The Tragedy of 1662 
The Tragedy of 1662 - The Ejection and Persecution of the Puritans by Lee Gatiss In these days of spiritual ignorance in the country and doctrinal laxity in the church, many Anglicans look back to former times with a certain degree of wistfulness. One date lingers in the collective Anglican memory as suggestive of a golden era: 1662. Yet 1662 was not a good year for those to whom the gospel and a good conscience were more precious than the institutional church. Hundreds of ‘evangelical’ puritan ministers were forced to leave the Church of England. Persecution of “dissenters” such as Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, and John Owen continued for a quarter of a century as they were banned from preaching and their like-minded congregations forbidden to meet. This study examines the reasons for the Great Ejection and Persecution, and the things modern day Anglicans and Free Churches can learn from these easily neglected events. Click Here to order it from Latimer Trust (also available on Amazon.co.uk). A shortened talk version of the content is available to download as an mp3 by clicking here. Lee Gatiss is Associate Minister of St. Helen’s, Bishopsgate in the City of London and Editor of The Theologian: The Internet Journal for Integrated Theology at www.theologian.org.uk. First Published 2007: 60 pages ISBN: 978 0 946307 60 9 Price: £2.50 This paper can also be read in conjunction with my study of Richard Baxter's account of the Restoration here. |