John Griffith (1622?–1700) was an English

General Baptist General Baptists are Baptists who hold the ''general'' or unlimited atonement view, the belief that Jesus Christ died for the entire world and not just for the chosen Election (Christianity), elect. General Baptists are theologically Arminian, whic ...

minister.

Life

Griffiths appears to have joined the Baptists about 1640, and founded about 1646 a London congregation in Dunning's Alley,

Bishopsgate Street Without Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...

. It is probable that he practised medicine, as he was known as Dr. Griffith. After the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

of 1660, Griffith frequently got into trouble as a

conventicle A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly, and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level ''conventicle'' is only a good Latinized synonym of the Greek word church, and points to Jesus' promise in M ...

preacher; and persistently declined the oath of allegiance. His difficulty was that the terms of the oath bound him to obey laws not then in being, and future sovereigns who might be

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. His first imprisonment was in

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

(1661) for 17 months. He was again committed on 18 April 1683, and is said to have spent fourteen years more or less in gaol. Griffith was apparently free from molestation after

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

's declaration for liberty of conscience (11 April 1687). In 1698 his small congregation received an endowment under a trust created by Captain Pierce Johns' bequest. He was an advocate of

close communion Closed communion is the practice of restricting the serving of the elements of Holy Communion (also called Eucharist, The Lord's Supper) to those who are members in good standing of a particular church, denomination, sect, or congregation. Though ...

. He died on 16 May 1700, in his seventy-ninth year.

Works

Griffith published: *''A Voice from the Word of the Lord, to … Quakers'', 1654. *''Six Principles of the Christian Religion'', 1655. *''Gods Oracle & Christs Doctrine'', 1655, reply to ''Questions about Laying on of Hands'' (1655) by

Edmund Chillenden Edmund Chillenden (fl. 1631–1678) was an English soldier, known as an agitator and theological writer. At different times he was a Leveller and a Fifth Monarchist. Life With 60 others, he was arrested at a religious meeting in London in January ...

, Henry Danvers, John Sturgion and others. *''A Complaint of the Oppressed'', 1661. *''The Unlawfulness of Mixed Marriages'', 1681. *''The Case of Mr. John Griffith'', 1683. On the prosecution of that year of Griffith and

Francis Bampfield Francis Bampfield (circa 1615 - 16 February 1684) was an English Nonconformist preacher, and supporter of Saturday Sabbatarianism. Born into a family of Devon gentry, he began as a conservative supporter of the Church of England, but gradually ...

for refusing the oath of allegiance. Posthumous was *''Two Discourses'', 1707, revised by J. Jenkins.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, John 1622 births 1700 deaths Arminian ministers Arminian writers English Baptists