Chillingworth (1602–1644)

English cleric. He became a convert to Roman Catholicism and went to the Jesuit College at Douai. William Laud, the archbishop of Canterbury and his godfather, persuaded him to leave the Roman Church, and he subsequently entered the Anglican ministry. He wrote in 1637 The Religion of Protestants, a Safe Way to Salvation, a famous polemic characterized by clear style and logical reasoning.

Chillingworth was born in Oxford, England. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford University, graduating in 1618. He was conscientious, and declined to accept a preferment offered to him in 1635, because he could not subscribe to all the 39 Articles, and was opposed to the damnatory clauses in the Athanasian creed. He finally overcame his scruples and was promoted to the chancellorship of Salisbury in 1638, and became prebendary of Brixworth in Northamptonshire. A staunch Royalist and believer in the doctrine of the divine right of kings, he took an active part in the Civil War, was imprisoned at Arundel Castle by William Waller.