4th July: The Great Ejection

Speaker: Chris Cooper

In 1662 over 2000 Puritan ministers were ejected from the Church of England. Their quiet heroism and suffering provide a very moving challenge to separate from error.

THE GREAT EJECTION       

Summer of 1662. Many good ministers facing a sad dilemma. Facing 2 alternatives – either conform to the new laws or be banned from all ministry and means of supporting family. Ignore conscience or starve. They were husbands, fathers anxiously weighing up the issues.

To leave their tranquil homes, their living, their lifelong work – a prospect of trial worse than martyrdom. Facing long years of grinding poverty, preachers silenced, night time assemblies, arrests, prisons. These were the best men in the country, most learned, most experienced, most dedicated.
·      Great Ejection. What does the title mean?
·      Why did 2000 ministers suffer great loss in 1662?
·      Why was this such an important date in British history?
One of the great events leading to strong non-conformity and freedom of religion.
After this the spiritual life of this nation was never the same again.
We need to understand these things because:
·      We don’t appreciate what price our forbears paid for the liberty we enjoy.
·      Great danger today of losing the liberty gained then.
·      Great challenge to us to deny ourselves and live light to this world’s comforts.
To understand we need to know something of the history of the previous century and before.
1560 to 1660 the most remarkable period of British history. 1662 - The end of an era.

The era of Puritanism. What was Puritanism? – the desire to complete the Reformation.
The church had been reformed in its doctrine and Henry VIII had removed the pope as supreme head of the church. The Puritans wanted to complete the Reformation – church practices. Desire for a pure church. Agreement with the Reformers in Europe – Calvin, Bullinger and others.
The GE was culmination of more than a century of religious turmoil, progress and set-backs.

1300 -1500 – power of the RC church; evangelical lights such as Wycliffe; gospel knowledge in the country. RC church rarely loved by British but religion of superstition, saints, stories not Bible truth.

Henry VIII 1509 – 1547   (38yr)
·      Separation from pope for personal reasons (marriage, desperate for an heir), Creation of C of E – Henry the Head
·      He never stopped believing RC doctrine.
·      Very partial reformation. Not as thorough as continental churches like Geneva.
·      Puritan movement – wanting to rid church of RC elements, purify its worship, deal with vestments, sacraments etc.

Edward VI 1547-1553 (reigned from 9-16yrs old)   (7yr)
·      Evangelical youth, short reign – great growth of Protestant religion – the young king himself has left us 105 essays showing his piety and learning!
·      Archbishop Cranmer – Replacement of Catholic Missal (service book) by Prayer Book with 39 Articles.
Prayer Book – services, prayers for each occasion. Acceptable to both evangelical and high church parties.

Mary (Bloody Mary) 1553 – 1558   (5yr)
·      Catholic - determined to reintroduce RC religion.
·      Persecutions fierce – see Foxes Book of Martyrs.
·      300 men & women burnt at stake including Archbishop Cranmer (d 1556) but mostly common people, including very many women.
·      Many fled to Continent – Geneva and other places. Learned much from the Reformed.

Elizabeth I (Anne Boleyn’s daughter) 1558 – 1603   (45)
·      Return to Protestant religion. Strong Protestant bishops but she wanted her way.
·      Acts of parliament: Queen is Supreme Governor of the CofE; All services must use the Prayer Book.
·      Not strictly enforced – men of various views stayed in CofE hoping to win the argument.
·      3 parties: true Anglicans; Presbyterians (rejecting Bishops & Prayer Book); Separatists for immediate withdrawal (no hope of reforming CofE – leave and do what’s right).
·      Increasing hostility of Elizabeth to Presbyterians & Separatists.  State power vs freedom.
·      She saw if bishops power went, her power reduced.

James I 1603 – 1625   (22)
·      Presbyterian upbringing in Scotland. Calvinist. Great hopes amongst Protestants.
·      Very soon embraced Anglicanism and accepted homage from the bishops.
·      1000 clergymen presented great petition asking for abolition of popish ceremonies and provision of adequate preachers.
·      By 1605 300 clergy were deprived of their livings by the bishops. Some went to Holland, some to America – Mayflower Pilgrims (1620).
·      James initiated new translation to replace the popular Geneva Bible which included marginal notes he did not like. AV published 1611.
·      Great progress of Puritanism early in 17th Century – Cambridge, Oxford, London.

Charles I  1625 – 1649   (24)
·      Trouble! Act of Uniformity enforced. Archbishop Laud hated puritans, banned Calvinistic preaching – Book of Sports to be read from pulpits – urged maypole dances and other sports to be held on Sundays.
·      Cruel persecutions eg Archbishop Leighton’s father – he’d published a book against the current view of the ministry – he was removed from his ministry, imprisoned, severely whipped; next set in the pillory and had one of his ears cut off, his nose slit and branded on the cheek with red hot iron. Back to prison for a week then the rest of his sentence – pillory, other ear cut off, other side of his nose slit and branded on other cheek. Not the worse treatment received by others!
·      Result – 4000 puritans became planters in America. At least 77 pastors went.
·      Then Charles and Laud over-stretched themselves – tried to impose bishops on Scotland.
·      Strong response – the Solemn League and Covenant: only full Presbyterianism will do. Led to outbreak of first Civil War.
·      Something had to be done. Westminster Assembly of Divines, a meeting of Anglicans, Presbyterians and some Independents. Confession, Catechism, Directory of Public Worship.
·      From 1645 to 1653 Presbyterians had the power in parliament and strong in the church.
·      Charles executed 30/1/1649.

Cromwell 1649 – 1658   The Commonwealth  (9yr)
·      Church confused. Still a state church (Established) but Prayer Book banned (because it had been viewed idolatrously and contained many ceremonies which godly ministers could not stand), bishops abolished. Elders
·      Around 2000 C of E ministers were ejected – mostly because of scandalous lives or inefficiency, not because of any religious test imposed on their consciences as in 1662. Treated kindly and given some support.
·      Religious tolerance promoted by Cromwell – an Independent.
·      Death of Oliver Cromwell. Son Richard ineffective.

Charles II 1660 – 1685   (25yr)
·      Great confusion – “bring back the king”. Charles promised ‘liberty to tender consciences’.
·      The Bible “the thing he loved above all things in the world!!”
·      Remember – the CofE had every type of minister – Anglican, Presbtn, Independent.
·      Presbyterians & Independents bent over backwards to compromise with the king.
·      Everyone very hopeful. But the bishops rejected the proposals.
·      Charles called a conference – puritans and bishops. Charles’ Declaration in October 1660 met the Presbyterian requirements. But the bishops got the House of Commons to reject it.
·      1661 General Election. Royalist majority. Savoy Conference called to settle worship question. Bishops determined to eliminate the Puritans.
·      Act of Uniformity of Elizabeth I
·      All ministers in CofE must conform by St Bartholomew’s Day – 24th August 1662. Everyone had expected it to be Michaelmas Day in September – cruel reason – a year’s tithes due on that day – payment for services already given.
·      Every minister had to decide one way or the other.

The ejection
·      Around 1,909, some had already gone in 1660/1.
·      Oxford – 11 heads of colleges, 39 fellows, 3 chaplains.
·      Cambridge – 5 heads of colleges, 18 fellows, 2 chaplains.
·      Eton – the headmaster, 5 fellows, chaplain, 29 schoolmasters.

Why were these men ejected?
·      Conscience forbade conformity to the Act, which contravened Word of God.
·      Willingness to suffer anything rather that fail their Lord.

What did these, mostly Presbyterian, Puritans object to?
1.      Being required to agree that there is nothing in the Prayer Book or 39       Articles contrary to the Word of God.
2.         Strong objection to re-ordination by bishops (implying their ministries had not been valid).
3.      Being required to declare all baptised persons are regenerated by Holy      Spirit.
4.         Use of the sign of the cross when baptising infants – seen as a superstitious        addition.
5.         God parents making promises on behalf of baptised infants but parents       excluded.
6.         That salvation of baptised infants could be proved from scripture.
7.         Ministers being obliged to wear a surplice when officiating.
8.         All must receive the Lord’s Supper kneeling (papist posture implying worship          of ‘the host’).
9.      Being required to give the Lord’s Supper to all confirmed people       regardless of the state of their lives.
10.     Absolution of sins implied.
11.     Being required to state that all who they bury are true Christians.
12.     Apocryphal books being used for readings in addition to the Bible.
13. Large number of saints’ days.
14.      Declaration of the unlawfulness of ever taking arms against the king for any reason (seen as destroying the ancient liberties of the constitution).

Who were these men?
·      Godly ministers
·      Some of the greatest scholars – their books adorn our shelves even today.

What did they suffer?
·      Had to leave their livings, houses and tithes.
·      Not allowed to be schoolmasters.
·      Their followers mostly poor, so they were left destitute.
·      1664 Conventicle Act – prohibited the gathering of more than 5 persons >16yrs old in addition to the family to listen to preaching. Led to informers making much money from discovering meetings, many accusations of meetings in homes, in barns etc. dishonest informers believed rather than godly men & women. First offence: 3 months prison or £5; 2nd offence doubled; 3rd offence banishment to America or £100; if returned or escaped death penalty.
·      Jails soon filled with Dissenters. Estimates 5-8,000 dissenters died in prison. 68,000 suffered in person or property.
·      1665 Five Mile Act – not allowed within 5 miles of where they had ministered. (1665 Plague many ministers fled, many non-conformists went to help risking their lives). This Act took them from friends and made life even more difficult. It also greatly empowered magistrates to seize property, to break into houses, drag off to prison any suspects and their hearers. 
·      Many in jail because they kept on preaching. John Bunyan 12 yrs (20 in total). Pilgrims Progress.
·      Thousands fled to America or Europe.

Why did they suffer all this?
·      They regarded the Lord Jesus Christ as the sole Head of the Church and nobody else.
·      The Word of God was supreme and sole judge in all things.
·      The argument was over how God is to be worshipped.
·      They put life and spirit and spirituality before institutions, organisations and traditions.
·      They put conscience before comfort and all else; and freedom, and the right to private judgement as being more important than any kind of suffering.
·      They lived consciously as under the eye of God, regarding life in this world as but a pilgrimage. They kept their eye on ‘the recompense of the reward’ like Moses.

Remarkable Facts
·      All the records show that these men never regretted their decision. They could live with clear conscience and die happily. Eg Mr Nathaniel Heywood of Ormskirk – during his last illness he was asked whether his non-conformity was any trouble to him. The dying man, smiling pleasantly, though in great pain, as if he felt relief at the sound of the word, replied,” No indeed, it is a great comfort to me”.
·      The way the Lord provided for them. Poverty yet wonderful provisions for them & families.
·      They saw their non-conformity as unchanging -  there was no going back. They soon made provision for the building of new chapels looking to the coming generations.

What good came out of it all?
·      Convinced many of the reality of religion.
·      Delivered much of the church from the yoke of the state despite the fact that many of those ministers believed in a national or state church.  True Christianity largely found in the non-conformist churches after 1689. Here was obedience to the word rather than the safety of the state.
·      Their incomparable writings. Bookshop – Owen, Baxter, Flavel, Bunyan…..
·      The more they were afflicted the more they multiplied. Persecutions always produce blessing.
·      Wonderful example of holy living, patient endurance in suffering and loyalty to God’s Word even at the cost of being “fools for Christ’s sake” and being regarded as “the offscourings of all things”.
·      Freedom of conscience – religious and political freedom.
·      Evidence of the evil of state-supported religion. Separation of church and state.

A sober lesson
·      After full toleration in 1689 many churches became cold and lifeless. Most of the Presbyterians became Unitarians – denying the deity of Christ!
·      It is not opposition and suffering that is the great danger but ease and prosperity.

Lessons for today
·      See the great desire of men to gain power, to force conformity on everyone. Protestants wrought these persecutions. Not by the Catholic church! Man loves power, state control, fears liberty of conscience. Fears to let men trust the Lord and follow their own conscience.
·      As intolerance grows we may face real persecution in the coming years. Will we accept it patiently and willingly as they did?
·      Freedom from being required to affirm a particular worldview or set of beliefs in order to hold a public sector job or stand for election, work in professions such as teaching and law, or study at university
Source: Repeal of the various Test Acts between 1719 and 1871. The Oaths Acts in 1888 allowed atheists to become Members of Parliament.
Today, many are being put under great pressure to affirm beliefs, particularly about sexual ethics, contrary to Biblical teaching. People have lost their jobs and some thrown off university courses for not complying with unbiblical views.
·      The real battle – the church’s real enemies are not persecutors but the powers of darkness whose aim is the destruction of souls.
·      The greatest danger for us is not the state, the EU, the Pope but our own coldness, lethargy, complacency and willingness to let worldliness in to the churches.