John Robinson

John Robinson (1576–1625) was the pastor of the "Pilgrim Fathers" before they left on the Mayflower. He became one of the early leaders of the English Separatists called Brownists, and is regarded (along with Robert Browne and Henry Barrow) as one of the founders of the Congregational Church. Early life Robinson was born at Sturton-Le-Steeple in Nottinghamshire, England, between March and September 1576, this range of dates deduced by comparing two records at Leiden (Leyden), Netherlands, that give his age at the time of the event. Remarkably, the same village was also the birthplace of the significant martyr of 1546, John Lassells, and the separatist and Baptist John Smyth. He entered Corpus Christi College at the University of Cambridge in April 1592. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1596. In May 1598 he was admitted a Fellow of his college and ordained a priest of the Church of England. This was followed one year later in 1599 by his Master of Arts degree. Following the attainment of his Master's degree, he obtained two positions at Corpus: Praelector Graecus, a lectureship in Greek, and Decanus, a post involving student oversight. Dissent Cambridge was a centre of Puritanism. During his years there, Robinson gradually accepted its principles. The leaders of this movement strongly criticised the English Church because they believed its beliefs and rituals were too much like those of the Roman Catholic Church. The reforms they advocated would "purify" the established church from within; for this reason they became known as "Puritans". Some Puritans, who despaired getting the changes they favoured in the established Church, decided to leave to form Separatist churches.