Agreement of the Cambridge Platform
- When
- 1648
- Where
- Colonial New England
- Episodes
- 1
In August 1648, the Cambridge Synod completed the Cambridge Platform, a statement of congregational church government for colonial New England. Drafted in response to Presbyterian criticism, the document was ratified by churches and commended by the General Court as an accurate description of local practice.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. In May 1646, Massachusetts ministers requested the General Court to convene a meeting of churches to establish uniform practices. The Cambridge Synod began meeting on September 1, 1646, continuing periodically until August 1648. The platform was written in response to Presbyterian criticism and praised the Westminster Confession in its preface.
Ratification. After the synod completed the document in 1648, churches were given time to study and provide feedback. Following ratification, the General Court commended the Cambridge Platform as an accurate description of Congregational practice. It served as the religious constitution of Massachusetts until 1780.
People involved
- Cambridge Synod · Drafting body
- Massachusetts General Court · Ratifying authority
Sources
- Cambridge Platform Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-24
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.