Seeking the Seekers

Ryrie, Alec

Abstract

The Seekers, a supposed sect which flourished in late 1640s England, have been generally neglected by historians, with the exception of Quaker historiography, in which the Seekers play a pivotal but supporting role. This article argues that the Seeker phenomenon is worth attending to in its own right. Perhaps deriving from spiritualist, radical and Dutch Collegiant roots, it also represents the logical outcome of English Baptists and other radicals trying and failing to find ecclesiological certainty, and being driven to the conclusion that no true church exists or (for some Seekers) can exist. The article concludes by examining how the Seeker life was lived, whether as austere, apophatic withdrawal; a veering into libertinism; or by forming provisional communities, communities which did, in some cases, serve as a gateway to Quakerism.

Citation

Ryrie, A. (2021). Seeking the Seekers. Studies in Church History, 57, 185-209. https://doi.org/10.1017/stc.2021.10

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 18, 2021
• Online Publication Date: May 21, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-06
• Deposit Date: Feb 22, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 22, 2021
• Journal: Studies in Church History
• Print ISSN: 0424-2084
• Electronic ISSN: 2059-0644
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 57
• Pages: 185-209
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/stc.2021.10
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1246232