Richard Mather

Richard Mather
Name	Richard Mather
Birth date	1596
Birth place	Lowton, Lancashire, Kingdom of England
Death date	22 April 1669
Death place	Dorchester, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Bay Colony
Occupation	Minister
Known for	Puritan minister, co-author of the Bay Psalm Book
Spouse	Katherine Holt (m. 1624; d. 1655), Sarah Hankredge (m. 1656)
Children	Increase, Timothy, Samuel, Eleazer
Education	Brasenose College, Oxford

Richard Mather was a prominent English Puritan minister who played a foundational role in the establishment of Congregationalism in New England. His career spanned both Lancashire and the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where he was a key figure in defining church polity and contributing to early American literature. He is best remembered as a principal author of the Bay Psalm Book and as the patriarch of the influential Mather family, which included his son Increase Mather and grandson Cotton Mather.

Early life and education

He was born in 1596 in the village of Lowton, within the historic county of Lancashire. His family were yeoman farmers, and he received his early education at Winwick grammar school. Demonstrating academic promise, he entered Brasenose College, Oxford in 1618, though he left without taking a degree, a common practice among Puritans who objected to certain Church of England requirements. His theological formation was deeply influenced by the Calvinist doctrines prevalent at Oxford University and by the growing Puritan movement critical of Anglican ceremonies.

Ministry in England

Ordained in the Church of England around 1619, he began his ministry as a curate in Toxteth, then a chapelry of Walton parish. His Puritan convictions, particularly his opposition to the mandated use of the Book of Common Prayer and certain vestments, soon brought him into conflict with William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Following investigations by the Court of High Commission, he was suspended from his ministry in 1633. This persecution under the policies of King Charles I was a direct catalyst for his decision to join the Puritan migration to New England.

Migration to New England

In 1635, he embarked on the ship *James*, enduring a perilous Atlantic crossing that included a severe nor'easter. He arrived in Boston in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was almost immediately invited to become the teacher of the church in Dorchester, a position he held for the rest of his life. His migration coincided with the Great Migration, a period when thousands of English dissenters sought religious refuge in New England.

Role in the New England church

He became a leading voice in defining the Congregational or "New England Way" of church governance. He was a key participant in the Cambridge Synod of 1646–48, which produced the Cambridge Platform, a foundational document for church polity. He vigorously defended the practice of requiring a public relation of conversion experience for full church membership, a hallmark of New England Puritanism. His views often aligned with those of other leading ministers like John Cotton and Thomas Hooker.

Literary and theological works

His most famous literary contribution was as a principal translator and compiler of the Bay Psalm Book (1640), the first book printed in British America. He authored several important theological works, including *Church-Government and Church-Covenant Discussed* (1643), which argued for Congregational principles. He also wrote an apologetic work, *A Defence of the Answer and Arguments of the Synod met at Boston* (1664), and his detailed journal provided a valuable firsthand account of his Atlantic crossing and early life in the colony.

Legacy and family

His most enduring legacy is the Mather family dynasty, which dominated the intellectual and religious life of Boston for generations. His son Increase Mather became a major figure as president of Harvard College and a negotiator of the new charter in 1691. His grandson Cotton Mather was a prolific author and a central figure during the Salem witch trials. Through his other sons, including Samuel and Eleazer Mather, his theological and ministerial influence extended throughout New England and to Ireland.

Category:1596 births Category:1669 deaths Category:American Puritan ministers Category:People from colonial Massachusetts Category:Mather family