Thomas Helwys

The Reverend Thomas Helwys
Born	c. 1575 Gainsborough, Lincolnshire,Kingdom of England
Died	c. 1616 Newgate Prison,City of London,Kingdom of England?
Alma mater	Gray's Inn
Occupation	Pastor
Spouse	Joan Ashmore
Children	7

Thomas Helwys(c. 1575 – c. 1616),an English minister, was one of the joint founders, withJohn Smyth,of theGeneral Baptistdenomination. In the early 17th century, Helwys was the principal formulator of a demand that thechurch and the state be kept separatein matters of law, so that individuals might have afreedom of religious conscience.He was an advocate ofreligious libertyat a time when to hold to such views could be dangerous. He died in prison as a consequence of the religious persecution of ProtestantDissentersunder KingJames I.

Early life

Helwys was born inGainsborough, Lincolnshire,to Edmund and Margaret Helwys who were descendants of an oldNormanfamily.Edmund had sold his land in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire and had taken a lease onBroxtowe HallinBilboroughparish. In 1590 when his father died, Thomas assumed control of the estate, but in 1593 he left the care of the estate in the hands of his father's friends and began studies in law atGray's Inn,one of the fourInns of Courtin London. His family was on the rise in London. Geoffrey Helwys, his uncle, was a successful merchant, an alderman and the sheriff of London. His cousinGervasewas knighted by King James before becoming lieutenant of theTower of London.After completing his studies at Gray's Inn in 1593, Helwys spent some time in the capital.

Helwys married Joan Ashmore at St Martin's Church,Bilborough,in 1595. They had seven children over the next twelve years and lived at Broxtowe Hall.During this time, the Helwyses' home became a haven for radicalPuritans(Dissenterswithin theChurch of England), and it is likely that Helwys contributed financially to their mission.

In 1606, when ArchbishopRichard Bancroftwas forcing ministers to submit to theBook of Common Prayer,Helwys took part in conference of radical Puritans inCoventrydiscussing whether to quit the Church of England and becomeBrownists.The conference includedJohn Smyth,John Robinson,Richard BernardandArthur Hildersham.Helwys developed a close bond with Smyth, and he and his wife became committed members of Smyth's Separatist or Brownist congregation in Gainsborough. The 60 or 70 Separatists in Gainsborough were allowed to meet in secret inGainsborough Old Hallby the hall's sympathetic owner Sir William Hickman.

Ministry

Title page of Helwys'sA Short Declaration of the Mistery of Iniquity(1612)

Message from Helwys to James I that resulted in Helwys's imprisonment and death

As Separatism was illegal, the Gainsborough andScroobyDissenters were arrested and their houses raided. Joan Helwys was imprisoned inYork Castleby theArchbishop of Yorkin 1607. Between 1607 and 1608, Helwys, Smyth, Robinson and many others from the Gainsborough and Scrooby congregations fled to the safety ofAmsterdamin the more tolerantDutch Republic.Helwys organised the Gainsborough group's emigration—according to Robinson, "If any brought oars, he brought sails."Assuming their safety, Helwys allowed his family to remain in England. His wife was soon arrested, and after refusing to take the oath in court she was imprisoned. It is likely that she was banished after three months in prison.

It was in the Dutch Republic that a distinctive Baptist faith first emerged amongst the English émigrés, and Helwys was one of the leaders of the foundation of the first Baptist church in 1609.Taking the Brownist idea that church membership was only for believers to its logical conclusion, Smyth became convinced that baptism into the church should be for Christian believers only and not for infants. In January 1609, Smyth baptised himself first then the rest of his followers, starting with Helwys. The other English Separatists in Amsterdam rejected this new teaching.Later that year, the group led by Smyth and Helwys started renting a meeting house from DutchMennonitesand were persuaded by them to abandon the doctrine ofpredestination.Some of the Baptists accepted Mennonite Christology, that Jesus did not take his flesh from Mary, but Smyth and Helwys did not, so those Baptists left the church.

In 1610, Smyth and Helwys fell out after Smyth decided he had been wrong to baptise himself and applied to join the Mennonites and be re-baptised. Helwys and about ten others split from Smyth's church.Helwys formulated the earliestBaptist confession of faith.This "confession" became the 27 Articles in 1611.In the next twelve months or so, Helwys wrote three important works: an argument forArminianism(A Short and Plain Proof, By the Word and Works of God, That God's Decree Is Not the Cause of Any Man's Sin or Condemnation: And That All Men Are Redeemed by Christ; As Also That No Infants Are Condemned), a polemic explaining his differences with the Mennonites (An Advertisement or Admonition to the Congregations, which Men Call the New Fryelers, in the Lowe Countries), and, most importantly,A Short Declaration on the Mistery of Iniquity[sic].

The Mistery of Iniquitywas a critique of the failings ofCatholicism,state-church Protestantism and Brownism. It was the first English book to defend the principle ofreligious liberty.For Helwys, religious liberty was a right for everyone, whether Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims or atheists. The book also argued that Separatist leaders such as Smyth and Robinson had been wrong to take their churches overseas to escape persecution and that they should return to England. The historian of Separatism, Stephen Tomkins, describesThe Mistery of Iniquityas the most radical and outspoken book of the age and "the most far-reaching declaration of universal religious freedom yet seen in English", but adds: "It is a pity that this most ground-breaking treatise of the Separatist movement should also be its most mean-spirited."

Despite the obvious risks involved, in 1613 Helwys and 12 Baptist émigrés returned to England and founded the first Baptist congregation in England inSpitalfields,east London.They broughtThe Mistery of Iniquitywith them, and one copy of it was delivered to King James, with a handwritten inscription arguing forliberty of conscience."The King", Helwys said, "is a mortal man, and not God, therefore he hath no power over the mortal soul of his subjects to make laws and ordinances for them and to set spiritual Lords over them." Helwys and other Baptists were thrown intoNewgate Prison,where they wrote a petition to the king.Persecution for Religion Judg’d and Condemn’dwas written in Newgate in 1616, either by Helwys or his followerJohn Murton.

Death and legacy

Helwys died around 1616 at about the age of forty.Helwys' presentation copy ofA Short Declaration of the Mistery of Iniquityis preserved in theBodleian Library.Helwys is honoured with the Helwys Hall atRegent's Park College, Oxford.Thomas Helwys Baptist Church inLenton, Nottingham,is named after him. Broxtowe Hall, the Helwys' family home, is now only a remnant, but in nearby Bilborough Baptist Church there is a simple plaque to his memory.

References

• Burrage, Champlin (1912).The Early English Dissenters in the Light of Recent Research (1550-1641).Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. pp. 251–.ISBN9780790546100.
• Jones, Marvin (2017).The Beginning of Baptist Ecclesiology: The Foundational Contributions of Thomas Helwys.Wipf and Stock Publishers.ISBN978-1-5326-1458-3.
• Mcbeth, Leon (1987).The Baptist Heritage.Nashville: Broadman Press.ISBN0-8054-6569-3.
• Pinson, J. Matthew (1998).A Free Will Baptist Handbook.Nashville: Randall House Publications.ISBN0-89265-688-3.
• Whitley, William Thomas (1923).A History of British Baptists.London: C. Griffin. pp. 31–.
• "Helwys, Thomas".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/12880.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)

External links

• Writings of Thomas Helwys
• Alec Gilmore, "Thomas Helwys' plea for religious liberty in the 17th century provided a sound foundation for other kinds of freedom,"The Guardian,20 May 2006
• "You Can Thank the Baptists for Freedom of Worship" by Pastor David F. Reagan
• "Thomas Helwys, A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity" by Walter B. Shurden, Callaway Professor of Christianity, Executive Director, The Center for Baptist Studies, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia
• "Recovering the Baptist Legacy" by Bruce Prescott
• Thomas Helwys Baptist Church,Lenton, Nottingham
• Leslie Stephen, ed. (1891).DNB entry for Thomas Helwys.Smith, Elder, & Company. pp. 375–.