Prophesyings were religious training exercises favoured by
Puritan clergy in England, significant during the 1570s. For a given Biblical text, a number of sermons would be given, which were then analysed by those present, under the guidance of a moderator.
objected to the practice, which propagated Puritan approaches to the Bible and theology, but also was being used covertly to put together a
Presbyterian system in England. She applied pressure to
Edmund Grindal, the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, to close down the prophesyings. Grindal saw virtues in the development, in terms of improving the standard of preaching, refused to act decisively, and was sidelined.
There was an official ban on prophesyings, from 1577, in the province of Canterbury.
Background
The institution of "prophesyings" dated back to the beginning of the
Protestant Reformation, and
Huldrych Zwingli who started them. The use of the word "prophecy" rested on a remark of
Erasmus, on the terminology used by
St Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
for the explanation of Scripture.
Notes
{{reflist
Elizabethan Puritanism