A Historical Background of Puritanism before 1620

Following Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism became an additional religious branch of Christianity that emerged in Western Europe- mainly in France, Italy, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands- starting from the eleventh century aiming primarily at making reforms in the Roman Catholic Church. Although the movement was oppressed by the Roman Church, it managed to survive. The fourteenth till the seventeenth centuries also witnessed religious reforms; in England, two Puritan distinct groups prevailed: the first group refers to the Puritans who believed in the possibility of the Anglican Church’s reformation; whereas the second group completely disagreed and separated from the Established Church. Their opposition to the English Tudor and Stuart monarchs’ religious policy resulted in their persecution.

This chapter will deal with the situation of Roman Catholicism in Europe during the Middle Ages (500- 1500) and with the early signs of religious rejection, leading to the emergence of Protestantism and its evolution into Puritanism and Separatism in England. The chapter will also focus on the Puritans’ response to their persecution, and their emigration following the exploration of America.

Roman Catholic Domination in Europe before the Rise of the Theological Protest 

Two important steps helped the birth and evolution of Roman Catholicism: firstly, with the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine into Christianity in 318 AD; the Catholic Church started to adopt a governmental structure, in the sense that provinces were governed by bishops based in the major cities of the province: bishops of Alexandria in Egypt, Antioch in Turkey, and in the Italian city Rome. Secondly, the Roman Catholic religion officially began after the Council of Nicea, Turkey in 325 AD, when the Emperor asked all the church leaders for unity. The Council was held after the heresy of Arius, a Christian priest in Alexandria, who opposed the doctrine of Trinity: the existence of God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus the Son. Arius believed that Christ was created from another substance different from that of God. More precisely, Arius believed that God always existed without a beginning and separate from Jesus who had a beginning. So, the Council of Nicea tried to solve these religious disputes between the orthodox and unorthodox Christians by the creation of the Roman Catholic Church. The Council banned all of Arius’ works and exiled him and his followers for refusing to submit to the Nicene Creed of the Council. The Creed stated that Jesus Christ was begotten and not made, which meant that he was from the same substance as that of God. The Emperor aimed at having one book that would give authority to the new Church because at that time there had been a number of religious versions, among which the Council of Nicea which considered a number of them sacred and important parts of the Bible. These included: Baruch, Daniel grec, Esther grec, Judith, and Letter of Jeremy. The Council formulated canons regarded as Church laws that could regulate its discipline: they acknowledged the authority of the Roman Pope, showed how bishops should be ordained, and prohibited the presence of women in the house of a cleric with the exception of his relatives.

After the legalization of Roman Catholicism in 325 AD, Rome became preeminent because of internal and external factors. The former included the fact that it was the area where the Apostle Peter had been martyred and buried. He had a special importance among all Christ’s apostles, and his name was always written at the beginning of the verse. Peter was mentioned several times in the Gospel, including Matthew 10:2-5, Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:14, and Acts 1:13. Jesus informed Peter about his plan for building a church in Rome. On the other hand, the external factor that helped the development of Roman Catholicism occurred after the death of the Prophet Mohamed (Peace Be Upon Him) in the seventh century. The Prophet’s followers succeeded in invading Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, leaving only Constantinople and Rome, which gave the two regions the opportunity to emerge as powerful Christian regions.

Roman Catholicism extended in a number of territories from the fifth to the eleventh century covering England and Wales, west of the Rhine, south of the Alps, and the Balkans; accompanying geographical expansion of the Roman Empire. Such expansion is clearly illustrated on Map 1, which shows the fact that after 325 AD Christian missionary centres, communities, and Church councils were established in a number of European areas.

The Roman Catholic Church was headed by the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and leader of all Christians who had supreme authority in matters of faith. Under the Pope in rank were the cardinals who headed departments of the Roman Curia, and constituted the College of Cardinals acting as advisers to the Pope. Below the cardinals in rank, there were archbishops whose main role was to provide pastoral governance for a diocese; they were called diocesan ordinaries, assisted by other bishops, known as coadjutor bishops. All of those bishops were assisted by priests and deacons, who had to be celibate men. In fact, the Catholics believed that an unmarried clergy could serve God with more freedom.

The Roman Catholics believed in monotheism, that is the existence of a single God as three different, inseparable persons: God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son- Jesus . Jesus’ life, especially his crucifixion and resurrection, is the basis of Christianity. The Roman Catholics believed in the ascendancy of the early church founded by Jesus Christ, and believed in Heaven and Hell.

The Catholics also believed in the importance of the seven sacraments, which are: baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, holy orders, matrimony, and anointing of the sick. The first is a sacrament of admission into the Christian Church, which involves the use of water and the Trinitarian invocation, “I baptize you: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The candidate is wholly or partly immersed in water, which is poured over or sprinkled on the head. The second is a Christian ceremony by which the relation between man and God established previously in baptism is to be confirmed or strengthened. The third, also called Holy Communion, a Christian sacrament to remember the action of Jesus at his Last Supper with his disciples, when he gave bread saying, “This is my body,” and wine saying, “This is my blood.” The Roman Catholics agreed that it was an important action because by eating bread and drinking wine, the Church recalled what Jesus Christ had done. The fourth is the punishment of those who sin seriously, and are to be excluded from the Holy Communion until they show repentance by experiencing a period of penance that includes practices such as fasting, and the wearing of sackcloth. The fifth sacrament is a group of orders: major orders including (subdeacons, deacons, priests, bishops), and minor orders comprising (porters, lectors, exorcists and acolytes) which represent church services. The sixth means that marriage is a sacrament when contracted in the presence of a priest and blessed by him. The last sacrament, which is practised only on those who are seriously ill, involves anointing eyes, ears, nostrils, lips, hands, the feet and the loins with blessed oil and the pronunciation of a formula.