Councils and Synods
Synod of Newtown (1637)
Christian Councils
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An assembly of Massachusetts Bay Colony ministers convened at Newtown, later Cambridge, on 30 August 1637 to examine and refute the doctrinal errors at issue in the Antinomian Controversy, the dispute over free grace and direct revelation that had grown up around the preaching of Anne Hutchinson and John Wheelwright. Peter Bulkeley, minister of Concord, had been appointed in April of that year, with Thomas Hooker, one of the synod's two moderators. Its findings supplied much of the doctrinal basis on which Hutchinson was tried before the General Court in November 1637 and banished after her own church's examination in March 1638.
Facts
The Event
Convened or Ordered ByMinisters of the Massachusetts Bay Colony 1 Where It HappenedNewtown, now Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony 1 Principal PartiesThomas Hooker and Peter Bulkeley, moderators, appointed in April 1637; the controversy centered on Anne Hutchinson and John Wheelwright 2 Controversy
Point in DisputeThe doctrinal errors of the Antinomian Controversy: an emphasis on free grace and direct revelation of the Holy Spirit that the colony's ministers read as diminishing the place of visible sanctification and moral preparation in assurance of salvation 1 Consequences
Lasting ConsequenceIts doctrinal findings supplied much of the basis on which Anne Hutchinson was tried before the General Court in November 1637 and banished after her own church's examination in March 1638 1 Occurred Date Cross-Tradition Connections
Conducted By
Thomas Hooker, Figures Second of the synod's two moderators, alongside Peter Bulkeley (entity 61394).
Related To
Hutchinson was not personally arraigned at this synod; its August 1637 doctrinal findings supplied the basis for her separate trial before the General Court that November and her church's examination in March 1638.
Sources
1. David D. Hall, The Antinomian Controversy, 1636-1638: A Documentary History (Duke University Press, 1990)
2. Bulkley, Peter (Dictionary of National Biography, 1885 to 1900)
Dictionary of National Biography contributors, Smith, Elder and Co.; Wikisource transcription consulted directlyView the Source Hooker, Thomas (1586 to 1647) (Dictionary of National Biography, 1885 to 1900)
Dictionary of National Biography contributors, Smith, Elder and Co.; Wikisource transcription consulted directlyConducted By: Thomas HookerView the Source Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
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