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RELIGION
The road
to "Separatism" began with the Reformation. In 1532, King Henry VIII
declared the English church independent of the pope. His successors
introduced further religious reforms.
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This
1592 Geneva Bible belonged to Pilgrim William Bradford. It
journeyed with him from England to Holland and eventually to Plymouth.
The Pilgrim Separatists used the "Geneva Bible." This
was a translation (with commentary notes in the margin) made by
English Calvinist refugees living in Switzerland.
The official English church strongly disagreed with the Geneva Bible's
commentary. King James authorized a new translation. The
first "King James Bible" was published in 1611.
Pilgrim Hall Museum also owns a King James Bible, printed in 1620
(shortly before the Mayflower sailed). It belonged to
John Alden; Alden was not originally a Separatist but chose to join
the community.
For further information on the Geneva Bible and other
Bibles in the
collections of Pilgrim Hall, click HERE. |
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| "[They]
as the Lord's free people joined themselves... in the fellowship of
the gospel, to walk in all His ways made known, or to be made known
unto them." |
William
Bradford
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Later in the 16th
century, some Englishmen believed more reforms were needed to
"purify" the church. Click HERE
for a quote from the 17th-century journal of Pilgrim Governor William Bradford.
Among the more radical of these "Puritans" were the
Separatists, who formed congregations entirely apart from the English
church.
One Separatist group centered in Scrooby at the home of William
Brewster.
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WILLIAM BREWSTER
1566-1644 |
William Brewster was
born in Scrooby around 1566. After a brief time at Cambridge
University and then in the diplomatic service, he returned to
Scrooby as postmaster.
The Separatist congregation that became the nucleus of the
Pilgrims gathered at Brewster's home. After the move to
Holland, where he worked as a printer, Brewster became the
church's Elder.
Brewster sailed on the Mayflower. He was, in the
absence of an ordained minister, the much-respected religious
leader of Plymouth Colony. Brewster died in 1644. His
inventory of several hundred books in English and Latin attests to
his love of learning and his spirituality. |
Brewster was joined by John Robinson, a Cambridge-educated
minister who became the group's religious leader.
The English Crown forbade separation from the Church, persecuting
and imprisoning many. In 1608, the Scrooby group fled into more
liberal Holland, despite King James' efforts to prevent their departure.
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