English Presbyterianism
English Presbyterianism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that emerged during the Reformation, particularly influenced by the Puritan movement in England during the late 16th and 17th centuries. The distinctive feature of Presbyterianism lies in its system of governance, which is led by presbyters, or elders, rather than a hierarchical clergy or bishops. This approach reflects a desire for a church structure that emphasizes scriptural authority and communal leadership.
Presbyterians were part of a broader protest against the Church of England, which was established as the official church of England under the monarch's rule. Their beliefs were shaped by figures like John Knox, who advocated for a return to early Christian practices. Throughout the tumultuous political landscape of the English Civil War, Presbyterians sought to separate church and state powers while navigating complex relationships with both royal authority and other Protestant factions.
Over time, the movement faced challenges, particularly during the Restoration under Charles II, when many leaders were ousted in what became known as the Great Ejection. Despite a decline in numbers, the migration of Scottish Presbyterians to England in the 18th century contributed to a resurgence, leading to the formal establishment of the Presbyterian Church of England in 1876. Today, this lineage continues as part of the United Reformed Church, which fosters a faith centered on scripture, moral living, and community engagement.
English Presbyterianism
The origin of Presbyterianism in England dates back to the time of the Reformation and the Puritan movement in England in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Presbyterian refers to the system of governance used by the church; unlike the Roman Catholic Church, which used a hierarchy of ordained clergy leadership topped by the pope, or the Church of England, which was an episcopacy led by bishops, the English Presbyterians were Protestant Christians governed by presbyters, or elders, from within each congregation.
Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses challenging practices of the Roman Catholic Church led to decades of debate, discussion, and division over how churches should be organized and doctrine established. These protestors against the Catholic Church—Protestants—took many viewpoints. The establishment of the Church of England as the official church of that country with the monarch as its head caused further division among those who thought church and state should be entirely separate and sought to reform it from within. These nonconformists, as they were called, included English Presbyterians.
History
The people of this era who became known as Presbyterians were much like the Puritans in belief, opposed to the use of vestments and some aspects of worship they considered too close to the Roman Catholic Church. They were heavily influenced by the teachings of John Knox, a Scottish itinerant preacher who felt that the predominant faith traditions had drifted too far from the ways of the early Christian church under the original apostles.
Knox and many who thought like him fled England during persecutions of Protestants during the reign of Catholic queen Mary I. Many returned when Elizabeth I took the throne in 1558. Once back under the rule of a Protestant queen, some sought to turn the Church of England away from a hierarchical structure and toward what they saw as a more scripturally based leadership by elders from within each church community. They worked through political means, electing Presbyterians as representatives to the English Parliament, but saw little success until around 1640.
By then, enough Presbyterian sympathizers were in Parliament to force King Charles I to strip nonclerical offices and powers from bishops. Up until that point, the bishops of the Church of England often held positions in secular government and had the power to send people to prison. This was a significant step in the effort to separate the powers of church from the powers of the crown and government. The English Civil War that began in 1642 was fought in part over religion. King Charles I, who was married to a Catholic and held a high Anglican view of worship and church practices, was the antithesis of what the Presbyterians wanted. Some of them remained loyal to and in contact with the king, until he was tried for treason and executed in 1649.
For a time, England became a Commonwealth largely under the control of Oliver Cromwell. While he was a Puritan who held deep personal opposition to the Catholic Church, Cromwell did not agree with the Presbyterian attempts to reform the Church of England. During this time, the episcopacy was removed from the Church of England and the Book of Common Prayer, which had been the official prayer book of the church since the reign of Elizabeth I, was banished. Cromwell's dictatorship allowed freedom of worship to all religious groups but favored Congregationalism, and Presbyterians were removed from office. After Cromwell died in 1658, the Commonwealth fell apart. Presbyterianism was briefly restored, but this was short-lived and ended when Charles II, son of Charles I who had been in exile for about a decade, became king. Charles II restored the Church of England to its pre-Commonwealth state, and in 1662 all clergy were required to publicly support the episcopacy and prayer book. Those who would not—more than two thousand clergymen—were removed from their positions in what became known as the Great Ejection.
Presbyterians diminished in numbers after this, until Scottish immigrants, who also held Presbyterian beliefs, started settling in England in the eighteenth century. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, mergers between the English and the Scottish Presbyterian churches eventually led to the formation of the Presbyterian Church of England in 1876.
Beliefs
English Presbyterians believe man exists to do God's will and to bring glory to God and that the way to do this is found in the Bible. Anything not included in the Bible is suspect and considered immoral. Moral character and behavior are of prime importance.
With the Bible at the center of their faith, Presbyterians believe that each person could be in a personal relationship with God, whom they believe to be their sovereign lord and creator. They believe in salvation but think only some will be saved; this salvation depends not on works but on faith. Salvation of the individual is important but so is the salvation of the community; therefore, efforts are made to help everyone develop a life of faith and relationship with God. Presbyterians also believe that the devil is an active presence trying to interfere with a person's relationship with God, so exorcisms are part of their religious practice as well.
Organization
Even during their highest point in the 1600s, Presbyterians believed in an assembly of elders in each congregation as the key leaders. They organized without a central hierarchy and were mostly a collection of individual churches united only by their beliefs, until the influx of Scottish Presbyterians in the latter part of the 1800s. The immigrant Scottish Presbyterians and English Presbyterians would eventually unite into the Presbyterian Church of England in the 1870s. In 1972, this church would merge with the Congregational Church of England and Wales to become the United Reformed Church. In the early twenty-first century, the United Reformed Church has nearly seventy thousand members in fifteen hundred congregations throughout the United Kingdom.
Bibliography
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MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. New York: Penguin Books, 2009. 633, 641–654, 957. Print.
"The Reformation." History Channel. A&E Television Networks, LLC. Web. 9 Aug. 2015. http://www.history.com/topics/reformation
Ridley, Jasper. The Tudor Age. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2002. 70–74. Print.
Tosh, Robert. "Presbyterianism." BBC. BBC. Web. 9 Aug. 2015. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/plantation/religious/rl02.shtml
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