Gulielmus Ebor[acensi]um Archi-Ep[iscop]us Angliae Primas & Metropolitanus Clarissimo Viro Fr[ancisco] P[ariz] Papai, alijsque ubicunque gentium Academiae Enyedensis, in praesenti luctuoso verum suarum statu, Fautoribus. 10 Kal. Februarij, A[nn]º Xti Incarnati 1718.    * Acts 20:35: Vulgate: “meminisse verbi Domini Iesu quoniam ipse dixit beatius est magis dare quam accipere”. Gal 6:10 (the textus receptus reads correctly echomen instead of hechomen): Vulgate: “ergo dum tempus habemus operemur bonum ad omnes maxime autem ad domesticos fidei.” 3Jn 1:5: Vulgate: “fideliter facis quicquid operaris in fratres et hoc in peregrinos”. Also quoted by John White on p. 461. 3Jn 1:2: Vulgate: “carissime de omnibus orationem facio prospere te ingredi et valere sicut prospere agit anima tua”.

p. 468. York, February 3, 1719

Dawes, William VII, Sir
(1671-1724), English pastor, Archbishop of York

William Dawes was born in Lyons near to Braintree (Essex) on September 12, 1671, in a baronet family which, although lost most of their riches during the civil war, sent regular supports to the royal family in exile. William learned from the age of nine in the Merchant Taylors’ School in London. At the age of 15 he already excelled in Hebrew. He was hardly 18 when he wrote his work in verse: The Anatomy of Atheisme, and his eminent The Duties of the Closet in prose. In 1687 he immatriculated in St. John’s College in Oxford, of which he also became a fellow. Later he was also admitted as fellow of St. Catharine’s Hall in Oxford. He was married in 1695. As he was too young, he received his M.A. degree on royal decree (per lit. reg.). In 1696 he graduated in theology (D.D), and became the permanent pastor of William III (1688-1702) and later court pastor of Anne Stuart (1702-1714). From 1698 he was canon of the Cathedral of Worcester. He made many efforts in the interest of St. Catharine’s Hall of which he was a master between 1697 and 1714. His popularity is indicated by the fact that he was elected pastor in the village of Bocking near to his estates. Here he introduced the custom to take the Lord’s Supper not only on the three great feasts, but in every month. From February 1707/08 he was Bishop of Chester, then from 1704 until his death Archbishop of York and Privy Councillor. He restored the Archbishop's palace of York, the Bishopthorpe. He died on April 30, 1724. He was buried in the chapel of St. Catharine’s Hall together with his wife. He was the most outstanding preacher of his period, a representative of the ideal of aristocratic prelate, high and authoritative personality. Edition of his sermons: The whole works of … Sir William Dawes, in 3 vols., with a preface, giving some account of the life … of the author. London, 1732, 1733.

The Archbishop uses his title in his signature: “William, Archbishop of York (= Eboracum), Primate of England and Metropolitan.” The Metropolitan's title is due to the archbishops whose authority extends on the bishops of his province, although in the Western church this difference played almost no role. In England, however, the centuries long “competition” between the archbishoprics of York and Canterbury resulted, by the mid-14th century, in the fine distinction that while both archbishops were granted metropolitan's title by the Pope, the Archbishop of York became “Primate of England”, and the Archbishop of Canterbury “Primate of All England”.

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