John Greenwood (divine)

John Greenwood (* 1556; ? † April 5, 1593 ) was an English Puritan and Separatist.

He joined on 18 March 1577 to 1578 and as a fellow student of theology into Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he received his BA in 1580 or 1581 He was ordained by the Bishop of London John Aylmer a deacon of the Church of England and by the Bishop of Lincoln Thomas Cooper priest and worked for five years as chaplain of the Church of England in the county of Norfolk. What finally changed his religious beliefs, such as whether he was directly influenced by the teachings of Robert Browne, a graduate of his own college, is not known. He studied some years in conjunction with Christopher Marlowe at the same college.

He developed in any case, strict puritanical views that made him fall into a " rigid " separatism. He lost his privileges and started in the house of Lord Robert Rich of Rockford, who was interested in his teachings, in the county of Essex to hold secret services. Soon after, both were " Lord Rich" and a priest named Robert Wright, who stood with John Greenwood in combination, and became arrested in jail. Greenwood then went to London and formed a secret church in the house of Henry Martin in St. Andrews. From about 1586 he was regarded as the acknowledged leader of the London Separatists, of which a considerable number had migrated to jail since 1567. He also was arrested in October 1586 when he was conducting a church there and imprisoned in the Clink prison.

Friendship with Henry Barrowe

Ten years earlier, had studied in Cambridge Barrowe Henry, the third son of Thomas Barrowe, Esquire of Shipdam, Norfolk and his (second) wife Mary. Barrowe matriculated on 22 November 1565 in Cambridge, received 1569/70 his BA Degree, has been a practicing attorney in Her majesty 's court. After he had begun to be interested in the religious teachings Greenwoods and had learned from Greenwoods detention, he visited him on November 19, 1586 or 1587 in the Clink Prison. Here Barrowe was detained without pretense and moved a few days later in the Fleet Prison. Here is Greenwood and Barrowe for seven years were in close confinement, with considerable lack of adequate food, cold weather protection and other necessities of life and frequent interrogations before the authorities of the English Church, they be asked about their religious beliefs.

Life in prison

1586

Such interrogations were first held in 1586 at the palace before the bishop of London.

1589

In 1589, Greenwood was the archdeacon " Hutchinson " in the Fleet prison visits, pretending to negotiate on the basis of a Commission of Her Majesty. Greenwood declined to testify anything, as long as he would get no writing utensil and a prisoner as a witness of entertainment, as his affairs maliciously slandered and had been incorrectly reported to the bishops in particular by an " M. Some ". Upon issuance of writing utensils and witnesses of the Archdeacon different questions read aloud, in particular, how far along were the Queen and Church. When the archdeacon finished the " frustrane " conversation, he considers it important that all records in witness Mr. Calthop should be left. Greenwood said: ("No sooner was I gone and locked up than the wardens were sent to the gentleman for the papers, who, declining to deliver them without our consent, the archbishop 's servant came and Took them away" ). In an interrogation in April 1589 between Greenwood, Barrowe and a clergyman of the English Church, the prisoners listed on the prisoner's status: ( "Things were disorderly handled and there were manifold cavils and shifts, shameless denials of manifest truths, and most unchristian contumelies, scoffs and reproaches against our persons " ).

The interrogation ended with Greenwood and Barrowes requirement to register a summary of the reasons why they stuck to their refusal not to return to the Church of England,

In the long, sometimes briefly interrupted prison Greenwood and Barrowe authored several books and writings, sometimes under great courage and considerable difficulties. In 1590 they had the Scriptures written An Answer to George Gifford 's pretended Defence of Read Prayers.

1592

In the fall of 1592 can be seen for some while a relaxation in the treatment of Greenwood, he (but not Barrowe ) was temporarily released and lived with Roger Rippon in South Walk. Rippons house was one of those houses where the members of a secret church had met who had been four or five years previously formed from Greenwood. Several hundred came to the free foot separatists and members of the Secret Church London fled to Holland and settled in Amsterdam. Mr. Greenwood, released from prison, met again with this group what the bishops alerted in view of the rumors of the spread of separatism. In December 1592 Greenwood was arrested again and sent to the Fleet prison back to Barrow. This time he was arrested at the home of Edward Boyse in Ludgate Hill.

1593

As of March 1593 the trial began at the Old Bailey against Greenwood along with Barrowe they finally under the charge of " Devising and circulating seditious books", sentenced to death, which they had written in prison. Your " seduction " was that she had denied the ecclesiastical supremacy of the queen and attacked the ecclesiastical order.

Greenwood was interrogated on 11 and 20 March and admitted the authorship of the books loaded. Robert punch and Robert Stokes tested and certified on 19 March 1593 as the books had arrived in print. Even Daniel Studley and James Forster testified to have printed the book A Brief Description of the False Church. Even if the allegations against Greenwood and Barrowe were rejected by them, they were found guilty and pronounced the verdict for hanging.

Assessment

The law with the Greenwood and Barrowe were sentenced, met only to a very limited extent on their case. The prelates had introduced a proposed law to change the law to parliament to not increase come into collision with the law change. Unlike under the previous postponements Greenwood was finally brought on 6 April 1593 in the morning secretly to Tyburn and hanged without ceremony. After the death of Greenwood and Barrowe the Parliament of England passed a law ("To retain the Queen Majesty's subjects in Their Due Obedience " ) as follows:

• : That if any person over 16 years of age Shall be absent from church for a month, or by writing, printing or speech Shall attempt to persuade any of her Majesty's subjects to deny the Queen 's ecclesiastical supremacy or Shall attempt to persuade them from coming to church or Shall be present at any unlawful meeting for religious worship They Shall be committed to prison without bail until They conform and make submission. If for 3 months They refuse to conform They Are to be banished from the realm. If They Fail to leave the country or return without license They Are to be hanged as felons.

Notes and references

• That the people of the church, as They Stand, are not orderly to the faith, but was mingled together in confusion.
• The ministry set over the people is not the true ministry of the gospel Which Christ Has appointed.
• The administrations and worship of the church are not accor ding to the word of God.
• The ecclesiastical government, offers and canons are not accor ding to the testament of Christ and are anti- Christian and popish.
• That the sacraments of baptism and the Lord 's Supper as administered in the Established Church are not true sacraments.
• Did infants ought not be communion jesus accor ding to the form of baptism now in the Church of England.
• That it is not lawful to use the Lord 's prayer publicly in the church for a set form of prayer.
• That all set and stinted prayers are Merely babblings in the sight of the Lord and not to be used in public Christian assemblies.
• That the public prayers and worship of God in England as it is done in the Established Church is false, superstitious, popish and not to be used in any Christian congregation.