Lecene, Charles

LecËne, Charles, a French Protestant theologian, was born in 1647 at Caen, in Normandy. After studying theology at Sedan, Geneva, and Saumur, he was in 1672 appointed pastor at Honfleur. In 1682 he supplied for one year the Church of Charenton, but was accused of Pelagianism by Sartre, pastor of Montpellier. Unable to obtain from the Consistory of Charenton a certificate of orthodoxy such as he desired, he appealed to the next national synod, where he was warmly sustained by Allix, but the revocation of the Edict of Nantes suddenly put an end to the discussion. Lecene went to Holland, and there connected himself with the Arminians. He then went to England, but, refusing to be reordained, and being, moreover, strongly suspected of Socinianism, he was unable to accomplish anything there, and returned to Holland, where he remained until 1697. He then went again to England, and settled at London. He vainly tried to found an Arminian Church in the English metropolis. He died in 1703. Lecene was, even by his theological adversaries, considered a very learned theologian. A plan of his for the translation of the Bible was taken up by his son, Michel Lecene (Amst. 1741, 2 vols. folio): Projet d'une nouvelle version Francoise de la Bible (Rotterdam, 1696, 8vo; translated, An Essay for a new Translation of the Bible, wherein is shown that there is a necessity for a new Translation, 2d ed., to which is added a table of the texts of Scripture [Lond. 1727, 8vo]). He wrote De l'Etat de 1'homme apres le peche et de sa predestination asu salut (Amsterd. 1684, 12mo): — Entretiens sur diverses matieres de theologie, etc. (1685,12mo): —Conversations sur diverses matieres de religion (1687, 12mo). See Colani, in Revue de Theologie, 7:343 sq., 1857; Hoefer. Nouv. Biog. Gen. 29:185; and the sketch in the Avertissement de sa traduction de la Bible (Amst. 1742, 2 vols. folio). (J. H. W.)