John Murton
Encyclopedia
John Murton also known as John Morton, was a co-founder of the Baptist
faith in Great Britain.
John Murton had been a furrier by trade in Gainsborough-on-Trent
and was a member of the 1607 Gainsborough Congregation that relocated to Amsterdam
, and Murton allegedly baptized John Smyth. Murton had been a close disciple of John Smyth while in Holland and eventually Murton returned to London with Thomas Helwys
and his church.
Murton possibly spent time in prison with Helwys before his death, and then became the Elder of the congregation. Murton continued Helwys' traditions until 1624 when he had a falling out with the congregation. Murton wrote several books influencing later Baptists such as Roger Williams
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
faith in Great Britain.
John Murton had been a furrier by trade in Gainsborough-on-Trent
Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Gainsborough is a town 15 miles north-west of Lincoln on the River Trent within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. At one time it served as an important port with trade downstream to Hull, and was the most inland in England, being more than 55 miles from the North...
and was a member of the 1607 Gainsborough Congregation that relocated to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, and Murton allegedly baptized John Smyth. Murton had been a close disciple of John Smyth while in Holland and eventually Murton returned to London with Thomas Helwys
Thomas Helwys
Thomas Helwys , an Englishman, was one of the joint founders, with John Smyth, of the Baptist denomination.In the early seventeenth century, Helwys was principal formulator of that distinctively Baptist request: that the church and the state be kept separate in matters of law, so that individuals...
and his church.
Murton possibly spent time in prison with Helwys before his death, and then became the Elder of the congregation. Murton continued Helwys' traditions until 1624 when he had a falling out with the congregation. Murton wrote several books influencing later Baptists such as Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...