Richard Baxter

Richard Baxter (1615-91) served as minister at Kidderminster from 1641-60 before becoming a nonconformist and removing to London. He exerted enormous influence during his ministry upon the nature of nonconformity in England. His writings were numerous (more than 160 works), covering the range of theology, hymns, devotional works, and his lengthy spiritual autobiography, Reliquiae Baxterianae, or Mr Richard Baxter's Narrative of the most Memorable Passages of his Life and Times (published by Matthew Sylvester in 1696). Edmund Calamy published an abridged version in 1702. Between 1662 and 1687 he was intermittently in trouble with the authorities for his nonconformist beliefs and practices. He advocated a moderate Puritanism, situating himself between the extremes of Calvinism and Arminianism, a position that became known as Baxterianism. See his The Reformed Pastor (1650), The Saint’s Everlasting Rest (1678), the latter being one of the most influential works among nonconformists between 1650 and 1850 in matters of practical divinity, or transferring evangelical knowledge into practice.=