Roger Williams (theologian)

:For other men named Roger Williams, see Roger Williams.

Banishment

The decree of banishment (October 9, 1635, carried into effect January, 1636) was grounded on Williams's aggressive and uncompromising hostility to the charter and the theocracy, and was the immediate result of the controversy about the Marblehead land. His radical tenets, involving complete separation of Church and State and absolute voluntaryism in matters of religion, and his refusal to have communion with any who gave countenance or support to the existing order, made his banishment seem necessary to the theocratic leaders of Massachusetts.

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October 9 - 1636

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He had scarcely recovered from a severe illness contracted during his trial, when it was intimated to him that the authorities were arranging to send him back to England to be dealt with by the Laudian government. Accompanied or followed by a few devoted adherents, he plunged into the wilderness and made his way to his Indian friends, who gave him such entertainment as they could. "I was sorely tossed for one fourteen weeks, in a bitter winter season, not knowing what bread or bed did mean."

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