William Erbery or Erbury (1604 – April 1654) was a Welsh

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and radical

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He was the father of the militant Quaker Dorcas Erbery.

Life

Erbery was born in

Roath Roath ( cy, Y Rhath) is a district and community to the north-east of the city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. There is no community council for the area which is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdo ...

, Cardiff. He graduated from Brasenose College, Oxford, England in 1623. He was ejected in 1638 from his

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

parish of St Mary's, under the

Bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of ...

who had branded him a schismatic, after several citations before the

Court of High Commission The Court of High Commission was the supreme ecclesiastical court in England. Some of its powers was to take action against conspiracies, plays, tales, contempts, false rumors, books. It was instituted by the Crown in 1559 to enforce the Act of U ...

. His offence was refusing, along with fellow

Dissenters A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, an ...

Walter Craddock and William Wroth, to read the '' Book of Sports''. He became chaplain, when the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

broke out in 1642, to the

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

Philip Skippon Philip Skippon (c. 1600, West Lexham, Norfolk – c. 20 February 1660) supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War as a senior officer in the New Model Army. Prior to the war he fought in the religious wars on the continent. D ...

in the Parliamentary Army. According to Christopher Hill. From there he retired to the

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures th ...

. He was a Seeker; in Ely he expanded the Seekers in the 1640s. He expected that a regime of 'saints' would (in the later 1640s) carry out God's will in England. He looked to the Army and

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

for reforms such as the abolition of tithes and the state church. In 1646 he took part in a high-profile dispute with the orthodox

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

and

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

watchdog Francis Cheynell. Anthony Wood (1632–1695), the English antiquary, records that Erbery died in London in April 1654 and was buried at either "Ch. Church" or the " Cemiterie joyning to ''Old Bedlam'' near ''London''".

Views

With a disillusioned attitude to the movement of the times, though accepting Cromwell's

Protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...

, he was a suspected

Ranter The Ranters were one of a number of dissenting groups that emerged around the time of the English Commonwealth (1649–1660). They were largely common people and the movement was widespread throughout England, though they were not organised and ...

. He favoured broad

religious tolerance Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". ...

, and was dismissive of

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

es, believing that 'apostasy' had set in early in Christian times; and criticized much even in the Independent churches of his time. He attacked the assumption of the sufficiency of scripture, but doubted the Trinity had Biblical support. He believed free grace had been brought forth by John Preston and

Richard Sibbes Richard Sibbes (or Sibbs) (1577–1635) was an Anglican theologian. He is known as a Biblical exegete, and as a representative, with William Perkins and John Preston, of what has been called "main-line" Puritanism because he always remained in ...

, preached universal redemption, and denied the

divinity of Christ In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Differ ...

. His

millennarian Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenariani ...

views included a

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messian ...

, but realised by and within 'saints'. He opposed the Baptists, for example in his 1653 pamphlet ''A Mad Man's Plea''.

Private life

William married Mary who survived him. Their children included the Quaker preacher Dorcas Erbery. After William's death, Mary and Dorcas were involved in a show in Bristol with Martha Simmonds and Hannah Stranger that resulted in James Naylor being tried for blasphemy.

References

Notes

Sources

* Hill, Christopher (1984). ''The Experience of Defeat: Milton and Some Contemporaries'' Chapter 4 I * Hill, Christopher (1972). ''The World Turned Upside Down'', Chapter 9 II

External links

''The Testimony of William Erbery'', online text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erbery, William 1604 births 1654 deaths Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Welsh Caroline nonconforming clergy Welsh independent ministers of the Interregnum (England) Welsh military chaplains English Civil War chaplains 17th-century Welsh theologians 17th-century Welsh clergy Clergy from Cardiff