Richard Sibbes: Puritanism and Calvinism in Late Elizabethan and Early Stuart England

This book is a historical and theological study of Richard Sibbes (1577-1635), preacher of Gray's Inn, London, and master of Katharine Hall, Cambridge. In the first part of the study, Sibbes' life and ministry are explored, investigating particularly his family and education, and exploring his relationships with individuals, institutions, and the larger church. In the second half of the book, the author investigates Sibbes' theology. Contrary to what has sometimes been suggested, Sibbes was undeniably a Reformed, covenant theologian, and notes the congruity of this with his ecclesiology and with his experience of the Church. The book concludes that a greater historical understanding of Sibbes, and a more careful theological reading of his works cause him to appear more consistent, and less puzzling.