Conventicle

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A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level conventicle is a Latinized synonym of the Greek word for church, and points to Jesus' promise in Matthew 18:20, "Where two or three are met together in my name."[1]

Over time, it came to be explicitly applied to meetings of religious associations, particularly private and secret gatherings for worship. Later it became a term of deprecation or reproach, implying that those who used it opposed the ruling ecclesiastical authorities; for example, it was applied to a plot of mutinous monks in a convent or monastery.

Ultimately it came to mean religious meetings of

This gathering was the type that soon began to take place for prayer, mutual edification, and memorial observances in private houses such as that of Mary, the mother of John (Acts 12:12). Within a short time, they drew upon themselves the suspicions of the Jewish ecclesiastical authorities, which branded the new faith as impermissibly heretical, and instituted a persecution directed at the harrying and suppression of these conventicles, one of their most zealous agents being he who became the Apostle Paul. [2]

Conventicles in the early Roman Empire

When Christianity became a world religion and spread in all directions throughout the Roman Empire, it was at first tolerated and enjoyed government protection, along with many other cults in vogue. Religions had to receive a license from the state, which was jealous, to secure itself against the danger of conspiracies maturing under the guise of religious confraternities. Largely through the influence of political considerations, Christianity soon became suspect, and a religio illicita. Its meetings thus became strictly conventicles.^[3]

Historians have used the term to characterize such house meetings as mentioned in Col 4:15. In the succeeding century, the catacombs were the scene of Christian conventicles. ^[4]

Conventicles in the later Roman Empire

With the establishment of Christianity by

It was not until after the Reformation that 'conventicle' became a term with a legal connotation, according to which it was descriptive of the meeting place or assemblage for worship or consultation of those who departed from the Established

As a result of the following inquisition, so many ministers were deprived of their lives that their places either could not be filled at all or were filled by incompetent and unpopular substitutes. Many people refused to accept the ministrations of these substitutes and gathered together for worship in private houses or other suitable places. These conventicles were, under that name, expressly declared illegal. The 11th Article of the Book of Canons (drawn up in 1603) censures "the maintainers of conventicles"; the 12th, "the maintainers of constitutions made in conventicles"; and the 73rd runs thus:

"Forasmuch as all conventicles and secret meetings of priests and ministers have ever been justly accounted very hateful to the state of the Church wherein they live, we do ordain that no priests or ministers of the Word of God, nor any other persons, shall meet together in any private house or elsewhere to consult upon any matter or course to be taken by them, or upon their motion or direction by any other, which may any way tend to the impeaching or depraving of the doctrine of the Church of England, or the Book of Common Prayer, or any part of the government or discipline now established in the Church of England, under pain of excommunication ipso facto."

Under these enactments, the adherents of Anabaptism, which had been propagated in England by refugees from the Continent, were ordered to leave the Kingdom. Even during the subsequent reign of Puritanism, the meetings of this particular body were regarded and treated in the same fashion by the Protector Cromwell, who was incensed by their aggressive fanaticism. There was a breathing space of toleration and freedom for other persecuted sects, with only one or two exceptions.^[4]

In England, there were three

The Conventicles Act 1670 imposed a fine of five shillings for the first offense and ten shillings for a second offense on any person who attended a conventicle (any religious assembly other than the Church of England). Any preacher or person who allowed his house to be used as a meeting house for such an assembly could be fined 20 and 40 shillings for a second offense.^[8][9]

England under the Stuarts

After the Restoration of the Stuart dynasty, established

Identical measures were taken in Scotland under Charles II as had been taken in England, only now it was to secure the suppression of Presbyterianism in Scotland, where it had been the popular and dominant form of religion since the Reformation.^[11] From 1662 to 1678, various Acts were passed by the Privy Council and the Court of High Commission, prohibiting conventicles and imposing penalties of increasing severity upon those who attended them, masters being made responsible for their servants, landlords for their tenants, magistrates for the citizens of the burghs over which they presided. It was forbidden to supply denounced persons with meat or drink or to harbor or have intercourse with them. These measures proved unavailing to effect their purpose, and it was ultimately enacted that attendance should incur the death penalty. Those in command of the military, and even the common soldiers themselves, were given authority to inflict it immediately on the spot of capture without the formality of a legal trial. In numerous instances, this authority was used without scruple or mercy by such as Claverhouse. This policy proved, however, quite abortive. The bulk of the religious population in the south and southwest districts continued to attend the conventicles arranged and conducted by the outed ministers. Where the congregation was too large for a suitable private house, the resort had barns, granaries, or commodious buildings. The number of those who flocked to these illegal gatherings frequently amounted to thousands. The result was the institution of field conventicles' — meetings held, sometimes under cover of night, in the open air, on moors or hills, in glens and ravines, or wherever safety and suitability could be combined.^[12]

These frequently lasted for hours, the preaching taking up much of the time. At such conventicles, the ordinances of the Church according to Presbyterianism were faithfully observed. Baptism was administered, and Communion was dispensed, often to hundreds together, and even thousands, the rite taking days to celebrate, several ministers officiating in turn. When repressive measures became more severe, and attendance at these gatherings was enacted to be a capital offense, the men came armed with such rude weapons as were obtainable — scythes, flails, etc.^[13]

A Presbyterian theology covering, amongst other topics, conventicles and even armed resistance to tyranny was given in Alexander Shields' work A Hind let Loose.^[14] It is (says MacPherson) in the second half of the book that Shields’ power as a thinker is manifested. Under seven heads, he discusses the day's fundamental social, political, and ecclesiastical questions. These heads are concerning (i) hearing of curates, (ii) owning of tyrants’ authority, (iii) unlawful imposed oaths, (iv) field meetings, (v) defensive arms vindicated, (vi) the extraordinary execution of judgment by private persons, and (vii) refusing to pay wicked taxations vindicated. The last-named section was added, Shields tells us, as an afterthought.^[15]

Sentinels were posted at lookout points; for the royalist soldiery, aided by spies and informers, often succeeded in surprising these meetings. It was the attack upon such a conventicle that precipitated the

Conventicles of believers in Reform were held in Scotland in the 1500s and are considered instrumental in the movement that drove the French regent

The Rescissory Act 1661 repealed all laws made since 1633, effectively ejecting 400 Ministers from their livings, restoring patronage in the appointment of Ministers to congregations, and allowing the King to proclaim the restoration of Bishops to the Church of Scotland. The Abjuration Act of 1662 .. formally rejected the National Covenant of 1638 and the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643. These were declared to be against the fundamental laws of the Kingdom. The Act required all public office persons to take an oath of abjuration not to take arms against the king and reject the Covenants. This excluded most Presbyterians from holding official positions of trust.^[17]

The resulting disappointment with Charles II's religious policy became civil unrest. It erupted in violence during the early summer of 1679 with the assassination of Archbishop Sharp, Drumclog, and the Battle of Bothwell Bridge. The Sanquhar Declaration of 1680 effectively declared the people could not accept the authority of a King who would not recognize their religion nor commit to his previous oaths. In February 1685, the King died and was succeeded by his Roman Catholic brother, the Duke of York, as King James VII.

James was eventually deposed in England in favor of his nephew, the Calvinist

Ejected preachers such as John Blackadder conducted religious ceremonies at conventicles. Many of the covenanting prisoners on the Bass Rock had been charged with attending conventicles.

Scotland after the Revolution

After the

During the relentless and prolonged attempt of Philip II of Spain in the Netherlands to compel conformity to the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant party headed by Les Gueux ('The Beggars') were forbidden free exercise of their worship. Immediately field preachings were organized all over the country, of the same character as those in Scotland — conducted by the excommunicated ministers and surrounded by armed guards and sentinels. ^[18][20]

France

The same scenes were enacted in the southern districts of France during the struggle of the

In Sweden, Pietist conventicles – the concept brought from Germany – existed as early as 1689,[21] rousing similar opposition. The Conventicle Act of 1726 forbade all conventicles conducted by laypeople, though private devotional meetings under the direction of the clergy were permitted. The law was not repealed until 1858 in Sweden and 1870 in Finland, which was part of Sweden until 1809.^[18] In Finland, the conventicle has remained the base activity, especially in the Finnish Awakening revivalist movement.

Denmark–Norway had its own Conventicle Act, issued in 1741 by King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway to keep Radical Pietism in check.^[22] Norway kept the law until 1842; it was abolished after a third attempt at repeal.^[23] The law was officially repealed in Denmark in 1848.^[24]

Russia

In Russia, conventicles were held with the Orthodox Church in a position of ecclesiastical supremacy recognized by the State. Measures of repression were from time to time directed by the Government against dissenting sects which have incurred its suspicion and hostility, such as the

Japanese Christian pacifist Uchimura Kanzō founded the Non-church movement in 1901. By 1979 about 35,000 people belonged to the movement, which had spread from Japan to Taiwan and South Korea.^[25]

United States

The growth of conventicles is closely related to

According to Neville, the tradition of conventicles in Celtic lands can be found in the outdoor worship quite common in American communities, such as the South, populated by Celtic ancestors. Neville describes it as a folk tradition and ritual. Among the forms, conventicles take are frontier revivals, family reunions, and cemetery services[27] as well as the more recent house church movement.

Conventicles in other religions

According to Smith, the mosque is a conventicle rather than an ecclesiastical institution. The mosque is an initiative of the community rather than a body led by a priesthood.^[28] In particular the Jama'at Khana (or musallah) approximates the status of a conventicle. According to Kaufman, modern-day Jewish synagogues resemble churches, whereas smaller meeting places—the shul, hevre, anshe, or shtibl—can be described as conventicle settings.^[29]

Early

• Free church

Citations

Sources

• Eadie, John (1862). The ecclesiastical cyclopedia, or, Dictionary of Christian antiquities and sects. London: Griffin, Bohn, and Co. p. 172. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
• Elton, G. R, ed. (1982). The Tudor Constitution. Documents and Commentary (Second ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 458–61.
• Hunter, A. Mitchell; Hastings, James (1926). Encyclopaedia of religion and ethics. Vol. 4. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. pp. 102–104. Retrieved 5 May 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Knox, R. Buick (1989). Establishment and toleration during the reigns of William, Mary, and Anne. Edinburgh: Scottish Church History Society. pp. 330–360. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
• Lindsay, Thomas M. (1908). A history of the Reformation. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. pp. 224–273. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
• Lodge, Richard (1923). The History of England From the Restoration to the Death of William III (1660 - 1702). p. 69.
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• MacPherson, Hector (1929). "Alexander Shields, 1660-1700". Scottish Church History Society: 55–68. Retrieved 25 August 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• McIntyre, Neil (2016). Saints and subverters: the later Covenanters in Scotland c.1648-1682 (PhD). University of Strathclyde. p. 112.
• M'Crie, Thomas, D.D. the younger (1847). The Bass rock: Its civil and ecclesiastic history. Edinburgh: J. Greig & Son. pp. 1–12. Retrieved 11 February 2019.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Noorthouck, John (1773). "Book 1, Chapter 15: From the Fire to the death of Charles II". A New History of London: Including Westminster and Southwark. pp. 230–255.
• Raithby, John, ed. (1819). Charles II, 1670: An Act to prevent and suppress Seditious Conventicles. Statutes of the Realm (1628–80). Vol. 5. pp. 648–651.
• Shields, Alexander (1797). A hind let loose; or, An historical representation of the testimonies of the Church of Scotland, for the interest of Christ: With the true state thereof in all its periods. Glasgow: Printed by W. Paton for J. Kirk, Calton, the publisher. pp. 1–878. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
• Stevenson, David (1974). Conventicles in the Kirk, 1619-37. Edinburgh: Scottish Church History Society. pp. 99–114. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
• Thompson, Matthew E. (2002). "Walther's Anti-Conventicle Position: Its Roots in Pietism and Contemporary Application" (PDF). Lutheran Synod Quarterly. 42 (4): 254–291. Retrieved 25 August 2018.

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