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Puritans in Bury in the 1600s

During the 1600s, increasing numbers of Christians were disaffected with the current state of the Church of England and sought its reform. This overlapped with parliament's struggle with the Stuart Kings, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649, and the brief period of the Commonwealth, when Britain was ruled as a republic led by Oliver Cromwell, and briefly his son Richard. The monarchy was restored in 1660.  Those who sought reform of the Church of England in the 1600s were known as Puritans. Some Puritans wanted the national church to be reorganised along Reformed/Presbyterian lines, and this is what more or less what happened during the Commonwealth period. Others, sometimes known as "Separatists", rejected the whole idea of a national church, and organised independent churches - what would later be known as the congregational churches.  In the Lancashire town of Bury, in 1645, the incumbent parish vicar Travers, also a Puritan, was removed for suspecte...
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The origin and spread of the early Baptist churches in England and elsewhere

The origins of Baptist churches go back to the 1600s.  The very first Baptist church began in 1609 and was for English speaking Christians based in the Netherlands, relocating to London in 1611 (Thomas Helwys). These churches were known as "General Baptists" and followed the theology of Arminius and the Anabaptists.  A second genesis of Baptist churches was in London in about 1638 (John Spilsbury). These churches followed the Reformed Theology of John Calvin and the Synod of Dordt. In 1644, the First London Baptist Confession was signed by seven Baptist churches in the capital.  Baptist churches later spread from London outwards.  During the time of the English Civil War (1642-1651), there were Baptist Christians in the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell. In 1648 the New Model Army campaigned in Lancashire during the Second Civil War.  From about 1649/50, John Wigan (d. 1665) was pastor of a Baptist church meeting in Chetham's hospital which is now part Chet...

Pre-history: Baptists in Bury before 1835

The first Baptist church in Bury (Greater Manchester) was Providence Strict and Particular Baptist church which started in March 1835 (with a building from 1836). In 1845, Ebenezer Baptist church started (with a building on Knowsley Street from 1853, relocating to Tenterden Street in 1898). Later, there were Baptist churches on Rochdale Road (from 1860), and on Chesham Avenue (from 1881).  These historic churches are now represented by Bury Baptist Church (Baptist Union) on the Manchester Road, and Radcliffe Road Baptist Church (Grace Baptist Assembly). There is also a Bury Bible Baptist Church whose origins go back to missionary work by pastors from the USA in the 1970s. Anyway, until 1835, there were no Baptist churches in Bury .  The origins of Baptist churches go back to the 1600s.  In 1669, the vicar of Bury parish complained of various conventicles "constantly kept at private houses of Independents, Presbyterians, Dippers and other such like jointly, of the best ...

St John's schools, Bury (a former boys and girls school on Hornby Street/Birch Street)

In Bury (Greater Manchester), on the corner of Hornby Street and Birch Street (just off Walmersley Road), there is a set of buildings which look like a church.  This is what they look like today.  This is the former St John's schools, which appear on old maps, such as the one below dated to 1890.  Here is the school on a map of Bury dated to 1908:  I have found a reference to these schools (one for boys and one for girls) in Barrett's 1883 Directory of Bury. Based on the name, the school had links with St John's Church of England which used to be on St John's square in Bury (near where Costa is now on "The Rock"). Old St John's church dated back to 1770. From 1956, most of its services were held at Seedfield Mission Church on Parkinson Avenue, later the site of the church hall. From 1964, the congregation of St John's church permanently relocated to a new building at its present location on Sunny Avenue. Here is some information about the school/s take...

William Tyndale & the translation of the Bible into English

This year (2025) marks the 500 anniversary of the translation of the Bible into English by William Tyndale.  There were translations of the Bible from Hebrew/Greek into other languages from the earliest centuries of the Christian church. The first languages to "get" translations were Syriac (the area stretching eastwards from Antioch), Latin (Rome and western Europe) and Coptic (Egypt). Later, in the centuries from the 300s to 500s, translations were also made into Gothic, Armenian, Georgian and Ge'ez (Ethiopia) languages.   There had been translations of the Bible into English before Tyndale. The Venerable Bede, a leading monk living at Jarrow from the late 600s, undertook a translation of John's gospel into English. Also, King Alfred (849-899) translated the first five books of the Old Testament into English. Later, in 1384, Reformer John Wycliffe and his followers completed a translation into English from the Latin (Vulgate). However, the institutional church durin...

Who was at the Council of Nicea, and where had Christianity reached by 325?

The First Council of Nicea in 325 affirmed the fully deity of God the Son. According to deacon and later bishop Athanasius, the Council was attended by 318 bishops. This figure may be symbolic, reflecting a Biblical reference in Genesis, but is considered to be more or less correct.  Most of the bishops who attended the Council were from the eastern half of the Empire - places such as Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt and Libya.  Meanwhile, the Latin-speaking western half of the Empire was represented by 6 or 7 bishoprics (also known as episcopal "sees").  The see of Rome, held by the elderly bishop Sylvester I of Rome, was represented by two Roman presbyters, Vitus and Vincentius.  The see of Cordoba (Hispania) was represented by Hosius, who played a leading role at the Council.  The see of Milan (Italy) was represented by Eustorgius; the see of Calabria (also Italy) was represented by Marcus.  Carthage (Africa) was represented by Caecilianus. Sirmium (Pannonia) wa...

Apostles of Jesus Christ

At this time of year, we are remembering and reflecting on Christ's resurrection from the dead, and we think of the Apostles who were witnesses of that resurrection.  Not all those who saw the risen Christ were Apostles. For example, Mary Magdalene who was the first to encounter the Lord after his resurrection, or the 500 brothers mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15.  An "Apostle of Jesus Christ" was someone personally chosen by Christ to be an Apostle (Acts 1), and who had seen the risen Christ first-hand (1 Corinthians 9:1-3).  There are at least four categories of people who can be described as "Apostles of Jesus Christ".   1)  First there were Simon Peter and the rest of the Twelves minus Judas, who was replaced by Matthias  (see Acts 1) 2)  Then there were the brothers of the Lord , which definitely included James and most likely also Jude (1 Corinthians 15:7; 9:5) 3) Besides these, there were also "other Apostles" who were not one of the Twel...