Men of Kent and Kentishmen/John Boys, Divine
John Boys,
DIVINE,
Another member of the same family, being nephew of Sir John Boys, of Bonnington, was born in 1571. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, from whence he was elected Fellow of Clare Hall. His uncle presented him to the livings of Betteshanger and Tilmanstone, near Deal, and Archbishop Whitgift collated him to the mastership of Eastbridge Hospital, at Canterbury. He there became distinguished as a theologian and "painful" preacher; and was accordingly promoted by James I. to the Deanery of Canterbury, in 1619. This dignity, however, he did not long enjoy, and he died suddenly Sept. 26th, 1625.
His chief work was his "Postils," or an Exposition upon the Festivals, Epistles, and Gospels in the English Liturgy. He was a violent opponent of popery, his hatred of which sometimes led him to the borders of profanity, and he was the author of a parody on the Lord's Prayer, beginning—Papa noster qui es Romæ.
[An edition of his works was published in 1622, and a Notice of his life appeared in 1631, attached to his "Remains" See also "Fuller's Worthies" and Wood's "Athenæ," by Bliss.]