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Some Congregational churches trace their descent from the original Congregational Church, a family of Protestant denominations formed on a theory of union published by Robert Brown in 1592 and arising from the Nonconformist religious movement in England during the Puritan reformation. In Great Britain, the early congregationalists were called separatists or independents, and some congregationalists there still call themselves "Independents".
There are difficulties in identifying a specific beginning because Congregationalism is more easily identified as a movement than a single denomination, given its distinguishing commitment to the complete autonomy of the local congregation. The idea that each distinct congregation fully constitutes the visible Church can, however, be traced to John Wyclif and the Lollard movement which followed after Wyclif was removed from teaching authority in the Roman Catholic Church. The early Congregationalists shared with Anabaptist theology the ideal of a pure church, which made adult conversion experience important for full membership in the church, unlike other Reformed churches. As such, the Congregationalists were a reciprocal influence on the Baptists, differing from them in that they counted the children of believers in some sense members of the church unlike the Baptists, because of baptism.
Congregationalists include the Pilgrims of PlymouthThe Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 until 1691. The colony was founded by a separatist Puritan sect, who obtained a land patent from the London Virginia Company in 1620 before that company was dissolved. They fou Rock and the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay ColonyThe Massachusetts Bay Colony (sometimes called by the name Massachusetts Bay Company for the institution that founded it) was the direct predecessor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and then the state of Massachusetts. The colony was established under, which were organized in union by the Cambridge2000 Cambridge is a city in the greater Boston area in Massachusetts, United States. It was named in honor of Cambridge, England, the town where its founding fathers had studied ( Cambridge University). Cambridge is perhaps most famous for three things: H Platform in 1648Events Peace treaty signed at Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War. The Dutch and the Spanish sign the Treaty of Munster, ending the Eighty Years' War. The Spanish Empire recognizes the Dutch Republic of United Netherlands as a sovereign state, (governed. These settlers had John CottonJohn Cotton ( 1585 1652) was a founder of Boston, Massachusetts and a highly regarded principal among the New England Puritan ministers, who also included John Winthrop, Thomas Hooker, Increase Mather (who became his son in law), and Thomas Shepard. Born as their most influential leader, beginning in 1633Events February 13 Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition. March 1 Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu. Galileo Galilei is forced to recant his heliocentric views.. Cotton's writings persuaded the CalvinistEmmanuel de Witte Calvinism is a Protestant Christian doctrine named after John Calvin. Calvin had international influence on the development of the doctrine of the Protestant Reformation, beginning at the age of 25, when he started work on his first edit theologian John OwenJohn Owen ( 1616 August 24, 1683) was an English Nonconformist church leader. Of Welsh descent, he was born at Stadham in Oxfordshire, and was educated at Queen's College, Oxford (B. 1635); at the time the college was noted, according to Thomas Fuller, fo to separate from the Presbyterian church, after which he became very influential in the development of Congregationalist theology and ideas of church government. Jonathan Edwards, considered by some to be the most important theologian ever produced in America, was also a Congregationalist.
The history of Congregational churches in the United States is closely intertwined with that of the Presbyterian church, especially in New England where Congregationalist influence spilled over into the Presbyterian church. The first colleges and universities in America, including Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury and Amherst, all were founded by the Congregationalists.
Without higher courts to ensure doctrinal uniformity among the congregations, Congregationalists have been more diverse than other Reformed churches. Despite the efforts of Calvinists to maintain the dominance of their system, the Congregationalist churches, especially in New England, gradually gave way to the influences of Arminianism, Unitarianism, and transcendentalism. Thus, the Congregationalist churches were at the same time the first example of the American theocratic ideal and also the seed-bed from which American liberal religion and society arose.