Early American Puritan Churches

[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.

 

[Scott]

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

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

ha!

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

 

[Puritan Sailor]

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.

 

[Scott]

Thanks, Patrick.