Lancelot Andrewes was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chichester, of Ely, and of Winchester and oversaw the translation of the King James Version of the Bible. In the Church of England he is commemorated on 25 September with a lesser festival.
Richard Bancroft was an English churchman, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1604 to 1610 and "chief overseer" of the King James Bible.
John Whitgift was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 800 horses. Whitgift's theological views were often controversial.
Edmund Grindal was Bishop of London, Archbishop of York, and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth I. Though born far from the centres of political and religious power, he had risen rapidly in the church during the reign of Edward VI, culminating in his nomination as Bishop of London. However, the death of the King prevented his taking up the post, and along with other Marian exiles, he was a supporter of Calvinist Puritanism. Grindal sought refuge in continental Europe during the reign of Mary I. Upon Elizabeth's accession, Grindal returned and resumed his rise in the church, culminating in his appointment to the highest office.
Thomas Cartwright was an English Puritan preacher and theologian.
Joseph Hall was an English bishop, satirist and moralist. His contemporaries knew him as a devotional writer, and a high-profile controversialist of the early 1640s. In church politics, he tended in fact to a middle way.
William Perkins (1558–1602) was an influential English cleric and Cambridge theologian, receiving a B.A. and M.A. from the university in 1581 and 1584 respectively, and also one of the foremost leaders of the Puritan movement in the Church of England during the Elizabethan era. Although not entirely accepting of the Church of England's ecclesiastical practices, Perkins conformed to many of the policies and procedures imposed by the Elizabethan Settlement. He did remain, however, sympathetic to the non-conformist puritans and even faced disciplinary action for his support.
Gervase Babington (1549/1550–1610) was an English churchman, serving as the Bishop of Llandaff (1591–1594), Bishop of Exeter (1594–1597) and Bishop of Worcester in 1597–1610. He was a member of the Babington family and held influential offices at the same time as his cousin Anthony Babington was executed for treason against Elizabeth I as part of the Babington Plot.
George Downame, otherwise known as George Downham, was an author of influential philosophical and religious works who served as Bishop of Derry during the early years of the Plantation of Ulster. He is said to have been a chaplain to both Elizabeth I and James I.
Godfrey Goodman, also called Hugh; was the Anglican Bishop of Gloucester, and a member of the Protestant Church. He was the son of Godfrey Goodman (senior) and Jane Croxton, landed gentry living in Wales. His contemporaries describe him as being a hospitable, quiet man, and lavish in his charity to the poor.
John Overall (1559–1619) was the 38th bishop of the see of Norwich from 1618 until his death one year later. He had previously served as Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, as Dean of St Paul's Cathedral from 1601, as Master of Catharine Hall from 1598, and as Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University from 1596. He also served on the Court of High Commission and as a Translator of the King James Version of the Bible.
Sir Francis Knollys, KG of Rotherfield Greys, Oxfordshire was an English courtier in the service of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Elizabeth I, and was a Member of Parliament for a number of constituencies.
Richard Stock was an English clergyman and one of the Puritan founders of the Feoffees for Impropriations. He was minister at All Hallows, Bread Street in London, from 1611 to 1626.
Robert Skinner was an English bishop successively of Bristol, of Oxford, and of Worcester.
Richard Cosin was an English jurist. He became prominent as an ecclesiastical lawyer in the service of Archbishop John Whitgift, active against the Puritans in the Church of England.
John Jegon was an English academic and Bishop of Norwich. He supported uniformity of Anglican doctrine and worship, and strong government. This led him into conflict with John Robinson, later pastor to the Mayflower emigrants. On the other hand, he made efforts to satisfy local Puritans by the appointment of preachers in his diocese. Nicholas Bownd dedicated to him a work on doctrine of Sabbath.
Thomas Westfield was an English churchman, Bishop of Bristol and member of the Westminster Assembly.
George Meriton was an English churchman, Dean of Peterborough in 1612 and Dean of York in 1617.
The reign of Elizabeth I of England, from 1558 to 1603, saw the start of the Puritan movement in England, its clash with the authorities of the Church of England, and its temporarily effective suppression as a political movement in the 1590s by judicial means. This led to the further alienation of Anglicans and Puritans from one another in the 17th century during the reign of King James (1603–1625) and the reign of King Charles I (1625–1649), that eventually brought about the English Civil War (1642–1651), the brief rule of the Puritan Lord Protector of England Oliver Cromwell (1653–1658), the English Commonwealth (1649–1660), and as a result the political, religious, and civil liberty that is celebrated today in all English speaking countries.
John Udall was an English clergyman of Puritan views, closely associated with the publication of the Martin Marprelate tracts, and prosecuted for controversial works of a similar polemical nature. He has been called "one of the most fluent and learned of puritan controversialists".
