# Early American Puritan Churches



## Scott (Feb 14, 2005)

When new congregational churches were established in America, how were the first pastors ordained? Did they receive their ordination merely from the congregation or were they ordained by elders from some other church?

I am curious about how this would fare under the requirement for lawful calls / ordinations.


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## Scott (Feb 14, 2005)

Andrew: You have already had about 3 hours to answer. I had hoped for a short dissertation on this. What's the hold up?


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Feb 14, 2005)

ha!

Sorry, Scott, I defer to others on the history of congregational pastoral ordination in colonial America....


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## Puritan Sailor (Feb 14, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Scott_
> When new congregational churches were established in America, how were the first pastors ordained? Did they receive their ordination merely from the congregation or were they ordained by elders from some other church?
> 
> I am curious about how this would fare under the requirement for lawful calls / ordinations.



The congregation called them and other ministers from nearby towns would help ordain them. The New England churches weren't really congregational in the strictest sense. They still had associations to facilitate unity and address problems. There's a biography on Increase Mather called "The Last American Puritan" by Michael Hall which goes into alot of the background info. It's a good read.


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## Scott (Feb 15, 2005)

Thanks, Patrick.


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