Thomas Sampson

Thomas Sampson
Born	c. 1517 England
Died	1589
Occupation	Theologian

Thomas Sampson (c. 1517–1589) was an English Puritan theologian. A Marian exile, he was one of the Geneva Bible translators. On his return to England, he had trouble with conformity to the Anglican practices. With Laurence Humphrey, he played a leading part in the vestments controversy, a division along religious party lines in the early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.

He was said to have been born at Playford, Suffolk, but possibly came from Binfield in Berkshire. He was educated at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge. In 1547 he joined the Inner Temple. He married a niece of Hugh Latimer; Latimer and Sampson influenced the conversion of John Bradford, a Marian Protestant martyr. He has been described as perhaps the most eloquent of all the new generation of evangelical preachers.

After Sampson's conversion to Protestantism in 1551, he became rector of All Hallows, Bread Street, London. When the dean of Chichester, Bartholomew Traheron, resigned in December 1552, he recommended Sampson to succeed him, calling him a preacher … of such integrity as I would be glad to see placed here and he was duly preferred to the post the following February. However Sampson was never installed: Mary Tudor's accession intervened. His arrest was ordered as early as August 1553, however, he did not move out of the country until May 1554 when he went to Strasburg.

His successor as rector at All Hallows, Laurence Saunders, was burned at the stake.

Sampson was strongly anti-Catholic through the rest of his life. He communicated to his parishioners his distaste for Catholic prayers for the dead.

...
Wikipedia