*
a collective name for the
various Protestant separatist sects, especially prominent in 17th-cent.
England, who rejected both Presbyterianism and Episcopacy, holding that each
congregation should be autonomous or independent. The earliest were the Barrowists and Brownists
of Elizabeth's I reign, and the Baptists and Congregationalists became the two
main groups, but there were others more eccentric such as the Fifth-Monarchy
Men. They were notably strong in the Cromwellian army. [BD]
¿ 18.04.94 Zu
