In these days of spiritual ignorance in the country and doctrinal laxity in the church, many Anglicans look back to former times with a certain degree of wistfulness. One date lingers in the collective Anglican memory as suggestive of a golden era: 1662.
Yet 1662 was not a good year for those to whom the gospel and a good conscience were more precious than the institutional church. Hundreds of 'evangelical' puritan ministers were forced to leave the Church of England. Persecution of "dissenters" such as Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, and John Owen continued for a quarter of a century as they were banned from preaching and their like-minded congregations forbidden to meet.
This study examines the reasons for the Great Ejection and Persecution, and the things modern day Anglicans and Free Churches can learn from these easily neglected events.
Lee Gatiss is Associate Minister of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate in the City of London and Editor of The Theologian: The Internet Journal for Integrated Theology at www.theologian.org.uk.
Having read Modern History at New College, Oxford and trained for Anglican ministry at Oak Hill Theological College he completed a curacy in Northamptonshire before moving to London. He is a member of the Latimer Trust Theological Work Group and the Editorial Board of the journal Churchman.

Revd Dr Lee Gatiss has been Director of Church Society since January 2013. He is married to Kerry and they have three children.
Lee is on the editorial board of Churchman, a trustee of the annual St Antholin Lecture, and a member of the Latimer Trust Theological Workgroup. He is on the Church of England Evangelical Council, and the council of Affinity Affinity. He also edits an internet journal called Theologian, Lee serves as a member of the editorial board of Studies in Puritanism, and is also a lecturer in church history at Union School of Theology.
Lee read modern history at New College, Oxford. After working for St Ebbe's, Oxford, he was a student on the Cornhill Training Course in London, with a placement doing student work at All Soul's, Langham Place.
From there he went on to read theological and pastoral studies at Oak Hill College in London.
After ordination, Lee served for three years as Curate of St Botolph's, Barton Seagrave, and St Edmund's, Warkton, a Church Society Trust parish. He was then for five years the Associate Minister of St Helen's, Bishopsgate, with responsibility for the Sunday morning congregation and midweek groups, as well as leading the church family staff team, and Reform London.
While in London he also completed a ThM in historical and systematic theology with Westminster Theological Seminary in the USA. He then spent three years researching 17th century biblical interpretation for a PhD at Peterhouse and Tyndale House, Cambridge, where he was awarded the Lightfoot Scholarship.