The Mental Universe of the English Nonjurors

About the Book

The Glorious Revolution of 1688, which pushed James II from the throne of England, was not glorious for everyone; in fact, for many, it was a great disaster. Those who had already taken an oath of allegiance to James II and “to his heirs and lawful successors” now pondered how they could take a second oath to William and Mary. Those who initially refused to swear the oath were called Nonjurors. In 1691, Archbishop Sancroft, eight bishops, and four hundred clergy of the Church of England, as well as a substantial number of scholars at Oxford and Cambridge, were deprived, removed from their offices and their license to practice revoked, for their refusal. This nonjuring community over time adopted hybridized ideas, long-embraced and called out by the times and circumstances. Five paradigms shaped the English Nonjurors’ mental universe: a radical obedience, a Cyprianist mentality, using printing presses in place of the pulpits they had lost, a hybridized view of time, and a global ecumenical perspective that linked them to the Orthodox East. These patterns operated synergistically to create an effective tool for the Nonjurors’ survival and success in their mission. The Nonjurors’ influence, out of proportion to their size, was due in large measure to this mentality; their unique circumstances prompted creative thinking, and they were superb in that endeavor. Those five ideas constituted the infrastructure of the Nonjurors’ world. This study helps us to see the early eighteenth century not only as a time of rapid change, but also as an era of persistent older religious mentalities adapted to new circumstances, and the Nonjurors were brilliant at this adaptation.

About the Author

About the Author The Rev. John William Klein, SSC, describes himself as a Christian first, a priest for over 47 years, and as a pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela; he has walked the Camino four times. Father Klein, Anglo-Catholic by conviction, has served seven parishes in the Episcopal Church, one in the Church of England, and now serves as Vicar of Saint James the Great Anglican Church (Anglican Province of America) in Smiths Station, Alabama. He is a retired U. S. Army Chaplain. He holds the M.Div. cum honoribus from the Philadelphia Divinity School, the Doctor of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary, and the MA and PhD from Auburn University. This book is his doctoral dissertation, defended on May 10, 2015. He is proudest, however, of writing Soji and Dash a memoir of his beloved Standard Schnauzers. He is married to Linda Wilkins Klein, DVM, MFT, who owns and operates WellSpring Counseling Center in Opelika, Alabama. Linda and John live on the edge of the woods in Opelika, Alabama with their dogs: Sunny, Dasher, and Sweet T(ea).