Presbyterianism in England is practised by followers of theReformed tradition withinProtestantism who practise thePresbyterian form ofchurch government. Dating inEngland as a movement from 1588, it is distinct fromContinental andScottish forms ofPresbyterianism. TheUnitarian historianAlexander Gordon (1841–1931) stated that, whereas in Scotland, church government is based on a meeting of delegates, in England the individual congregation is the primary body of government.[1] This was the practice in Gordon's day, however, most of the sixteenth and seventeenth century English theoreticians of Presbyterianism, such asThomas Cartwright,John Paget, theWestminster Assembly of Divines and the London Provincial Assembly, envisaged a Presbyterian system composed of congregations, classes and synods. Historically Presbyterians in England were subsumed into theUnited Reformed Church in 1972. In more recent years theEvangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales and theInternational Presbyterian Church have seen modest growth in England.
Though the wordPresbyterian dates to 1607,[2] English Presbyterianism had its beginnings in 1558, the year ofElizabeth I's accession, whenProtestant exiles, who had fledMary I'srevived heresy laws andthe associated executions, began to return to England. Some of these Elizabethanpuritans began to campaign for ecclesiastical reform from within theestablished (i.e.state-supported)Church of England. They sought to recreate the pattern of church life recorded inScripture, without vestments andprelates, when church government was in the hands ofpresbyters.[3]
English Presbyterianism itself dates to the tumultuous year 1641, which saw the execution of theEarl of Stafford, theImprisonment of the Twelve Bishops, the publication of theGrand Remonstrance, and most importantly the beginning of a great debate within and without Parliament on the subject of church government. On 11 December 1640, 15,000 Londoners presented theRoot and Branch petition to Parliament, which led to the Westminster Assembly of Divines. The Assembly reported in July 1645. Later that year, Parliament enacted for the establishment in every parish of a "congregational assembly", consisting of ruling elders elected by the minister and members of the congregation, and meeting weekly. In practice, few parish assemblies became established. Theexecution of Charles I in 1649 horrified the Presbyterians and led to a serious rupture between them and theIndependents. English Presbyterians came to be representative of those Puritans who still cherished further reformation in church, but were unwavering in their fundamental loyalty tothe Crown.[4]
Following theRestoration of the monarchy underKing Charles II, and of theepiscopal (bishop-led) system within the Church of England, Anglican ministers who favoured aPresbyterian polity found themselves in a dilemma. TheAct of Uniformity 1662 required that they accept theBook of Common Prayer in its entirety, as well as the requirement ofepiscopal ordination. Ministers who did not accept, some 2,000 of them, were removed from their posts (and, usually, their homes as well) onSt Bartholomew's Day, in what became known as theGreat Ejection. This was followed by more than a century of persecution, including further acts of Parliament such as theMarriage Act 1753.
The Church of England had difficulty filling the vacancies caused by the ejection of so many ministers. In some cases, ministers continued to baptise, marry, and preach in the parish church, quite illegally. In general, the ejected ministers continued to preach to dispersed congregations, making use of now unusedchapels of ease (most of which had been built with privately donated funds), and from their own homes. However, by the end of the seventeenth century, the Church of England had reclaimed these chapels of ease, and Dissenting congregations began to build their own chapels.
Aside fromQuaker meetings, theEnglish Dissenters styled themselves as either ‘Independent’ or ‘Presbyterian’. The’Independents’, who might have aCalvinistic or aBaptist creed, regarded themselves as exclusive, and distinct from the parish church. The Presbyterians, on the other hand, though each congregation was as independent and autonomous as any Independent chapel, used the name ‘Presbyterian’ because they regarded the doors of their chapels as open to all members of the parish; or, at least, all members of the parish who were of good character. In effect, they regarded each chapel as just another parish church. It was this attitude which, at first, caused particular animosity towards Presbyterians from some Anglicans, who regarded them asschismatics, actively seeking to divide theChurch in England.[5][6][7] Outwardly, though, there was initially little difference between ‘Independents’ and ‘Presbyterians’, except that they received financial assistance from the Independent and the Presbyterian Fund boards, respectively.
The exclusivity of Independent congregations tended to perpetuate a conservatism inChristian doctrine, which kept the congregations orthodox and Calvinistic. The more open attitude of Presbyterian congregations led them to appoint ministers with a more liberal viewpoint, which, amongst other factors such as their ministers being trained in theDissenting Academies, led to a growing heterodoxy intoArminianism,Arianism, and eventuallyChristian Unitarianism.
ThePresbyterian Church of England was founded in 1876 by merging of the English congregations of the chiefly ScottishUnited Presbyterian Church with various other Presbyterian congregations in England.[8]
In 1972, virtually all congregations of the Presbyterian Church of England combined with the majority of churches in theCongregational Church in England and Wales to form theUnited Reformed Church in England.
In 1969 theInternational Presbyterian Church was founded in England with its first congregation in Ealing. As of 2019 it has nine English churches which are part of its wider British Presbytery.[9] It also has seven Korean-speaking congregations in England as well, as part of the Korean Presbytery.
In 1996 theEvangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales was established as a presbytery. As of 2016 it had 17 congregations (12 in England, 3 in Wales, 1 in Sweden, and 1 in Germany.[10]
