John Rogers (c. 1570 – 1636) was an English
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
clergyman and preacher. Described as a "grave and judicious divine" and considered one of the most awakened preachers of his era, according to the book, Lives of The Puritans.
Life
His parents were John Rogers (died 1601), a shoemaker from
Moulsham Moulsham is a suburb of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is located to the south of the city centre and has two distinct areas: Old Moulsham and Moulsham Lodge.
History
Moulsham is located on the south side of the River Chelmer. Moulsham Street foll ...
in Essex, and his wife, Mary (died 1579).
Richard Rogers
Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British architect noted for his modernist and Functionalism (architecture), functionalist designs in high-tech architecture. He was a senior partner a ...
, his uncle, provided for his education at
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...
. On two separate occasions John Rogers sold his books as he was "so addicted to
vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...
", if not for the persuasion of Richard Rogers wife, John Rogers may have been cast off totally. Despite his early mistakes John Rogers became "an illustrious ornament" to his college and was of the most "exemplary piety". It appears he graduated in 1591/2. In 1592 he became vicar of
Honingham,
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, and in 1603 he succeeded Lawrence Fairclough, father of
Samuel Fairclough
Samuel Fairclough (1594–1677) was an English nonconformist divine.
Early life
Fairclough was born 29 April 1594 at Haverhill, Suffolk, the youngest of the four sons of Lawrence Fairclough, vicar of Haverhill, by his wife Mary, daughter of John C ...
, as vicar of
Haverhill,
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
.
In 1605 he became lecturer, not vicar as some scholars believe, of
Dedham,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, where for over thirty years he had the repute of being "one of the most awakening preachers of the age." The vicars and lecturers are listed inside the church by the north door. On his lecture days his church overflowed. On one occasion, according to John Howe based on a report by Thomas Goodwin, Rogers rebuked the congregation for their woeful neglect of the Bible. His eloquence, some would say anointed preaching, moved many to tears and loud weeping. On market days he preached to hundreds of people from the tower by the muniment room above the north porch. This
muniment room holds some early editions of his works.
One of his admirers was to have said of him, "Come, let us go to Dedham, and get a little fire."
Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a New England Puritan clergyman and a prolific writer. Educated at Harvard College, in 1685 he joined his father Increase as minister of the Congregationalist Old North Meeting H ...
reports a saying of
Ralph Brownrig
Ralph Brownrigg or Brownrig (1592–1659) was bishop of Exeter from 1642 to 1646. He spent that time largely in exile from his see, which he perhaps never visited. He did find a position there for Seth Ward. He was both a Royalist in politics, ...
that Rogers would "do more good with his wild notes than we with our set music." His lecture was suppressed from 1629 till 1631, on the ground of his nonconformity. His subsequent compliance was not strict.
Giles Firmin
Giles Firmin (1614–1697) was an English Congregational minister and physician, deacon in the first church in Massachusetts of John Cotton, and ejected minister in 1662.
Life
The son of Giles Firmin, he was born at Ipswich. As a schoolboy he w ...
, one of his converts, never saw him wear a
surplice
A surplice (; Late Latin ''superpelliceum'', from ''super'', "over" and ''pellicia'', "fur garment") is a liturgical vestment of Western Christianity. The surplice is in the form of a tunic of white linen or cotton fabric, reaching to the kne ...
, and he only occasionally used the prayer-book, and then repeated portions of it from memory.
He died on 18 October 1636, and was buried in the churchyard at Dedham. There is a tombstone to his memory, and also a mural monument in the church on the north wall of the sanctuary. His funeral sermon was preached by
John Knowles. His engraved portrait exhibits a worn face, and depicts him in nightcap, ruff, and full beard.
Matthew Newcomen
Matthew Newcomen (c. 1610 – 1 September 1669) was an English nonconformist churchman.
His exact date of birth is unknown. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge (M.A. 1633). In 1636 he became lecturer at Dedham in Essex, and led the ...
succeeded him at Dedham.
Nathaniel Rogers was his second son.
[
]
Works
He published:
*''The Doctrine of Faith'', 1627; 6th edit. 1634, 12mo.
*''A Treatise of Love'', 1629; 3rd edit. 1637.
Posthumous was ''A Godly and Fruitful Exposition upon ... the First Epistle of Peter'', 1650. Benjamin Brook assigns to him, without date, ''Sixty Memorials of a Godly Life''. He prefaced ''Gods Treasurie displayed'', 1630, by F. B. ( Francis Bunny? arly English Books Online lists the author as Bridges, Francis, fl. 1630.[
]
Notes
;Attribution
Further reading
*
External links
*Jason Yiannikkou
‘Rogers, John (c.1570–1636)’
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, John
English Caroline nonconforming clergy
16th-century English Anglican priests
1570s births
1636 deaths
Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
People from Chelmsford