English Chaplain in the Navy?

[Jib]

While I imagine that the clergy frequently followed the army to provide spiritual assistance since the middle ages when do we see naval chaplain appear in history? Was the position of chaplain around during the GAOP?

[Mission]

Oh yes, definitely. I believe during the GAoP, chaplains were warrant officers like the surgeon. (All title, no power.)

If you're interested in a GAoP naval officer's POV, check out the Diary of Henry Teonge. It's an entertaining read. (Not quite as entertaining as Pere (French Catholic Father) Jean-Baptiste Labat's memoirs from about the same time, but still fun to read.)

[Fox]

There are some very good bits in Teonge's diary.

Chaplains were first paid by the Admiralty in the 1580s.

[Jib]

Do we ever hear of Chaplains engaging in combat or were they exempt from any action even in emergencies?

[Mission]

Wasn't there something about a catholic monk or priest whose twelve apostles were swinging around him?

I don't recall Teonge ever getting into battle, but that's not what I look for and it's been years since I read his book. Why not read it and find out? You can get it on line for free. It seems to me that there was another chaplain who wrote about his experiences at sea around this time... yes, there was. Dr. John Covell was a clergyman who wrote a diary that included 1670-1679. You can get his book on line for free as well at archive.org.

I only read the parts of Covell's book that interested me, but I seem to recall that he was told to go below with the surgeon during battle. (Not to help the surgeon, just so he would be out of harm's way.) Based on that limited information, I'd say the clergy generally didn't get involved in fighting.