The Heavenly Pattern of the Church

The ecclesiology of Richard Baxter (1615–91) has long been a matter of dispute. In particular, his role in the Restoration debates over the settlement of the Church of England from 1660–2 and as a leader of the Nonconformist party thereafter has been a source of considerable confusion. In this artic...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Burton, Simon J. G. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2014
In: Ecclesiology
Year: 2014, Volume: 10, Issue: 1, Pages: 53-75
Further subjects:B Richard Baxter james ussher reduced episcopacy trinity covenant unity discipline
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
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Summary:The ecclesiology of Richard Baxter (1615–91) has long been a matter of dispute. In particular, his role in the Restoration debates over the settlement of the Church of England from 1660–2 and as a leader of the Nonconformist party thereafter has been a source of considerable confusion. In this article it is argued that from at least the 1650s onwards Baxter was motivated by an ‘Association ecclesiology’ – a desire to comprehend as many confessions as possible around the fundamentals of the Gospel – which displays marked affinities to Archbishop James Ussher’s system of reduced episcopacy. In this the twin themes of unity and discipline become rooted within a distinctive Trinitarian and covenantal framework, which unfolds in his mature ecclesiology into a moving vision of the universal Church reunited in bonds of love towards God and one another.
ISSN:1745-5316
Contains:In: Ecclesiology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/17455316-01001005