brownrigg |
| Consecration | 30 August 1691 by John Tillotson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1633 |
| Died | 26 November 1703(1703-11-26) (aged 69–70) Wells, England, Kingdom of England |
| Buried | Wells Cathedral |
| Denomination | Anglicanism |
| Residence | Bishop's Palace, Wells |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Kidder |
| Children | Susannah Kidder Everard, Lady Everard |
| Alma mater | Emmanuel College, Cambridge |
Richard Kidder (1633 – 26 November 1703) was an English Anglican churchman, Bishop of Bath and Wells, from 1691 to his death. He was a noted theologian.
Biography
He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he was a sizar, from 1649, graduating 1652. He became a Fellow there in 1655, and vicar of Stanground, Huntingdonshire, in 1659. He was deprived in 1662.
He was rector of Rayne Parva, Essex, from 1664 to 1674, having conformed to the Act of Uniformity 1662. He was later vicar of St. Martin Outwich, London, and in 1689 a royal chaplain, and dean of Peterborough.
His A Demonstration of the Messias has been identified as a significant influence on the librettist Charles Jennens, in writing the words for the Messiah of Handel. This book also took up suggestions of Joseph Mede on multiple authorship of the Book of Zechariah.
He was killed in the Great Storm of 1703, on 26 November (7 December in today's calendar); he was in bed with his wife in the episcopal palace at Wells when the chimney fell on both of them.
Works
- The Christian sufferer supported (1680)
- A Demonstration of the Messias. In which the Truth of the Christian Religion is Proved, Against All the Enemies Thereof; But Especially Against the Jews. In Three Parts (1684, 1699, 1700)
- A sermon upon the resurrection (1694)
- A Commentary on the Five Books of Moses: With a Dissertation Concerning the Author Or Writer of the said books and a general argument to each of them (1694)
- The life of the Reverend Anthony Horneck, late preacher at the Savoy (1698)
- The holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments (1715)
- A Discourse Concerning Sins of Infirmity, and Wilful Sins, with Another of Restitution (reprint, 2010)
Notes
- "Kidder, Richard (KDR649R)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- Concise Dictionary of National Biography.
- , CNDB.
- CNDB
- A Demonstration of the Messias. In which the Truth of the Christian Religion is proved, against all the Enemies thereof; but especially against the Jews. In three volumes, published 1684, 1699, 1700.
- ; Michael Marissen, Rejoicing against Judaism in Handel's Messiah, Journal of Musicology, Spring 2007, Vol. 24, No. 2, Pages 167-194.
- Bible Survey: The Book of Zechariah
- 27 November, Every-Day Book
- Newsletter 35
External links
| Church of England titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded bySimon Patrick | Dean of Peterborough 1689–1691 |
Succeeded bySamuel Freeman |
| Preceded byThomas Ken | Bishop of Bath and Wells 1691–1703 |
Succeeded byGeorge Hooper |
- 1633 births
- 1703 deaths
- English theologians
- 17th-century Church of England bishops
- 18th-century Church of England bishops
- Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
- Deans of Peterborough
- Bishops of Bath and Wells
- Burials at Wells Cathedral
- Natural disaster deaths in England
- 17th-century Anglican theologians
- 18th-century Anglican theologians