Edward Stillingfleet and the 17th Century Episcopacy

The 17th century was a difficult time for bishops in England. Throughout the century, the country was beset with religious and political conflicts and violence, both verbal and physical. This situation was compounded by factions within monarchy, parliament and Church. The Church, in its widest sense...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Nigel SHARP
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA) 2022-06-01
Series:E-REA
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/erea/14194
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841552569050071040
author Nigel SHARP
author_facet Nigel SHARP
author_sort Nigel SHARP
collection DOAJ
description The 17th century was a difficult time for bishops in England. Throughout the century, the country was beset with religious and political conflicts and violence, both verbal and physical. This situation was compounded by factions within monarchy, parliament and Church. The Church, in its widest sense, was roughly split between three entities: dissenters, Anglicans and Roman-Catholics. Before the Interregnum, the Episcopacy had been abolished although bishops did not lose their clerical status. Edward Stillingfleet (1635-1699), ordained in 1658 before the Restoration of 1660, believed that Episcopal oversight was the best method of Church jurisdiction. He noted that neither Christ not the Apostles had decreed any specific of Church government. If individual Churches or ministers stayed true to accepted practices and beliefs, there would have been less need for the Episcopacy. After the Glorious Revolution in 1689, Stillingfleet became the Bishop of Worcester. Throughout his career, Stillingfleet continually defended the Episcopacy against attacks by Dissenters who were against Episcopal authority and by Roman-Catholics who felt the bishops had deserted the true Christian faith.
format Article
id doaj-art-dd860ec3263648f3be9eeb8d74a02434
institution Kabale University
issn 1638-1718
language English
publishDate 2022-06-01
publisher Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA)
record_format Article
series E-REA
spelling doaj-art-dd860ec3263648f3be9eeb8d74a024342025-01-09T12:55:03ZengLaboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA)E-REA1638-17182022-06-0119210.4000/erea.14194Edward Stillingfleet and the 17th Century EpiscopacyNigel SHARPThe 17th century was a difficult time for bishops in England. Throughout the century, the country was beset with religious and political conflicts and violence, both verbal and physical. This situation was compounded by factions within monarchy, parliament and Church. The Church, in its widest sense, was roughly split between three entities: dissenters, Anglicans and Roman-Catholics. Before the Interregnum, the Episcopacy had been abolished although bishops did not lose their clerical status. Edward Stillingfleet (1635-1699), ordained in 1658 before the Restoration of 1660, believed that Episcopal oversight was the best method of Church jurisdiction. He noted that neither Christ not the Apostles had decreed any specific of Church government. If individual Churches or ministers stayed true to accepted practices and beliefs, there would have been less need for the Episcopacy. After the Glorious Revolution in 1689, Stillingfleet became the Bishop of Worcester. Throughout his career, Stillingfleet continually defended the Episcopacy against attacks by Dissenters who were against Episcopal authority and by Roman-Catholics who felt the bishops had deserted the true Christian faith.https://journals.openedition.org/erea/14194Cromwell17th centurydissentAnglicanbishopEpiscopacy
spellingShingle Nigel SHARP
Edward Stillingfleet and the 17th Century Episcopacy
E-REA
Cromwell
17th century
dissent
Anglican
bishop
Episcopacy
title Edward Stillingfleet and the 17th Century Episcopacy
title_full Edward Stillingfleet and the 17th Century Episcopacy
title_fullStr Edward Stillingfleet and the 17th Century Episcopacy
title_full_unstemmed Edward Stillingfleet and the 17th Century Episcopacy
title_short Edward Stillingfleet and the 17th Century Episcopacy
title_sort edward stillingfleet and the 17th century episcopacy
topic Cromwell
17th century
dissent
Anglican
bishop
Episcopacy
url https://journals.openedition.org/erea/14194
work_keys_str_mv AT nigelsharp edwardstillingfleetandthe17thcenturyepiscopacy