Ancient and Reformed?: Thomas Bell and Jacobean Conformist Thought

This essay examines the work of Thomas Bell with the aim of setting forth aspects of Jacobean conformist thought. It argues that central to Bell’s writing was the need to address the English Church as a dually-established spiritual and political association, that is, as an institution that could trace its links to the ancient church, and as a “state” church wedded to the realm and comprising an additional channel of royal sovereignty. Critics of the English Church attacked both propositions in the course of debates on doctrine and discipline. These attacks were shaped by interpretations of scripture, the history of the early church, and the works of the Apostolic fathers. Bell’s Regiment of the Church, published in 1606, sought to mount a defence of the Church based on a definitive reading of ancient textual sources. The Church was both ancient and “reformed,” representing a restoration of the ancient Church, which yet retained the power to determine its own pattern of worship and governance.