Richard Vines (1600, Blaston – 4 February 1655/6) was an English clergyman, one of the Presbyterian leaders of the

Westminster Assembly The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and the Assembly's work was adopte ...

. He became Master of

Pembroke Hall, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

, from 1644 to 1650.''Concise Dictionary of National Biography''

Life

He graduated B.A. from

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mar ...

in 1622, with an M.A. there in 1627. He taught at

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England. It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in the administrative county of Leicestershire, after Leicester and Lough ...

, and then became rector of Weddington and Caldecote. In 1643 he was appointed to the Westminster Assembly and became rector of

St Clement Danes St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the curre ...

. The next year he was intruded as Master of Pembroke. The college had had all its fellows expelled, and soldiers had been billeted in it. Vines arrived with a new set of fellows.Page based on the DNB
/ref> Having become rector of

Watton-at-Stone Watton-at-Stone is a village in the English county of Hertfordshire, situated midway between the towns of Stevenage and Hertford in the valley of the River Beane. The 2011 census showed a population of 2,272 living in 946 households. Watton-at-S ...

in 1645, he lost all his positions after refusing the 'engagement' pledge in 1649. Shortly after that he became minister at

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 Guildhall. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren. It is th ...

. Around this time

Richard Baxter Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymnodist, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, h ...

struck up a relationship with Vines, considered a moderate, and Thomas Hill, with the aim of unifying the various factions divided on the religious question.Paul Chang-Ha Lim, ''In Pursuit of Purity, Unity, and Liberty: Richard Baxter's Puritan Ecclesiology in Its Seventeenth-Century Context'' (2004), p. 128.

Works

*''Calebs Integrity'' (1642/1646) *''The Impostures of Secuding Teachers Discovered'' (1644/1656) *''The Posture of David's Spirit'' (1644/1656) *''The Happinesse of Israel'' (1645) *''The Purifying of Unclean Hearts and Hands'' (1646) *''The Authours, Nature, and Danger of Heresie'' (1647/1662) *''The Corruption of Minde Described'' (1655) *''A Treatise of the Institution, Right Administration, and Receiving of the Sacrament of the Lords-Supper'' (1657/1660/1677) *''Christ, a Christian's Only Gain'' (1660) *''God's Drawing and Man's Coming to Christ'' (1662) *''The Saints Nearness to God'' (1662)

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vines, Richard 1600 births 1656 deaths Westminster Divines English ministers refusing the engagement of 1649 17th-century English Anglican priests Masters of Pembroke College, Cambridge Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge English Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians