Robert Parker (minister) facts for kids

Robert Parker (born around 1564, died 1614) was an English Puritan clergyman and smart scholar. He became a minister for a group of people who wanted to separate from the main church in Holland. He died there while living away from England because his ideas were different from the official church. A famous writer, Cotton Mather, once called Parker "one of the greatest scholars in England." He also said Parker was like a "father" to many people who didn't follow the main church rules of their time.

Early Life in England

Robert Parker went to Magdalen College, Oxford, starting in 1575. He was a student there from 1580 to 1583. He earned his first degree in 1582. In 1585, he became a Fellow, which is like a senior member of the college. He got his master's degree in 1587.

Parker sometimes got into trouble for not wearing the right clothes, like his academic gown or a white robe called a surplice. In 1591, he became the minister of a church in Patney, Wiltshire. This was thanks to Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and Archbishop Whitgift.

In 1593, he left his college job and the church in Patney. The next year, he became the minister of Stanton St. Bernard, also in Wiltshire. Around this time, he married Dorothy Stevens. Their daughter Sarah was born in 1593, and their son Thomas Parker was born around 1595. Robert Parker also became the brother-in-law of William Noyes, another minister.

Leaving England

Parker was the minister at Stanton until 1607. In 1605, he helped his wife's brother, Richard Stevens, become a vicar in the same area. Richard's son, Nathaniel, who later became a famous religious writer, was born there in 1606 or 1607.

In 1607, Parker wrote a book against using the sign of the Cross in church ceremonies. He believed it was like worshipping idols. This book was very popular with some people. But it also showed that he did not agree with the official church rules. Because of this, the bishops told King James I to offer a reward for Parker's capture.

To avoid being put on trial, Parker went into hiding in London. After some close calls, he managed to get to Gravesend. From there, he sailed to the Netherlands to live in exile.

Life in the Netherlands

Parker left his son, Thomas, to be schooled by William Noyes. He then settled in Leyden, a city in the Netherlands. For four years, he worked on a big book called De Descensu Christi. This book was published in Amsterdam in 1611.

The book was about a religious idea called "Christ's descent into Hell." This idea is part of the Apostles' Creed, a statement of Christian beliefs. Bishop Thomas Bilson had preached about this topic in 1597. Other scholars, like Henry Jacob and Hugh Broughton, also wrote about it. Parker finished the book that another scholar, Hugh Sanford, had started. Parker's book explored the idea that the Greek gods and myths might have come from Hebrew roots.

Working with Other Scholars

In 1610, Henry Jacob came to Leyden. With money from rich English merchants, William Ames also joined them. These scholars wanted to discuss and debate ideas with people who supported the English Church.

Parker's role in the "separatist" movement was debated. This movement was about groups who wanted to change the church, sometimes by separating from it. Parker was thought to agree mostly with Jacob. They both took a more moderate view, meaning they didn't want to completely separate from the church.

In Leyden, Parker and Ames became friends with the pastor John Robinson. People believed that Parker and Ames helped make Robinson's views on separation less extreme. William Bradford, a leader of the Plymouth Colony, saw Parker and Ames as following in the footsteps of Thomas Cartwright, another important Puritan.

Time in Amsterdam

Around 1611, Parker and Jacob moved to Amsterdam. They joined the English Reformed Church there. Parker lived with the main minister, John Paget. They talked every day.

Paget wrote that when Parker first arrived, he believed that church meetings (called synods) should only give advice. But Parker soon changed his mind and joined in the church's system of rules. He became an elder in the church. This meant he helped judge and hear church matters every day. He also became the secretary for church meetings, writing down what happened.

Henry Jacob criticized Paget for changing Parker's original beliefs. After two years, Parker was supposed to become a minister in Amsterdam. But the city leaders, called Burgomasters, did not want to upset King James I. So, they stopped Parker from becoming a minister. He had to give up the idea and leave Amsterdam.

Later Debates and Death

Later, in 1634–1635, William Best and John Davenport wrote against Paget. They accused him of being a tyrant and of being jealous of Parker. They said Paget stopped the Amsterdam church from choosing its own ministers. They also said Parker could preach in Dutch, which Paget might have been jealous of.

Paget defended himself. In his book In Defence of Church Government (1641), he talked about Parker's unfinished work. This book was called De Politeia Ecclesiastica Christi et Hierarchica Opposita. It was published after Parker died in 1616. Paget said this book showed how a Presbyterian church should be organized.

Parker left Amsterdam in 1613 and went to Doesburg, Gelderland. There, he preached to the soldiers. People made various accusations against him because of his book De Descensu ad Inferos. He wrote to Paget several times, asking for help to clear his name. He hoped to return to Amsterdam, but he never did. Robert Parker died in Doesburg in 1614, after living there for about eight months.

Family

We do not know who Robert Parker's parents were.

Parker was the brother-in-law of the clergyman William Noyes. It is not clear if Noyes's wife, Anne, was Robert Parker's sister or his wife Dorothy Stevens's sister. Some have said that Dorothy and her brother Richard Stevens were children of Nicholas Stephens. But their names are not in Nicholas Stephens's will or family tree.

Robert Parker and Dorothy Stevens had three children:

• Revd. Thomas Parker (1595-1677): He and his cousin, Revd. James Noyes, led a group of settlers from Wiltshire to New England in 1630. They founded a town called Newbury, Massachusetts.
• Sarah (1593–1663): She married John Woodbridge V (1582–1678), who was a minister in Stanton Fitzwarren, Wiltshire. Sarah was the mother of John Woodbridge and Benjamin Woodbridge.
• Elizabeth Parker (active 1614–1653): She published books under her married name, Elizabeth Avery. She was part of a religious group called the Fifth Monarchists in Dublin in 1653.

Dorothy Parker, whose maiden name was Stevens, died around 1650. She was from Mildenhall, Wiltshire. Her brother, Revd. Richard Stevens, died around 1661. Anne Noyes, who was either Parker's or Stevens's sister, died around 1658.

Works

• A scholasticall Discourse against symbolising with Antichrist in ceremonies, especially in the Signe of the Crosse (1607): This book argued against using the sign of the Cross in church.
• De Descensu Domini nostri Jesu Christi ad inferos libri quatuor (1611): This book was started by Hugh Sanford and finished by Robert Parker. It discusses Christ's descent into Hell.
• De politeia ecclesiastica Christi et hierarchica opposita libri tres (1616): This book was unfinished and published after Parker died. It talks about how a church should be organized.
• An exposition of the powring out of the fourth vial (1650): Published after his death, this book explains a part of the Bible's Book of Revelation.
• The mystery of the vialls opened (1651): Also published after his death, this book further explains the "vials" mentioned in the Book of Revelation.