John Greenwood (1556 – 6 April 1593) was an English Separatist

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 ...

, or

Brownist The Brownists were a Christian group in 16th-century England. They were a group of English Dissenters or early Separatists from the Church of England. They were named after Robert Browne, who was born at Tolethorpe Hall in Rutland, England, in ...

, minister who was executed for his faith. He led the London underground church from 1587 to 1593 and wrote several works of Brownist apologetics, working closely with

Henry Barrow Henry Barrow (or Barrowe) ( – 6 April 1593) was an English Separatist Puritan, or Brownist, who was executed for his views. He led the London underground church from 1587 to 1593; spent most of that time in prison; and wrote numerous works ...

Life

Greenwood was born in 1556 in

Heptonstall Heptonstall is a small village and civil parish within the Calderdale borough of West Yorkshire, England, historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The population of Heptonstall, including the hamlets of Colden and Slack, is 1,448, i ...

, West Riding, Yorkshire, England. He entered as a

sizar At Trinity College Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an Undergraduate education, undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in retur ...

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

, on 18 March 1577/1578, and commenced B.A. 1581. Whether he was directly influenced by the teaching of Robert Browne, a graduate of the same college, is uncertain; in any case he held strong Puritan opinions, which ultimately led him to Separatism of the most rigid type. In 1581 he was chaplain to Lord Rich, at Rochford, Essex. He had been made deacon by John Aylmer,

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 ...

, and priest by Thomas Cooper,

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...

. He was appointed Vicar of All Saints, Rackheath, in Norfolk, just five miles from the surviving Brownist church of Norwich. Around September 1585, Greenwood embraced Brownism, renounced this ordination as "wholly unlawful," resigned from All Saints, and travelled to London to join the underground church. Details of the next few years are lacking; but by 1586 he was the recognized leader of the London Separatists, of whom a considerable number had been imprisoned at various times since 1567. Greenwood was arrested on 8 October 1586, along with 20 others, when their service was raided in the house of Henry Martin in the parish of St Andrew-by- the Wardrobe, and held in the

Clink prison The Clink was a prison in Southwark, England, which operated from the 12th century until 1780. The prison served the Liberty of the Clink, a local manor area owned by the Bishop of Winchester rather than by the reigning monarch. As the Liber ...

. Greenwood was interrogated at the Newgate Sessions under the 1581 Recusancy Act, fined £260 and moved to the

Fleet Prison Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the River Fleet. The prison was built in 1197, was rebuilt several times, and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846. History The prison was built in 1197 off what is now ...

. During his imprisonment he wrote some controversial tracts in conjunction with his fellow prisoner

, Mrs Greenwood smuggling the pages out of prison and their maid Cycely smuggling the books back in. He was formerly thought to have been at liberty in the autumn of 1588; but this was probably merely "the liberty of the prison." However, Greenwood was released in July 1592, after four years in the Fleet, and he was elected "teacher" of the underground church. Meanwhile, in 1590, Greenwood wrote "An Answer to George Gifford's pretended Defence of Read Prayers", which like much of his writing argued that prayer must be spontaneous, and even the Lord's Prayer should not be used in worship. On 5 December 1592 he was again arrested; and in March 1593 he was tried, together with Barrowe, and condemned to death on a charge of "devising and circulating seditious books." After two respites, one at the foot of the gallows, he was hanged on May 23, 1593, in Tyburn, Middlesex.

Authorities

* H. M. Dexter, ''Congregationalism during the last three hundred years; The England and Holland of the Pilgrims''; * F. J. Powicke, ''Henry Barrowe and the Exiled Church of Amsterdam''; *

Benjamin Brook Benjamin Brook (1776–1848) was an English nonconformist minister and religious historian. Life He was born at Netherthong, near Huddersfield. When young he was admitted to membership in the independent church at Holmfield, under the Rev. Robe ...

, ''Lives of the Puritans''; *

C. H. Cooper Charles Henry Cooper (20 March 180821 March 1866) was an English antiquarian. Life Born at Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, he was descended from a family formerly of Bray, Berkshire, Bray in Berkshire. He was privately educate ...

, ''Athenae Cantabrigienses'', vol. ii. *Stephen Tomkins, ''The Journey to the Mayflower'' *BR White ''The English Separatist Tradition''

References

Attribution: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwood, John 1593 deaths English separatists People executed under Elizabeth I Executed English people 16th-century Protestant martyrs Year of birth unknown Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge 16th-century Puritans English religious writers 16th-century English writers 16th-century English male writers Inmates of Fleet Prison People executed by the Kingdom of England by hanging 16th-century executions by England Protestant martyrs of England 16th-century English Puritan ministers 1556 births