Christopher Love (1618,
Cardiff, Wales
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
– 22 August 1651, London) was a
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, of or about Wales
* Welsh language, spoken in Wales
* Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales
Places
* Welsh, Arkansas, U.S.
* Welsh, Louisiana, U.S.
* Welsh, Ohio, U.S.
* Welsh Basin, during t ...
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
preacher and activist during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
. In 1651, he was executed by the English government for plotting with the exiled Stuart court. The
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
faction in England considered Love to be a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
and hero.
Life
Love was born in 1618 in Cardiff. At age 14, Love became an adherent to the Puritan congregation. His father disapproved of Love's interests in religion and sent him to London to become an apprentice. However, in 1636, Love's mother and his religious mentor sent him to
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
instead. When
William Laud
William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...
, the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
, introduced his Canons of 1640 to reform the English church, Love was one of the first Puritans to renounce them. As a young man, Love became the domestic chaplain to
John Warner
John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Republican Party, Republican United Stat ...
, the
sheriff of London
Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...
.
St Anne's, Aldersgate invited Love to become a lecturer, but
William Juxon
William Juxon (1582 – 4 June 1663) was an English churchman, Bishop of London from 1633 to 1646 and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1660 until his death.
Life
Education
Juxon was the son of Richard Juxon and was born probably in Chichester, ...
, the
bishop of London
The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723.
The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...
, refused to provide Love with an allowance for three years; Archbishop Laud had warned Juxon to keep an eye on Love.
[ Declining Episcopal ]ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
, Love went to Scotland to seek ordination from the Presbytery there; However, the Scottish Church would only ordain residents of Scotland and Love planned to return to England.
On Love's return to England around 1641, he was invited by the mayor and aldermen of Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
to preach there. In Newcastle, Love started attacking what he saw as errors in the ''Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...
'' in his sermons, resulting in his being sent to gaol. After filing a writ of Habeas Corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
, the Newcastle authorities sent Love to London. He was tried in the King's Bench
The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions.
* Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court of common law in t ...
and acquitted of all charges.
Around the outbreak of the First English Civil War
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...
, Love preached as a lecturer at Tenterden
Tenterden is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The 2021 census published the population of the parish to be 8,186.
Geography
Tenterden is connected to Kent's county town of Maidstone by the A262 road an ...
, Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, on the lawfulness of a defensive war. The authorities accused him of treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
, but Love was again acquitted in court and was able to recover his court costs. Shortly afterward, Love was appointed as chaplain to Colonel John Venn
John Venn, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, FSA (4 August 1834 – 4 April 1923) was an English mathematician, logician and philosopher noted for introducing Venn diagrams, which are used in l ...
's regiment, and became preacher to the garrison of Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
.
On 23 January 1644, at Aldermanbury, London, Love received Presbyterian ordination from Thomas Horton. Love was one of the first preachers in England to receive this appointment. He then became the pastor of St Lawrence Jewry
St Lawrence Jewry next Guildhall is a Church of England guild church in the City of London on Gresham Street, next to the Guildhall. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren. It is ...
. According to William Maxwell Hetherington
William Maxwell Hetherington (4 June 1803 – 23 May 1865) was a Scottish minister, poet and church historian. He entered the university of Edinburgh but before completing his studies for the church he published, in 1829, 'Twelve Dramatic ...
, Love was a superadded member of the Westminster Assembly
The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of Divinity (academic discipline), divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and ...
. However, this assertion was questioned by Alexander Ferrier Mitchell
Alexander Ferrier Mitchell (1822–1899) was a Scottish ecclesiastical historian and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1885.
Life
He was born at Brechin on 10 September 1822, son of David Mitchell, convener of local g ...
, for lack of evidence and the more careful edition of the minutes of the Westminster Assembly by Chad van Dixhorn shows that Hetherington was in error and Love was not made a member of the Assembly.
On 31 January 1645, Love preached an inflammatory sermon in Uxbridge
Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...
. This was the same day that the commissioners for the Treaty of Uxbridge
The Treaty of Uxbridge was a significant but abortive negotiation in early 1645 to try to end the First English Civil War.
Background
Parliament drew up 27 articles in November 1644 and presented them to Charles I of England at Oxford. Much input ...
arrived there. In his ''Vindication'' manuscript, Love claimed that his preaching there was accidental; however, the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
voted to bring Love to London and confine him at the House during the negotiations. On 25 November 164, Love preached before the Commons; he did not receive the customary vote of thanks. His House sermon offended the Independents, who on gaining power in the House confined Love again. A House Committee for Plundered Ministers
The Committee for Plundered Ministers was originally established in late 1642 by the Presbyterian faction in the Long Parliament following the start of the English Civil War. In December 1642 the committee was formalised as a parliamentary committe ...
cited Love on two more occasions. Although Love was discharged, the English authorities watched his movements.[
]
Plot to restore Charles II
In 1651, Love became involved in a plot to restore Charles II as the king of England.
In the plot, the Presbyterians sent Colonel Silius Titus
Silius Titus (1623 – 16 December 1704), of Bushey, was an English politician, Captain of Deal Castle, and Groom of the Bedchamber to King Charles II. Titus was an organizer in the attempted escape of King Charles I from Carisbrooke Castle ...
to France to deliver letters to Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...
, the mother of Charles II; Colonel Ashworth
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
brought the replies to Love's house in London. On 18 December 1650, Love's wife obtained an official pass to travel to Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. During this period, Love also received letters from Scottish Presbyterians who were sympathetic to Charles II. Love also hosted discussions in his home how to raise money for firearms from the English Presbyterians.[
On 7 May 1651, Love and other prominent Presbyterians were arrested and confined in ]Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
.
On 14 May 1651, Love was ordered to be arrested on charges of high treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...
and was confined to the Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
. In late June and 5 July, he was tried before the high court of justice
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...
. Love was defended by Matthew Hale; presiding at the trial was Richard Keble
Richard Keble (died 1683/84) was an English lawyer and judge, a supporter of the Parliamentarian cause during the English Civil War. During the early years of the Interregnum he was a Keeper of the Great Seal. He was also an active judge who pre ...
.
On 16 July, Love was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. Robert Hammond wrote to Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
asking for leniency for Love. Love received first a one-month reprieve and then a one-week reprieve. On 16 August, Love wrote his final appeal for leniency to the English parliament
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised th ...
. In this appeal, he admitted guilt to virtually all of his charges.[ However, the English courts wanted to make an example of Love to quash any further trouble from the Presbyterians.
]
Death
On 23 August 1651, Christopher Love was executed on Tower Hill
Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...
in London. His execution was attended by Simeon Ashe
Simeon Ashe or Ash (died 1662) was an English nonconformist clergyman, a member of the Westminster Assembly and chaplain to the Parliamentary leader Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester.
Life
He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He ...
and Edmund Calamy. On 25 August, Love was privately buried at St Lawrence Church. His funeral sermon A Christian funeral sermon is a formal religious oration or address given at a funeral ceremony, or sometimes a short time after, which may combine elements of eulogy with biographical comments and expository preaching. To qualify as a sermon, it sh ...
was preached by Thomas Manton
Thomas Manton (1620–1677) was an English Puritan clergyman. He was a clerk to the Westminster Assembly and a chaplain to Oliver Cromwell.
Early life
Thomas Manton was baptised 31 March 1620 at Lydeard St Lawrence, Somerset, a remote sout ...
.[Bremer-Webster, p. 163.] Robert Wild wrote a poem ''The Tragedy of Mr. Christopher Love at Tower Hill'' (1651).[
Love was married to Mary Stone, a ward of John Warner. The couple had five children, one of whom was born after Love's death.][ Three of these children died as babies or small children and only two of their children, Christoper and Mary, lived to be adults. His widow married again to Edward Bradshaw (a twice mayor of Chester) two years after his death and they had six children. Mary died in 1663.]
Works
After Love's execution, leading Presbyterians of London (Edmund Calamy, Simeon Ashe, Jeremiah Whitaker
Jeremiah Whitaker (1599–1654) was an English Puritan clergyman, and important member of the Westminster Assembly.
Life
He was born at Wakefield, Yorkshire, in 1599. After being educated at the grammar school there under the Rev. Philip Jack, he ...
, William Taylor, and Allan Geare) published Love's sermons.[ The most important of his works are:
*''Grace, the Truth and Growth, and different Degrees thereof'' (226 pp., London, 1652);
*''Heaven's Glory, Hell's Terror'' (350 pp., 1653);
*''Combate between the Flesh and the Spirit'' (292 pp., 1654);
*''Treatise of Effectual Calling'' (218 pp.,1658);
*''The Natural Man's Case Stated'' (8vo, 280 pp., 1658);
*''Select Works'' (8vo, Glasgow, 1806–07, 2 vols.).
''Short and plaine Animadversions on some Passages in Mr. Dels' Sermon'' (1646) was a reply to ]William Dell
William Dell (c. 1607–1669) was an English clergyman, Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge from 1649 to 1660, and prominent radical Parliamentarian.
Biography
Dell was born at Bedfordshire, England, and was an undergraduate at Emma ...
. ''A modest and clear Vindication of the ... ministers of London from the scandalous aspersions of John Price'' (1649) (attributed to Love) replied to the ''Clerico-classicum'' of John Price.[
]
Notes
References
*Francis J. Bremer, Tom Webster, ''Puritans and Puritanism in Europe and America: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia'' (2006)
*Don Kistler ''A Spectacle Unto God: The Life and Death of Christopher Love'' Morgan Pennsylvania: Soli Deo Gloria 1994
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Love, Christopher
1618 births
1651 deaths
17th-century apocalypticists
17th-century Protestant martyrs
17th-century Presbyterian ministers
Alumni of New Inn Hall, Oxford
People acquitted of treason
Welsh Presbyterian ministers of the Interregnum (England)
Westminster Divines
17th-century English Presbyterian ministers
17th-century Welsh Presbyterian ministers