The Decline of the Calvinist Cause, 1624–30

Abstract

This chapter returns to a chronological account of Prideaux life, taking as its theme the decline of Calvinism at Oxford and within the Church of England more generally in the mid- and late 1620s, and the countervailing rise of Arminianism. It focuses closely on the work and opinions of Richard Montagu, a leading Arminian and bitter enemy of Prideaux, who sought to brand the Church of England Calvinists as subversive puritans. It brings out the extent to which Montagu was condemned in Parliament (though retaining the support of the new king, Charles I), while Prideaux, his opponent, was viewed as something of a parliamentary hero. The chapter also describes Prideaux’s irascibility and his domineering attitudes, particularly towards those, often his juniors, who differed from him on fine points of Calvinist theology. For the Calvinists, Prideaux included, the political and religious world grew darker towards the end of this period, as the Crown placed new controls on preaching and publication and as Arminians were promoted to bishoprics and Calvinists such as Prideaux were increasingly passed over. The death in 1630 of William Herbert, earl of Pembroke, who had been the protector of Calvinism within the university, marked a turning point, leading as it did (and in the face of Prideaux’s opposition) to the election of William Laud as the university’s chancellor.