New Advent
 Home   Encyclopedia   Summa   Fathers   Bible   Library 
 A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 
New Advent
Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > A > Richard Archdeacon

Richard Archdeacon

Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99...

An Irish Jesuit, whose name is sometimes given as Archdekin or Arsdekin, b. at Kilkenny, 30 March, 1620; d. 31 August, 1693. He entered the Society of Jesus, at Mechlin, 20 September, 1642, and taught humanities, philosophy, theology, and Holy Scripture at Antwerp and Louvain. He wrote a treatise in English and Irish on miracles, a "Life of St. Patrick" with a short notice on Ireland and the so-called prophecy of St. Malachy, an Irish saint, and the principal controversies about the faith. This he called "Theologia Quadripartita"; it was meant for use chiefly in Ireland. The book sold very rapidly, more than a thousand copies having been disposed of in a few months. He subsequently published it as a "Theologia Tripartita", and in the preface informs his readers that he had more time at his disposal for writing than he had for the preceding book. The "Tripartita" passed through thirteen editions. The twelfth edition contains the "Life of Oliver Plunkett and Peter Talbot". The work is remarkable for its order, conciseness, and lucidity. In spite of its numerous editions, beginning with the year 1671, it was put on the Index in 1700, donec corrigatur. Although at least the Antwerp edition of 1718 was corrected, especially as regards the peccatum philosophicum, and the Cologne edition of 1730 was "revised and corrected", yet in the Index of 1900 he is still referred to as an author previously condemned. He left in manuscript a "Theologia Apostolica". Hurter speaks of him as auctor gravis et probabilista. Webb in his "Compendium of Irish Biography" (Dublin, 1878) declares of the treatise on miracles that "it is said to have been the first book printed in English and Irish conjointly."

Sources

HURTER, Nomenclator, II, 399; SOMMERVOGEL, Bibliothèque de la c. de J. I, 515, WARE-HARRIS, Writers and Antiquities of Ireland (Dublin, 1764).

About this page

APA citation. Campbell, T. (1907). Richard Archdeacon. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01694a.htm

MLA citation. Campbell, Thomas. "Richard Archdeacon." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01694a.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Wm Stuart French, Jr. Dedicated to C.P. French.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.

Copyright © 2023 by New Advent LLC. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

CONTACT US | ADVERTISE WITH NEW ADVENT