MATTHEW, the second Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, was born at Norwich in 1504, and entered the university of Cambridge in 1520 as a student of Corpus Christi College. His studies were prosecuted with distinction. In 1523 he took a bachelor's degree; in 1527 he was ordained, created a Master of Arts, and chosen a fellow; and by this time he had become so eminent for his theological attainments that he received an offer, which was not, however, accepted, of a chair in Wolsey's newly-founded college at Oxford. This successful career as a scholar was followed by a still more successful career as a priest. Having received a preaching license from Archbishop Cranmer in 1533, he was often appointed to preach at court. In a short time his learning, piety, and attachment to the Reforming party in the Church, recommended him to the favour of the royal family; and a succession of preferments was the result. Anne Boleyn made him her chaplain in 1534; Henry VIII. appointed him one of the king's chaplains in 1537; and Edward VI. presented him to the deanery of Lincoln in 1552. He was also receiving at the same time several other dignities and rich benefices. During the reign of Mary, Parker was deprived of all his honours and preferments, and was obliged to seek safety in obscurity. Scarcely grieving at the misfortune which allowed him to enjoy literary leisure and domestic intercourse, he lived in the houses of his Norfolk friends, and devoted his attention to the translation of the book of Psalms into English. Occasionally the emissaries of the bloody queen would track him to his studious retreats, and force him to flee. He continued to shift about from one place to another until the accession of Elizabeth in 1559 restored him to favour and influence. Parker was then nominated archbishop of Canterbury; and the duty of building up the Protestant church of England out of the ruins of Popery was entrusted to him. This great task he performed with rare assiduity, courage, and magnanimity. Parliament dared to discontinue that lingering attachment to the relics of Popery which was manifested by the queen herself. His influence was constantly exerted to supply the vacant cures with men of orthodoxy, learning, and piety. Although no bigoted devotee of mere ecclesiastical formalities, he strove to preserve the unity of the church by enjoining an uniformity in habits and ceremonies. He also promoted the growth of vital religion among the community by his daily exercise of deep piety, public-spirited zeal, and active Christian benevolence. Nor did the liberal-minded primate fail to advance the cause of religion still further by advancing the cause of general enlightenment. A munificent patron of learning, he founded several schools, and presented several of the colleges at Cambridge with scholarships, fellowships, and with large bequests of plate, money, books, and manuscripts. A zealous lover also of learning, he prosecuted antiquarian and kindred studies with great success. The edition of the Scriptures called *The Bishops' Bible*, and the treatise *De Antiquitate Britannica Ecclesiae*, were produced under his superintendence; and he printed the four old English historians—Matthew of Westminster, Matthew Paris, Asser, and Thomas Walsingham. The death of Archbishop Parker took place in 1575. (Strype's *Life and Acts of Matthew Parker*, in 3 vols., Oxford, 1821; and *Biographia Britannica*.)