Thomas Ravis

The Right Reverend Thomas Ravis
Bishop of London
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Diocese of London
Elected	18 May 1607
Installed	2 June 1607
Term ended	1609 (death)
Predecessor	Richard Vaughan
Successor	George Abbot
Other post(s)	Bishop of Gloucester 1604–1607 Dean of Christ Church, Oxford 1596–1607
Orders
Ordination	1582
Consecration	17 March 1605
Personal details
Born	c. 1560 Old Malden, Surrey
Died	(1609-12-14)14 December 1609
Buried	St Paul's Cathedral, London
Nationality	English
Denomination	Anglican
Profession	Academic
Education	Westminster School
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford

Thomas Ravis (c. 1560 – 14 December 1609) was a Church of England bishop and academic. He was among those engaged in translating the King James Bible.

Early life

Ravis was born at Old Malden in Surrey, probably in 1560, and educated at Westminster School. He was elected, on the recommendation of Lord Burghley, to Christ Church, Oxford, in 1575, but the dean and chapter declined to admit him on the grounds that there was no room, until Burghley remonstrated with them. He gained a BA on 12 November 1578 and an MA on 3 March 1582, proceeding to a bachelor's divinity degree in 1589 and a divinity doctorate in 1595.

Priestly career

Ravis took holy orders in 1582 and preached around Oxford for some time. On 17 April 1588 he was elected a proctor and in July 1596 and again in July 1597 was chosen Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. In 1591 he was admitted to the rectory of Merstham, Surrey, and from 27 December of the same year until May 1598 was vicar of All Hallows, Barking. From February 1593 till 1607 he was a prebendary of Westminster, and from 1596 until 1605 an authoritarian Dean of Christ Church. As Dean he commuted the commons allowance for food into monetary form, of two shillings a week. Some of those who resisted this innovation he expelled, others he sent before the council, and others he imprisoned.

On 7 July 1598 he became vicar of Islip, and in the following October vicar of Wittenham Abbas, Berkshire. He was one of the six deans who attended the Hampton Court Conference in 1604, and later supplied notes for William Barlow's account, the Sum and Substance of the Conference. He was then involved in the subsequent creation of the King James Bible, being appointed one of the Oxford committee deputed to translate part of the New Testament. Also in that year, he was elected prolocutor of the lower house of Convocation.

Episcopal career

In October 1604 Ravis was appointed Bishop of Gloucester and consecrated on 17 March 1605; he was allowed to hold in commendam with his bishopric the deanery of Christ Church, his Westminster prebend, and the parsonages of Islip and Wittenham. At Gloucester he improved the Bishop's Palace. On 18 May 1607 Ravis was translated to the episcopal see of London and installed as Bishop of London on 2 June. He was intolerant of all nonconformity. Ravis died on 14 December 1609, and was buried in the north aisle of St Paul's Cathedral.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Ravis, Thomas". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.