EVANSON, Edward (1731-1805), a theological writer whose views gave rise to much controversy, was born at Warrington, in Lancashire, April 21, 1731. At the age of seven he was placed under the care of an uncle, vicar of Mitcham, in Surrey. At fourteen he entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1749. In 1753 he took his degree of Μ. A.; and, after being ordained, he officiated for several years as curate at Mitcham. In 1768 he became vicar of South Mimms near Barnet; and in November 1769 he was presented to the rectory of Tewkesbury, with which he also held the vicarage of Longdon. In the course of his studies and inquiries after truth he discovered what he thought important variance between the teaching of the Church of England and that of the Bible, and he did not conceal his convictions. He allowed himself in reading the service to alter or omit phrases which seemed to him untrue, and in reading the Scriptures to point out errors in the translation, a practice which was offensive to many of his congregation. A crisis was brought on by his sermon on the resurrection preached at Easter 1771; and in November 1773 a prosecution was instituted against him in the Consistory Court of Gloucester. He was charged with “depraving the public worship of God contained in the liturgy of the Church of England, asserting the same to be superstitious and unchristian, preaching, writing, and conversing against the creeds and the divinity of our Saviour, and assuming to himself the power of making arbitrary alterations in his performance of the public worship.” A protest was at once signed and published by a large number of the parishioners against the prosecution. The case was carried by appeal to the Court of Arches and the Court of Delegates, and was ...