Historedia
EuropeEvent

First Meeting of the Westminster Assembly of Divines

When
1643
Where
Westminster Abbey; Henry VII Chapel; Unknown
Episodes
3

The Westminster Assembly of Divines convened on 1 July 1643, beginning with a sermon by William Twisse in Westminster Abbey before moving to the Henry VII Chapel. This council, appointed by Parliament to restructure the Church of England, started its work amid political hostility and Scottish influence.

Episodes

  1. 1 July 1643 · Westminster AbbeyOpening Sermon and Procession

    The Assembly's first meeting began with a sermon by William Twisse in the nave of Westminster Abbey on 1 July 1643.

  2. 1 July 1643 to 2 October 1643 · Henry VII ChapelInstallation in Henry VII Chapel

    After the sermon, the divines moved to the Henry VII Chapel, which served as their meeting place until 2 October 1643.

  3. 6 July 1643 · UnknownParliamentary Rules and Articles

    On 6 July 1643, the Assembly received rules from Parliament and was ordered to examine the first ten of the Thirty-Nine Articles.

Background and detail

Political Context and Appointment. Parliament appointed the Assembly from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England during rising hostility between Charles I and Puritans. The idea was first presented in 1641, and Parliament passed bills in 1642 to appoint members without royal assent, finally passing an ordinance on 12 June 1643.

Assembly Composition. The Assembly was almost entirely English, with 121 ministers initially called and nineteen added later. Several Scots attended, and the French stranger churches sent two ministers. Three non-voting scribes were added in 1643, while only one episcopalian, Daniel Featley, participated until his arrest in October 1643.

Initial Proceedings. Following the initial sermon, the divines met in the Henry VII Chapel until moving to the Jerusalem Chamber on 2 October. On 6 July, they received rules from Parliament and were ordered to examine the first ten of the Thirty-Nine Articles to vindicate their doctrine from false interpretations.

People involved

Sources

  1. Westminster Assembly Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-19

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.