Charles Voysey (theist)
Charles Voysey (18 March 1828 – 20 July 1912) was a former priest of the Church of England who was condemned by the Privy Council for heterodoxy and went on to found a theist church. He was the father of architect Charles Francis Annesley Voysey. Early life and career Born in London on 18 March 1828, Voysey was the youngest son of architect Annesley Voysey, a relative of Samuel Annesley and of Susanna Wesley ( Annesley), mother of John and Charles Wesley. He entered St Edmund Hall, Oxford in 1847 and received his B.A. from the University of Oxford in 1851. The following year he married Frances Maria Edlin and was ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1853, becoming the curate of Hessle. Voysey served in that position for seven years, also serving as vice-principal of Kingston College. His eldest son Charles F. A. Voysey was born in Hessle in 1857. Voysey was appointed curate of St Andrew's, Craigton, Jamaica in 1858, where he lived for 18 months. In 1862, after his return to England, he served as curate of Great Yarmouth for six months before being appointed to the curacy of St Mark's, Whitechapel. Condemnation for heterodoxy In 1863 Voysey was removed from the curacy of St Mark's, Whitechapel after preaching a sermon denying the doctrine of eternal punishment. He was recommended for the curacy of St Mark's, Victoria Docks. After a brief period as curate of North Woolwich he became curate and eventually Vicar of Healaugh near Tadcaster, in 1864, but soon ran into difficulties there. From Healaugh he commenced writing his most famous work The Sling and the Stone. Originally published in monthly parts, it was eventually collected into ten volumes, the first of which was published in 1865. His youngest son Rev. Ellison Annesley Voysey (born 1867 in Healaugh), was Oxford educated, and became a Theist Church promoter in England and Ireland. Ellison Voysey's daughter, Ella Annesley Voysey, married the actor Robert Donat in 1929. His work The Sling and the Stone had been immediately condemned by the conservative wing of the Anglican Church in 1865. As additional volumes were added, William Thomson, Archbishop of York, began proceedings against him in 1869. He was summoned before the Chancery Court of York for heterodox teaching, where he defended his case for two years. He appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which gave its judgement on 11 February 1871: "The Appellant is charged with having offended against the Laws Ecclesiastical by writing and publishing within the diocese of London certain sermons or essays, collected together in parts and volumes, the whole being designated by the title of "The Sling and the Stone," in which he is alleged to have maintained and promulgated doctrines contrary and repugnant to or inconsistent with the Articles of Religion and Formularies of the Church of England." His appeal dismissed, Voysey lost his benefice. The Theistic Church and later life Before the judgement, Voysey had begun holding services