London Presbyterians and the British Revolutions, 1638–64

• Published in: Bunyan studies no. 26; pp. 117 - 120
• Main Author: Van Dixhoorn, Chad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Newcastle Upon Tyne Northumbria University, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Arts, Design and Social Sciences 01.01.2022
• Subjects: Cooperation; Politics; Power; Presbyterian churches; Reading; Religion; Revolutions; Theology
• ISSN: 0954-0970

Bucking current assumptions about presbyterián unpopularity, these chapters find that London presbyterianism, while not in the ascendancy in the city or in the House of Commons, was sufficiently popular among city leaders and London ministers that presbyterians and their demands were included in attempts to forge terms of peace with the king. A second civil war in which presbyterians were suspected of playing a part, and the execution of the king by congregationalists, was enough to end formal legislative cooperation. While presbyterian government was waning in London, chapter eleven tells the final story in the English presbyterian tragedy, in which their taste of power in 1659-60 led political presbyterians once more to propose a national presbyterian government with no room for dissent, thus leading to the defeat of the bill by a coalition of congregationalists and episcopalians in the House of Commons.