Matthew Caffyn
Encyclopedia
Matthew Caffyn was a British General Baptist
preacher
and writer
.
, Sussex
, the seventh son of Thomas Caffin, by Elizabeth his wife (in Mark Antony Lower
's ‘Worthies of Sussex’ it is incorrectly said that his father was German). Caffyn was adopted by a neighbouring gentleman as a companion to his son, and sent to a grammar school in Kent
, and then to the University of Oxford
; but he was expelled for the advocacy of Baptist tenets. Returning to Horsham he joined a General Baptist church there
, and became its minister while also a farmer.
and John Slee, were on a mission in Sussex. Lawson, a baronet's younger son, had been a beneficed clergyman in Lancashire
, known as a botanist. But in his encounter with Caffyn he descended to abuse. Caffyn had expressed his views in a quakers' meeting at Crawley
, and the discussion had been continued on 5 Sept. at Caffyn's house near Southwater
, just south of Horsham. A pamphlet war resulted. One Baptist participan, Joseph Wright, was removed by an incarceration in Maidstone gaol; and when he came out, Caffyn's heresies seemed to him to require attention rather than those of the quakers. This later led to serious trouble for Caffyn.
Caffyn was several times prosecuted and fined under the Conventicle Act
. By 1677 there was a separation, amicably managed, in a Baptist church at Spilshill, in the parish of Staplehurst
, Kent, on account of a difference of opinion regarding the Trinity; a part of the flock had embraced the teaching of Caffyn. There was room for latitude in the treatment of this article among the Arminian baptists, for in their ‘Brief Confession’ of March 1660 neither the Trinity nor the Godhead of Christ is explicitly stated. Caffyn did not vent his views in print, but in his preaching he avoided ‘unrevealed sublimities,’ and in conversation he owned his disagreement with material points in the Athanasian creed
. His views were at least susceptible of an Arian
interpretation. Accordingly, Joseph Wright denounced him to the general baptist assembly of 1691 as denying both the divinity and the humanity of Christ, and moved for his excommunication. What Joshua Toulmin
calls Caffyn's ‘truly protestant and ingenious defence’ satisfied the assembly. Wright returned to the charge in 1693, but again the assembly refused to censure Caffyn. Wright withdrew and protested.
The matter was agitated outside the assembly, and at length the Buckinghamshire
and Northamptonshire
churches demanded and re-demanded (1699) a further trial, and the assembly agreed to go into the case at Whitsuntide of 1700. They fulfilled this promise by appointing a committee of eight, including four of the complainants, to confer with Caffyn and draw up a healing resolution. The committee were unanimous in offering a declaration which evaded rather than determined the points in dispute; and the assembly recorded its satisfaction with Caffyn's defence.
Just before the next assembly, Christopher Cooper of Ashford published a reply to ‘The Moderate Trinitarian,’ &c., 1699, by Daniel Allen, whose work seems to have inspired the mediating policy of the assembly's committee. Cooper charges Caffyn with unsoundness respecting Adam's fall, Christ's satisfaction, and the soul's immortality; he quotes a description of Caffyn's opinions as ‘nothing but a fardel of Mahometanism, Arianism, Socinianism, and Quakerism.’ At the same time he admits that Caffyn took pains to convert Socinians. He deplores the spread of Caffyn's errors ‘in Kent, Sussex, and London, but especially in West Kent.’ When the assembly met (1701) the Northamptonshire churches complained that Caffyn had not been properly tried. The assembly, after debate, affirmed by a large majority that Caffyn's declaration, with his signature to ‘the aforesaid expedient,’ was sufficient and satisfactory.
The minority seceded, and formed a new connexion under the name of the ‘general association,’ branding the majority as ‘Caffinites.’ But the two parties came together again in 1704; Wright died in 1703. This is the first deliberate and formal endorsement of latitudinarian opinions in the article of the Trinity by the collective authority of any tolerated section of English dissent.
, some two miles north of Horsham, in an outlying part of the parish of Sullington
. Caffyn lived to a patriarchal age, dying in June 1714. He was buried in the churchyard at Itchingfield
on 10 June. He was succeeded in the ministry by his eldest son, Matthew.
For the future of the General Baptists, Antitrinitarianism, of one type or another, took possession of their congregations in the south of England. The New Connexion of General Baptists
was formed, chiefly in the Midlands, by Dan Taylor
in 1770; the older body arrived at Socinianism (in its modified English form) and became a small remnant. Caffyn's own church at Horsham ceased to be Baptist, and was known as ‘free Christian’ from 1879.
. Caffyn's position is that of a literal believer in external revelation, and he defends such points as the Second coming of Christ and the bodily resurrection against the ‘damnable heresies’ of the quakers. Lawson made no reply, but the matter was taken up by James Nayler
in ‘The Light of Christ, &c.,’ 1656, (not included in his collected works), and incidentally by George Fox
in his ‘Great Mistery, &c.,’ 1659. Caffyn reiterated his charges against quaker theology in an appendix to his ‘Faith in God's Promises the Saint's best weapon,’ 1661, which was briefly answered by Humphrey Wollrich
in ‘One Warning more to the Baptists,’ &c., 1661, and by George Whitehead
in an appendix to ‘The Pernicious Way, &c.,’ 1662. A neighbouring Baptist minister, Joseph Wright of Maidstone, took part in this dispute with the quakers, publishing ‘A Testimony for the Son of Man,’ &c., 1661. The first to accuse Caffyn (though not by name) of error respecting the person of Christ seems to have been Thomas Monck, in ‘A Cure for the cankering Error of the New Eutychians,’ 1673.
In addition, Caffyn published: 1. ‘Envy's Bitterness corrected,’ 1674 (?). 2. ‘A raging Wave foaming out its own shame,’ 1675. 3. ‘The Great Error and Mistake of the Quakers.’ 4. ‘The Baptist's Lamentation.’
General Baptist
General Baptists is a generic term for Baptists who hold the view of a general atonement, as well as a specific name of groups of Baptists within the broader category.General Baptists are distinguished from Particular or Reformed Baptists.-History:...
preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Early life
He was born at HorshamHorsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, the seventh son of Thomas Caffin, by Elizabeth his wife (in Mark Antony Lower
Mark Antony Lower
Mark Antony Lower F.S.A. M.A. was a Sussex historian who founded the Sussex Archaeological Society and is credited with starting the "cult of the Sussex Martyrs", however he was against the excesses of the "Bonfire Boys".-Life:...
's ‘Worthies of Sussex’ it is incorrectly said that his father was German). Caffyn was adopted by a neighbouring gentleman as a companion to his son, and sent to a grammar school in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and then to the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
; but he was expelled for the advocacy of Baptist tenets. Returning to Horsham he joined a General Baptist church there
Horsham Unitarian Church
Horsham Unitarian Church is a Unitarian chapel in Horsham in the English county of West Sussex. It was founded in 1719 to serve the large Baptist population of the ancient market town of Horsham—home of radical preacher Matthew Caffyn—and the surrounding area...
, and became its minister while also a farmer.
Preacher and suspected heretic
Caffyn preached assiduously in Sussex villages, and was five times imprisoned for unauthorised preaching. In 1655 two quakers from the north, Thomas LawsonThomas Lawson (botanist)
-Life:Born 10 October 1630, he was younger son of Sir Thomas and Ruth Lawson. He is identified as Thomas Lawson, born at Lawkland, near Settle, Yorkshire, and educated at Giggleswick, who was admitted sizar of Christ's College, Cambridge 25 July 1650 , graduating B.A. 1655–6.Lawson became an adept...
and John Slee, were on a mission in Sussex. Lawson, a baronet's younger son, had been a beneficed clergyman in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, known as a botanist. But in his encounter with Caffyn he descended to abuse. Caffyn had expressed his views in a quakers' meeting at Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
, and the discussion had been continued on 5 Sept. at Caffyn's house near Southwater
Southwater
Southwater is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England with a population of roughly 10,000. The village is administered from the Horsham District Council Offices. Much of the population of Southwater originated from the brick industry which thrived in the...
, just south of Horsham. A pamphlet war resulted. One Baptist participan, Joseph Wright, was removed by an incarceration in Maidstone gaol; and when he came out, Caffyn's heresies seemed to him to require attention rather than those of the quakers. This later led to serious trouble for Caffyn.
Caffyn was several times prosecuted and fined under the Conventicle Act
Conventicles Act 1670
The Conventicles Act 1670 is an Act of the Parliament of England with the long title "An Act to prevent and suppress Seditious Conventicles." The Act imposed a fine on any person who attended a conventicle of five shillings for the first offence and ten shillings for a second offence...
. By 1677 there was a separation, amicably managed, in a Baptist church at Spilshill, in the parish of Staplehurst
Staplehurst
Staplehurst can mean:* Staplehurst in England* RAF Staplehurst, a World War II airfield in England* Staplehurst railway station* Staplehurst rail crash, a railway accident in 1865* Staplehurst, Nebraska, a small village in the United States...
, Kent, on account of a difference of opinion regarding the Trinity; a part of the flock had embraced the teaching of Caffyn. There was room for latitude in the treatment of this article among the Arminian baptists, for in their ‘Brief Confession’ of March 1660 neither the Trinity nor the Godhead of Christ is explicitly stated. Caffyn did not vent his views in print, but in his preaching he avoided ‘unrevealed sublimities,’ and in conversation he owned his disagreement with material points in the Athanasian creed
Athanasian Creed
The Athanasian Creed is a Christian statement of belief, focusing on Trinitarian doctrine and Christology. The Latin name of the creed, Quicumque vult, is taken from the opening words, "Whosoever wishes." The Athanasian Creed has been used by Christian churches since the sixth century...
. His views were at least susceptible of an Arian
Arian
Arian may refer to:* Arius, a Christian presbyter in the 3rd and 4th century* a given name in different cultures: Aria, Aryan or Arian...
interpretation. Accordingly, Joseph Wright denounced him to the general baptist assembly of 1691 as denying both the divinity and the humanity of Christ, and moved for his excommunication. What Joshua Toulmin
Joshua Toulmin
Joshua Toulmin of Taunton, England was a noted theologian and a serial Dissenting minister of Presbyterian , Baptist , and then Unitarian congregations...
calls Caffyn's ‘truly protestant and ingenious defence’ satisfied the assembly. Wright returned to the charge in 1693, but again the assembly refused to censure Caffyn. Wright withdrew and protested.
The matter was agitated outside the assembly, and at length the Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
and Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
churches demanded and re-demanded (1699) a further trial, and the assembly agreed to go into the case at Whitsuntide of 1700. They fulfilled this promise by appointing a committee of eight, including four of the complainants, to confer with Caffyn and draw up a healing resolution. The committee were unanimous in offering a declaration which evaded rather than determined the points in dispute; and the assembly recorded its satisfaction with Caffyn's defence.
Just before the next assembly, Christopher Cooper of Ashford published a reply to ‘The Moderate Trinitarian,’ &c., 1699, by Daniel Allen, whose work seems to have inspired the mediating policy of the assembly's committee. Cooper charges Caffyn with unsoundness respecting Adam's fall, Christ's satisfaction, and the soul's immortality; he quotes a description of Caffyn's opinions as ‘nothing but a fardel of Mahometanism, Arianism, Socinianism, and Quakerism.’ At the same time he admits that Caffyn took pains to convert Socinians. He deplores the spread of Caffyn's errors ‘in Kent, Sussex, and London, but especially in West Kent.’ When the assembly met (1701) the Northamptonshire churches complained that Caffyn had not been properly tried. The assembly, after debate, affirmed by a large majority that Caffyn's declaration, with his signature to ‘the aforesaid expedient,’ was sufficient and satisfactory.
The minority seceded, and formed a new connexion under the name of the ‘general association,’ branding the majority as ‘Caffinites.’ But the two parties came together again in 1704; Wright died in 1703. This is the first deliberate and formal endorsement of latitudinarian opinions in the article of the Trinity by the collective authority of any tolerated section of English dissent.
Later life and legacy
Of Caffyn's career subsequently to 1701 there is no account. He had left Southwater for Broadbridge HeathBroadbridge Heath
-Notable residents:The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, was born at Field Place, which stands about a mile to the north of the village.The bestselling novelist Georgette Heyer lived at the Swan Ken, Broadbridge Heath, for several months in 1931....
, some two miles north of Horsham, in an outlying part of the parish of Sullington
Sullington
Sullington is a village in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, part of the civil parish of Storrington and Sullington. The village lies on the A283 road west of the A24 road, 20 miles south of Horsham....
. Caffyn lived to a patriarchal age, dying in June 1714. He was buried in the churchyard at Itchingfield
Itchingfield
Itchingfield is a small village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It lies on the Barns Green to Broadbridge Heath road southwest of Horsham.The main settlement in the parish is Barns Green.-References:...
on 10 June. He was succeeded in the ministry by his eldest son, Matthew.
For the future of the General Baptists, Antitrinitarianism, of one type or another, took possession of their congregations in the south of England. The New Connexion of General Baptists
New Connexion of General Baptists
New Connexion of General Baptists was a revivalist off-shoot from the Arminian Baptist tradition, one of two main strands within the British Baptist movement....
was formed, chiefly in the Midlands, by Dan Taylor
Daniel Taylor (Baptist pastor)
The Rev Daniel Taylor was the founder of the New Connexion of General Baptists, a revivalist off-shoot from the Arminian Baptist tradition, one of two main strands within the British Baptist movement.-From Methodist to General Baptist:...
in 1770; the older body arrived at Socinianism (in its modified English form) and became a small remnant. Caffyn's own church at Horsham ceased to be Baptist, and was known as ‘free Christian’ from 1879.
Works
Against Caffyn's view Lawson published ‘An Untaught Teacher witnessed against, &c.,’ 1655. Caffyn retorted in ‘The Deceived, and deceiving Quakers discovered, &c.,’ 1656, with which was printed a pamphlet by William Jeffery, Baptist minister of SevenoaksSevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
. Caffyn's position is that of a literal believer in external revelation, and he defends such points as the Second coming of Christ and the bodily resurrection against the ‘damnable heresies’ of the quakers. Lawson made no reply, but the matter was taken up by James Nayler
James Nayler
James Nayler was an English Quaker leader. He is among the members of the Valiant Sixty, a group of early Quaker preachers and missionaries. At the peak of his career, he preached against enclosure and the slave trade....
in ‘The Light of Christ, &c.,’ 1656, (not included in his collected works), and incidentally by George Fox
George Fox
George Fox was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war...
in his ‘Great Mistery, &c.,’ 1659. Caffyn reiterated his charges against quaker theology in an appendix to his ‘Faith in God's Promises the Saint's best weapon,’ 1661, which was briefly answered by Humphrey Wollrich
Humphrey Wollrich
Humphrey Wollrich was an English Quaker writer.-Life:From Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, he was probably born there about 1633. A Baptist in early life, he joined the Quakers soon after their rise, was imprisoned in London for preaching in 1658, About 1659 Wollrich, although a Quaker,...
in ‘One Warning more to the Baptists,’ &c., 1661, and by George Whitehead
George Whitehead (Quaker leader)
George Whitehead was a leading early Quaker preacher, author and lobbyist remembered for his advocacy of religious freedom before three kings of England. His lobbying in defense of the right to practice the Quaker religion was influential on the Act of Uniformity, the Bill of Rights of 1689 and...
in an appendix to ‘The Pernicious Way, &c.,’ 1662. A neighbouring Baptist minister, Joseph Wright of Maidstone, took part in this dispute with the quakers, publishing ‘A Testimony for the Son of Man,’ &c., 1661. The first to accuse Caffyn (though not by name) of error respecting the person of Christ seems to have been Thomas Monck, in ‘A Cure for the cankering Error of the New Eutychians,’ 1673.
In addition, Caffyn published: 1. ‘Envy's Bitterness corrected,’ 1674 (?). 2. ‘A raging Wave foaming out its own shame,’ 1675. 3. ‘The Great Error and Mistake of the Quakers.’ 4. ‘The Baptist's Lamentation.’