The Two Congregations
Who were the ‘Separatists’? How do they relate to the ‘Pilgrims’?
Four centuries ago, the Church of England was the established Christian church of the state, set up by King Henry VIII following his battles with the previously established Church in Rome.
Religion played a hugely important role in everyday life for everyone, but it was a divisive issue. Separatists were people who wanted, for a variety of reasons, to separate themselves from this Church.
Separatists are sometimes compared to Puritans, but the Puritans wanted to ‘purify’ the Church from within, rather than leave it altogether.
This was a time when it became easier for more people to read more things, and to publish their own writing. The printing press had been invented in the fifteenth century, and it had changed the world – much like the internet has done for us today.
