William Brewster is portrayed in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol giving thanks to God in the "Frieze of American History" depiction of "The Landing of the Pilgrims."
He is depicted as representing "religion" in a thematic painting located in the President's room of the Senate Wing.
William Brewster was an elder in the Pilgrims' congregational church in Scrooby, England.
He was arrested and jailed by Britain's oppressive government which denied liberty of conscience and religious freedom.
Governor Bradford wrote of him:
"Mr. Brewster ... lived in the country ... till the Lord revealed Himself further to him.
In the end, the tyranny ... against godly preachers ... in silencing ... and persecuting ... caused him ... to feel the burden of ... many anti-christian corruptions ..."
Bradford continued:
"After they had joined themselves together in communion ... William Brewster was a special help and support to them.
On the Lord's day they generally met at his house, which was a manor ... He entertained them with great kindness when they came, providing for them at heavy expense ...
He was the leader of those who were captured at ... Lincolnshire, suffering the greatest loss, and was one of the seven who were kept longest in prison and afterwards bound over to the assizes."
William Brewster fled with the Pilgrims to Holland, as Governor Bradford wrote:
"After he came to Holland he suffered much hardship, having spent most of his means ...
Towards the latter part of those twelve years spent in Holland, William Brewster's circumstances improved ... for through his knowledge of Latin he was able to teach many foreign students English ...
Both Danes and Germans came to him, some of them being sons of distinguished men."
After 12 years in Holland, William Brewster sailed with the Pilgrims to America.
He is portrayed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda holding an open Bible in the painting "The Embarkation of the Pilgrims."
In that same painting, the Pilgrims' Pastor, John Robinson, is portrayed kneeling with his hands extended in prayer.
On December 15, 1617, elder William Brewster and Pastor John Robinson wrote a letter from Leiden, Holland, to London financier Sir Edwin Sandys, explaining how the Pilgrims were:
"Knit together as a body in ... covenant of the Lord ... we so hold ourselves ... tied to all care of each other's good."
Pastor John Robinson is considered one of the founders of the "Congregational" Church.
The words "congregational," "compact," and "commonwealth" refer to a group of people in "communion" or "covenant" with each other.
This concept of a people in covenant was studied by the Reformation scholars, such as:
John Calvin,
Huldrych Zwingli,
Thomas Cromwell,
John Knox,
the Scottish Covenanters, and
the translators of the Geneva Bible.
American Minute-Notable Events of American Significance Remembered on the Date They Occurred
One of the key sources for "covenant" or "congregation" came from the Greek word "ekklesia."
Jesus stated in Matthew 16:18, “... upon this rock I will build My church (ekklesia); and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
In another place, Jesus stated "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church (ekklesia); and if he refuses to listen even to the church (ekklesia), let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:17.)
"Ekklesia" means a called-out assembly; a gathering of citizens called out from their homes, congregating in some public place; an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating; assembly of the Israelites.
King James claimed the divine right of a king to rule.
He insisted that Bible translators render "ekklesia" as "church" and not "congregation" or "assembly," as he wanted to be the head of the church.
It would be difficult for him to be the head if the congregation or assembly was a deliberative body.
In 1620, the Pilgrims sailed for Jamestown, which had experienced drought, famine, starvation, disease, and Indian attacks.
The mortality rate was so high, that at times the dead were buried in mass graves.
Between 1608 and 1624, of the 6,000 settlers that came to Jamestown, only 3,400 survived
Providentially, the Pilgrims did not join the Jamestown settlement.
They were blown off course in a terrible Atlantic storm and landed 500 miles to the north at Plymouth.
They attempted sailing south to Jamestown, but the storm almost sank them on a sand bar.
Returning the Mayflower to Plymouth, the captain insisted they disembark.
Before they did, though, they signed the Mayflower Compact. William Brewster was one of the signers.
America's God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations
Ten years after the Pilgrims arrived in America, Puritans fled persecutions in England and began arriving in New England in 1630.
In the next 16 years, called the Puritan Great Migration, over 16,000 Puritans settled in Massachusetts, being led by John Winthrop.
John Winthrop authored A Model of Christian Charity, June 11, 1630, in which he explained the nature of colonial constitutional "covenants":
"It is of the nature and essence of every society to be knit together by some covenant, either expressed or implied ...
We are a Company, professing ourselves fellow members of Christ, we ought to account ourselves knit together by this bond of love ...
It is by a mutual consent through a special overruling Providence ... to seek out a place of Cohabitation ... under a due form of Government both civil and ecclesiastical ...
Thus stands the cause between God and us: we are entered into covenant with Him for this work.
We have taken out a Commission; the Lord hath given us leave to draw our own articles ... For this end, we must be knit together in this work as one man ..."
He is depicted as representing "religion" in a thematic painting located in the President's room of the Senate Wing.
William Brewster was an elder in the Pilgrims' congregational church in Scrooby, England.
He was arrested and jailed by Britain's oppressive government which denied liberty of conscience and religious freedom.
Governor Bradford wrote of him:
"Mr. Brewster ... lived in the country ... till the Lord revealed Himself further to him.
In the end, the tyranny ... against godly preachers ... in silencing ... and persecuting ... caused him ... to feel the burden of ... many anti-christian corruptions ..."
Bradford continued:
"After they had joined themselves together in communion ... William Brewster was a special help and support to them.
On the Lord's day they generally met at his house, which was a manor ... He entertained them with great kindness when they came, providing for them at heavy expense ...
He was the leader of those who were captured at ... Lincolnshire, suffering the greatest loss, and was one of the seven who were kept longest in prison and afterwards bound over to the assizes."
William Brewster fled with the Pilgrims to Holland, as Governor Bradford wrote:
"After he came to Holland he suffered much hardship, having spent most of his means ...
Towards the latter part of those twelve years spent in Holland, William Brewster's circumstances improved ... for through his knowledge of Latin he was able to teach many foreign students English ...
Both Danes and Germans came to him, some of them being sons of distinguished men."
After 12 years in Holland, William Brewster sailed with the Pilgrims to America.
He is portrayed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda holding an open Bible in the painting "The Embarkation of the Pilgrims."
In that same painting, the Pilgrims' Pastor, John Robinson, is portrayed kneeling with his hands extended in prayer.
On December 15, 1617, elder William Brewster and Pastor John Robinson wrote a letter from Leiden, Holland, to London financier Sir Edwin Sandys, explaining how the Pilgrims were:
"Knit together as a body in ... covenant of the Lord ... we so hold ourselves ... tied to all care of each other's good."
Pastor John Robinson is considered one of the founders of the "Congregational" Church.
The words "congregational," "compact," and "commonwealth" refer to a group of people in "communion" or "covenant" with each other.
This concept of a people in covenant was studied by the Reformation scholars, such as:
John Calvin,
Huldrych Zwingli,
Thomas Cromwell,
John Knox,
the Scottish Covenanters, and
the translators of the Geneva Bible.
American Minute-Notable Events of American Significance Remembered on the Date They Occurred
One of the key sources for "covenant" or "congregation" came from the Greek word "ekklesia."
Jesus stated in Matthew 16:18, “... upon this rock I will build My church (ekklesia); and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
In another place, Jesus stated "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church (ekklesia); and if he refuses to listen even to the church (ekklesia), let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:17.)
"Ekklesia" means a called-out assembly; a gathering of citizens called out from their homes, congregating in some public place; an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating; assembly of the Israelites.
King James claimed the divine right of a king to rule.
He insisted that Bible translators render "ekklesia" as "church" and not "congregation" or "assembly," as he wanted to be the head of the church.
It would be difficult for him to be the head if the congregation or assembly was a deliberative body.
In 1620, the Pilgrims sailed for Jamestown, which had experienced drought, famine, starvation, disease, and Indian attacks.
The mortality rate was so high, that at times the dead were buried in mass graves.
Between 1608 and 1624, of the 6,000 settlers that came to Jamestown, only 3,400 survived
Providentially, the Pilgrims did not join the Jamestown settlement.
They were blown off course in a terrible Atlantic storm and landed 500 miles to the north at Plymouth.
They attempted sailing south to Jamestown, but the storm almost sank them on a sand bar.
Returning the Mayflower to Plymouth, the captain insisted they disembark.
Before they did, though, they signed the Mayflower Compact. William Brewster was one of the signers.
America's God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations
Ten years after the Pilgrims arrived in America, Puritans fled persecutions in England and began arriving in New England in 1630.
In the next 16 years, called the Puritan Great Migration, over 16,000 Puritans settled in Massachusetts, being led by John Winthrop.
John Winthrop authored A Model of Christian Charity, June 11, 1630, in which he explained the nature of colonial constitutional "covenants":
"It is of the nature and essence of every society to be knit together by some covenant, either expressed or implied ...
We are a Company, professing ourselves fellow members of Christ, we ought to account ourselves knit together by this bond of love ...
It is by a mutual consent through a special overruling Providence ... to seek out a place of Cohabitation ... under a due form of Government both civil and ecclesiastical ...
Thus stands the cause between God and us: we are entered into covenant with Him for this work.
We have taken out a Commission; the Lord hath given us leave to draw our own articles ... For this end, we must be knit together in this work as one man ..."